Elderberries

I've been watching the elderberry shrubs around here for the last couple weeks, waiting for the hard, greenish-yellow berries turn blackish purple. There's a shrub over at a nearby state park that I was particularly keen to get at before the birds did, and last Friday, we struck gold (purple?) The bottom half of the the large shrubs were perfectly ripe, so within minutes, I had two small flats filled with elderberries.

You can't eat them raw -- they leave a somewhat unpleasant smell on your hands after picking. But throw them in a pot with some sugar and oy! the kitchen is soon perfumed with a scent slightly reminiscent of old fashioned hard candy or Concord grapes.

I took a pound of elderberries, squashed them over low heat until they were good and mashed, then slowly added two cups of sugar all the while stirring. I raised the heat, added 2 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice and continued boiling to 220 degress, jell stage. Elderberries are low in natural pectin, which is why you add the lemon juice and/or use some fruit that's a bit underripe. Unfortunately, I got the temp up beyond that, and it jam got a little too stiff on me. All that means is I'll have to heat it up before slathering it on my toast, scones or biscuits this week.