The fruits and flowers of the black elder are rich in vitamins, extremely aromatic, low in acid and not too sweet. What could be more obvious than boiling them down after picking and collecting them? We have some delicious recipes ready.
Cook elderberries perfectly for jam
If the summer wasn't too dry, the elder in the garden bears a lush crop of fruit. After you have harvested the ripe berries, they should be processed immediately. You can find out how they turn into a delicious jam here:
- Use a fork to scrape the cleaned elderberries from the umbels
- put 1 kg of fruit in a saucepan
- put 1 kg of preserving sugar on top
- cook, stirring constantly, until it forms a creamy mass
- flavor with the juice of one lemon and 4 tablespoons of currant liqueur
The boiling hot jam is filled into screw-top jars that are provided. Seal immediately and turn upside down to cool.
Refreshing syrup with elderflower
If the black elder bears its white blossom dress from June, you have a healthy and delicious ingredient for versatile syrup at your disposal. The following lines show how to do it:
- Do not rinse the flower umbels under running water, but toss them in cold water
- Cut off the stems of 20 flowers with sharp scissors
- Boil 1 kilo of sugar in 1 liter of water until completely dissolved
- Place the blossoms in a heat-resistant container and pour the hot sugar water over them
- seal the jar and store in the cellar for 4-5 days
Finally, strain the liquid through a sieve lined with kitchen paper. The syrup is boiled again in the pot and immediately filled into bottles with screw caps. A dash of citric acid gives the elderflower syrup the finishing touch.
tips and tricks
Do you want to preserve elderberries and flowers that you collected in the wild? Then caution is advised. The toxic fruits of the dwarf elder, for example, look confusingly similar to the fruits of the edible black elder. A poisonous elder gives itself away unmistakably by a repulsive smell. So - first sniff, then harvest.