Elderberry

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fredjones1uk

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Mar 24, 2014
Messages
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Location
Runcorn, Cheshire
I collected 6.5 lbs of elderberry's and made 4.5 ltrs of wine, with the rest i have added apple juice to make up to 4.5 ltrs, should be interesting which one tastes the best. I added 1kg of sugar to both i love experimenting. :lol:
 
I read somewhere that Apple and Elderberry work really well together. I'm going for a forage tomorrow, the council cut down the huge Elder i harvested last year so im in need of a new source.
 
I'm gonna have a crack at elderberry this year there's plenty about. Is it just in norfolk or is everything ripening early this year?
Haven't even bothered looking closely at the elderberry yet but they're looking well on their way from the roadside?
 
There is an abundance of hedge row fruit this year due to the warm months we had and are early in fruiting, when you fork the berry's off the stems weigh them into 2kg-4lb bags and freeze, it kills all the nasties and helps to get the flavours out, also handy to have in winter months.
 
I've allready got 2 gallons of bullace wine on the go and even first batch of sloe gin!
Better get out after the elderberry next weekend then and will take your advice on filling my freezer up with them!

Sláinte
 
No end of bullaces, wild plums, Mirabelles whatever you like calling them about.
Seems a shame to leave them but I've only got so much space and equipment!
Looking forward to the elderberry though as it does seem to be one of the ultimate wines beside the good old grape.
Never actually tried it either tbh!

Sláinte
 
Apparently freezing the berries before attacking them with a fork makes it easier, cleaner with less stalk to remove from individual berries later. Will be trying that method this weekend as I plan on making alot of wine this year!
 
I'd heard freezing them before hand works.
I made 2 lots of elderflower wine this year.
1 batch I used freshly picked flowers which I removed with a comb, a bit of a chore!
The second I froze first before removing having heard that was easier. The problem I found was when they first came out of the freezer the stalks were so brittle they were coming off with the flowers more so than when they were fresh.
Also when they thawed, which was in a matter of seconds! They became limp and soggy, which also didn't help in removing the flowers.
The fresh batch were easier tbh!
This could all of coarse be down to my lack of experience and may work better with the berries!

Sláinte
 
Throw precision out the window, i spent hours picking 3.5kg of berries and was losing the will to carry on when it dawned on me that filling my bucket with water my separate the ripe from un-ripe... IT WORKS A TREAT! all green and reds actually float... wish i thought of it sooner
 
Good tip big red, though I'm not sure I should trust someone with numbers like that after his name!
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist"
Um anyway I went out early doors and picked a fair whack. Got home and garden spent an age forking them in off and de bugging, lots of earwigs I noticed, why?
Got about 1.5 kg in the end which should be enough for a gallon.
Found a space in the freezer for them and I will probably get on that tomorrow after work.
Definitely going to pick some more a bit later as there's still a number of reds and greens about.
Also I think they could be a touch bigger though some are larger than others.
 
I'd heard freezing them before hand works.
I made 2 lots of elderflower wine this year.
1 batch I used freshly picked flowers which I removed with a comb, a bit of a chore!
The second I froze first before removing having heard that was easier. The problem I found was when they first came out of the freezer the stalks were so brittle they were coming off with the flowers more so than when they were fresh.
Also when they thawed, which was in a matter of seconds! They became limp and soggy, which also didn't help in removing the flowers.
The fresh batch were easier tbh!
This could all of coarse be down to my lack of experience and may work better with the berries!

Sláinte

An easy way of stripping the flowers off the stalks is to place them in a black air tight plastic bag for 24 hours, the flowers will either have fallen off the stalks or will need a slight brush with your hand to come off.

Ive made 20 ltrs of wine this year and it took me about 30 minutes to finish brushing off the flowers left on the stalks.

Only downside to this method is you end up with yellow pollen hands, which does wonders for my hayfever :(
 
That sounds a bit more agreeable arjie.
Do the flowers not lose some of their freshness after that?
Will give that a go next spring which ain't that far away after all!
Last years BlackBerry wine, sloe gin and sloe port all to enjoy before that. As well as wows and beer!
Definitely have to get a good 5 gallons or so of blackberry wine on the go this year. A damn fine drop and nothing but sugar and blackberries!
Just got the elderberry in the bucket today after a couple of days freezing.
All I added was the juice of some lemons and sugar dissolved in 4.5 l of boiling water.
will leave that till tomorrow then add some pectic enzyme.
After 24 hours the yeast & nutrient.
Thought I'd go for the pure approach for the first batch!
 
The easiest method to remove the berries after picking is just put them into the freezer then remove, place in a bag and shake well. The berries come away without any stalk. Another good tip to remove the green and unripe berries is to strip them into a bucket of water. The unripe berries float and can be skimmed off.
 
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