YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT YOU CAN MAKE FROM BLACK ELDER

Black elder or elderberry is a wonderful plant – it grows on its own, does not need any care and you can harvest fruits twice a year: when it blooms you can collect its beautiful white flowers, and when it is ripe you can collect small black berries. This plant has always been mentioned in medical literature and used for many medicinal purposes. You can make syrup, compote, wine or even liqueur out of it and we shall give you some recipes right now.

An easy elderberry jam

Collect elderberries and for each 500 g of berries add 250 ml of water, juice from two lemons and 500 g of sugar (you can also use gelatinization sugar). Cook until you reach the desired thickness (you can tell by pouring a spoon of jam on a plate and letting it cool down. If it is still runny, cook it a bit longer).

Elderberry jelly

Extract juices from elderberries and apples. Get the same amount from both fruits. Mix them together, add sugar and lemon juice. If you have 500 ml of juice you will need 375 g of sugar and a half of lemon. Boil until you get a thick mixture, and then pour it into a glass container and let it harden, best in the fridge. Cut into small squares and roll them in granulated sugar, or eat them plain.

Photo: Pixabay

Elderberry chutney

Collect berries and remove the stalks. You should get 1 kg of berries. Put them into a pot and crush them as much as possible with a wooden spatula. Get one large onion  and chop it finely, add 475 ml of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds and mix all with the berries in a pot. Cook until solidified. Stir occasionally. When done, put the mixture into glass containers, close tightly, turn upside down and let them cool.

Elderberry ketchup

You need 1.8 kg of elderberries. Remove the stalks and place in a large pot. Add two finely chopped medium-size onions. Add 20 g of salt, 600 ml of apple vinegar and 1.4 kg of sugar. Heat everything slowly until the onion is soft. Then strain the mixture through a fine sieve and cook until the mixture thickens. While still hot, pour it into sterile bottles.

Photo: Pixabay