The sweater (cotton t-shirt) is back on track;
I have knit to the place I was before I had to rip it out
and that is always a good hurdle to me!
Wednesday was a rough day-in bed with a UTI but I felt enough better yesterday to pick some elderberries in the morning and simmer them to make some syrup!
Bill did the reaching and snipping while I held the bucket to collect the bunches;you don't pick individual berries, rather you pick a 'bunch' at a time!
And when it comes time to separate the berries from the stems,
you don't pick each one, but by using a pick
(hair pick or here, I am using our meat tenderizing pick!)
and gently tease the ripe berries off their stems!
It goes very quickly and is relaxing .
Oh, I did this step outside for two reasons-
first, the berries are staining so I didn't want them zinging through the kitchen
and two, there are a few 'critters' in the berries-these beetles fly away pretty quickly
but some of the little spiders needed flinging!
The berries are added to a pot using an equal amount of water and set to simmer;
I had 5 cups of berries.
After simmering, the berries are strained out of the liquid
and honey and lemon juice are added.
I ended up with 3 quart jars and 3 pints!
I wasn't completely thrilled with the lack of density with the syrup-the taste is great , though,
because you add an equal amount of honey!
You read that right-that meant 5 cups of raw honey!!!
I am making this syrup for a daily medicine so it doesn't have to be thick but I will try it again!
Another cool thing about elderberries is that they aren't all ready at the same time---
the same bush has ripe berries, green berries and blooms!
We have lots of bushes so I will get to perfect my formula!
It's a good thing I have a friend who keeps bees so I can get lots of raw honey!
On the creative front-I drew and painted a little bird;
I will be adding a chapter for birds in my art journal!
The elderberry flowers look a lot like viburnum flowers.
ReplyDeleteWow! They sure are small berries. The spiders would keep me away! LOL
ReplyDeleteYou might try adding more of the unripened berries. They contain pectin and will help thicken the syrup a bit more.
ReplyDeleteYour little bird is so sweet!
ReplyDeleteI saw someone make cordial out of the blossoms and was fascinated by the process. I've seen some elderberry products at Ikea but have never tried them.
SO so sorry about the UTI. They are buggers. I get them and they wipe me out. Took me over 48 hours last month to kick the symptoms. exhausting!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw your elderberry photo, I thought they were fish eggs! My DH talks about having elderberries when he was a kid. I think the ones that grow here are poisonous. I drink a glass of cranberry juice every day and that seems to help ward off UTIs. Glad you're feeling better as they aren't fun. Have a nice Weekend!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are feeling better. I've never had a UTI but I've heard how unpleasant they are.
ReplyDeleteYour juice adventure sounds fun. I hope that your recipe gets perfected soon.
Blessings,
Betsy