my elderflower cordial is fabulous and plentiful (in the 'drinks' freeezer to last til the end of august at least) my elderflower 'champagne' was a disaster again - but it wouldn't be summer without the anticipation, and the uses for the elderflower syrup are a delight...
but now i'm lusting after the berries - the most fruitful of our 10 or so trees is outside the kitchen window, and the berries grow bigger daily...
thoughts? recipes? appreciated
xt
you can drink it to fight the virus , and dap on to dry the sore at the same time .
Elderberries have a good virus fighting property
Pamela, do you dab it on cold sores or drink it to cure them?
I make a elderberry tincture for the winter which is great for colds and cold sores.
Just loosley fill a large jar with the clean berrys( mashed a little ) top of with 100% vodka and water 50/50 seal and leave for a few weeks(shake it each day) then sieve well and leave in the fridge in a smaller jar, will last all year and you just need a few drops of it when ill.
Yes, but we have 2011 and 12 sloe gin 'maturing' given we have at least four hundred metres of sloe hedge accessible and will just have to again, of course. But you are right, there MUST be something.
thanks Brian - great ideas... Elderberry Jelly sounds perfect! and good idea too to consult a foraging book..
a thought sparked? i wonder about ElderBerry Gin - as in Sloe Gin (of which I have a good few litres waiting for the winter cold in the larder) Do you think the berries would be tart enough? maybe...
The spring was too wet and cold for the pollen to be rich and yellow, so I simply did not bother with cordial or 'champagne' this year. I do not know how, but everywhere I have lived since childhood has had loads of elder and I get the feeling I under use it, which is what I think you are saying too.
I have sometimes made a cough/sore throat syrup. It involves lots of reducing with dark cane sugar and cloves. Once it is down to a thick syrupy mix with the berries and stalks still in add water to roughly 50% of the volume of the 'syrup' and boil again until it is again a syrup. Then filter off and bottle. It is optional to add alcohol, but since we are giving it to children we might do that for an adult dose rather than when bottling.
Elderberry jelly. Just like making any other jelly real. Boil up, add leaf gelatine rather than powder then filter off into jars. I first had it at the posh dinner during a conference in Bath, asked the chef what the jelly was and since have made it. I think my recipe might even be from Richard Mabey's 'Food for Free'. In same book I believe there are several recipes worth a try.