The Sunday before last, we harvested elderberries at our neighbor’s farm. Where we live, elderberries grow everywhere. The trick is finding ones easily harvest-able. Most of them are way up high and even with a ladder, are out of reach. I have a few spots in mind here where I’d like to plant some (and keep them pruned for easy access.)
In years past, Jeff has made elderberry wine. We still have a few bottles left in the pantry. We are not wine drinkers in our home (or any alcohol for that matter), but we do use wine occasionally in cooking and with medicinal wines like elderberry, we take sips in the winter to ward off viruses. We’ve also put elderberries in applesauce, which is delicious.
This year, Jeff cooked the elderberries down, mixed them with applesauce, and dried them in the dehydrator, making a medicinal fruit leather.
Elderberries are incredible for the immune system. The more I learn about elderberries, the more amazed I am. Besides harvesting elderberries, we also purchase them (in powdered form) from Mountain Rose Herbs to have in tea as an immune boost throughout the winter.
Do elderberries grow where you live?
What do you like to make with them?
I love elderberries! Just planted two bushes this spring, but it will be a few years before we have berries. We love elderberry syrup during the cold months to help keep the kiddos healthy. 🙂
Tina- Thank you! We were so excited about that! We have three sets of yew wood buttons in the shop right now and are offering free shipping till the 25th! 🙂
Aja- I love the idea of making them into syrup. Jeff has done that before. I haven’t, but would love to. Mixing it with honey sounds yummy.
Aunt Isla- What a wealth of beautiful experiences you have! I love hearing them all. You might have been the inspiration for Jeff’s homemade elderberry wine! 🙂
Taryn……..Elderberries were part of our fall fun, everthing from wine to jelly, put in the turkey dressing.
Some of that jelly always went to the Ritchie Wilson family for Christmas.
Love from Aunt Isla
I love elderberries! I haven’t found them in the wild here yet, but I know they can be grown in our region. I order the dried berries from Mountain Rose Herbs and cook them down in to a syrup with honey that we take at the first onset of a cold or flu to help a speedy recovery! I love the idea of putting them in applesauce.
So cool to see your buttons on Soulemama’s blog! They complemented her sweater so perfectly…… I just might need some myself! 🙂