This summer my bestie pointed out that not only did we have an elderberry bush, but it was absolutely LOADED with berries. Who knew? Apparently elderberries are full of good-for-you things like vitamin C and antioxidants. Coolio. Since I have apparently entered my forager/gatherer era, I immediately decided to keep an eye on them and figure out when to do with them when ripe.
I had heard of elderberry jelly so that seemed like the place to start. Well, turns out that recent research shows that elderberries are low acid, so jellies and jams require an absolute crap-ton of sugar to be safe for preserving. See Elderberries: beautiful to look at, not for canning for more information. Teeth-rottingly sweet jelly is not my, uh, jam. So I looked at other options for preserving.
I decided to make a lightly sweet syrupy juice with some of them, which I froze in ice cube trays then saved in freezer bags for soothing coughs and colds in the winter. The rest of them I dehydrated for tea. I dehydrated strawberry tops this summer and mint leaves as well, so I’m building an interesting pantry of tea options.
