September's hedgerow

Driving along this morning I noticed the hedgerows were full of elderberries, plump and ripe and very inviting. So what can you do with them? Well, they have amazing medicinal properties (good for arthritis, asthma, colds, digestion) and they taste pretty good too.

Checking on the web I came across some great sounding recipes.

Elderberry Cordial
from This Dorset

2kg elderberry bunches
100g sugar (per 100ml strained juice)
5 cloves (per 100ml strained juice)

Wash the fruit then add to a large saucepan.

Cover with cold water, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes. During the final 10 minutes of boiling mash the fruit with a masher.

Line a colander with muslin and pour in the fruit mix, pushing down with a wooden spoon to extract as much juice as possible.

Measure the volume of liquid then pour into a clean saucepan along with 100g sugar to every 100ml juice and 5 cloves to every 100ml liquid. Bring mixture to the boil and keep boiling for 10 minutes. Remove the cloves with a metal tea strainer then pour the cordial into sterilised bottles. Store in a cool, dark, place.

Elderberry Jelly

elderberry jelly from Simply Recipes.

Have fun!

Ros