What to do with elderberries?

Miss_Behaving

Hi, I found this recipe in one of my books. I've never made wine before but I'm going to give it a try as I picked loads of elderberries yesterday - if anyone has a simpler (and quicker) recipe I'd be grateful.....

Elderberry wine recipe
4lb Elderberries
1 gallon (5 litres) of boiling water
3 lb (1.5Kg) of granulated sugar
a 'claret' yeast sachet
8 oz (200g) chopped raisins
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 orange
1 vitamin B tablet
1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient
Campden tablets

Procedure:
Strip the berries from the stalks into a suitably large vessel.
Add 8 oz chopped raisins, juice of the lemon, juice of the orange, a vitamin B tablet and a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.
Add the boiling water and stir well.
When cool enough to handle, squeeze fruit with hands to extract juice.
Leave for one day to infuse.
Add 2 1/2 lb sugar and activated yeast and leave covered for three days.
Strain off liquid into demijohns, top up with another 1/4 lb of sugar in each and, if necessary, with cooled boiled water.
Leave to ferment in a warm (65-75 degrees), dark place.
When the fermentation ceases ( usually 2-3 weeks ) syphon the clearing wine from the sediment into a clean demijohn and move to a cool place.
After 1 or 2 days rack again, adding 2 campden tablets and topping up with a little cold water.
After 2 weeks rack again, adding 1 more campden tablet.
Replace the airlock with a cork bung. Rack again when a heavy deposit forms.
Bottle in dark green bottles when wine is clear and there has been no activity for some time.
Mature for at least 6 months before drinking.

Chris25

There are some on here.............. http://www.patch-work.demon.co.uk/elder.htm

tiredwithtwins

Miss_Behaving wrote:

Mature for at least 6 months before drinking.

....the only downfall to this recipe......how can we leave it for 6 months!!??? :beer:

DSmiffy

Recipe I have is pretty much the same as Miss Behaving's but mine says to leave for 18 months before drinking!!!

RICHYG_2

Elderberry Wine -
in my humble opinion is timeconsuming in maturing. 12 months or so.

This not only take up your demijohns or bottles but more importantly your patience.
There are recipes that involve adding the water (with no salt !!) on runner beans - to shorten this timeline but even so in my opinion it is undrinkable when young.

Advice from an amateur wine maker is to choose an an alterative material

such as

* tea
* 1ltr grapefruit juice in a carton ( 40p ?)
* peach in tins

these require only 2 months maturing and are more rewarding for beginners.

This is only my opinion - but elberberry wine is rough and time consuming and can put off beginners.


Richyg

pol

If you want a quick wine try this (second post down)


http://www.homewinemaking.co.uk/cgi/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=recipe;action=display;num=1083402350

it takes about 3-4 weeks and can be drunk right away, or if you prefer I have a recipe made from fruit teabags which takes about the same time.

pol

Zend

I think we have an elderberry growing by us but I am not sure. Could anyone enilghten me to what the flowers and berries look like.

Curry_Queen

Zend wrote:

I think we have an elderberry growing by us but I am not sure. Could anyone enilghten me to what the flowers and berries look like.

The leaves and flowers look like this ...




and here are the berries in the process of ripening ...




Usually found as part of hedgerows around fields

Zend

Thanks Curry Queen, off to inspect the trees now. Ohh elderflower fritters next spring.

scuzz

OK Lots of you were asking for this. I know what me and my mother are like, so we'll probably make this in a few years' time(!) and by then I'll forget to post the recipe. So here it is now

fork berries into a pan and barely cover with water
bring to a simmer until the berries go pulpy
pass through muslin to get rid of skins and pips
pour back into pan with sugar - 1ib sugar for every litre of berry juice
bring to the boil, testing for set stage at regular intervals
jar


NB there's not much pectin in elderberries, so serto may be needed to help set