Elderberry Syrup - Day 186 - Daily Haiku, with more about elderberr...

20180815_175732 - Ripened elderberries.jpg
Cluster of ripe elderberries ready to strip

Elderberry syrup --
Strong antiviral that tastes
Amazingly good

I decided to check on the elderberry bush next to our waterfalls today, and found that they were nearly all ripe, so set about harvesting some to make elderberry syrup.

On this particular cluster all the berries had ripened, but on many there were still green berries, and I typically don't use the green berries in making syrup.

I also don't harvest all the berries from any one bush, and didn't even when I was harvesting my elderberries in my back yard in Florida, as I strongly believe in leaving some for wildlife. And, on public ground such as this roadside, I like to leave some for the next person, should anyone come along.

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Elderberry cluster, already stripped, leaving green berries

From this batch I got roughly half a cup of ripe elderberries, or about a fourth the amount I would like to have for making syrup.

Tomorrow I will harvest the field I referenced in my last post on elderberries, and if all goes well, perhaps I'll have enough to make some elderberry wine as well.

This is one of my favorite medicinal plants in the world - they don't taste like much fresh from the bush, mildly sweet with just a hint of flavor, but when cooked or extracted they develop a flavor that is truly extraordinary, at least to my tastes.

I saved seed from a number of the crushed berries, and those I ate, and will be planting them when I get home. I'll be making the syrup hopefully in a few days, and when I do, I'll post about that and give my recipe.

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Elderberry seeds ready to plant