Another year of elderberries

I have not written for a while: gardening is repetitive, so I sort of ran out of topics, and I am trying to figure out how to make my pages interesting in the little time I have. Also, I am not happy with pictures from my new camera, so my old blog format does not work any longer.

That does not mean that I have not carried on in my garden and in the kitchen finding the best ways to use my produce.

Elderberry had a special place this year too. I made Holunderlikoer, which I love, and jam (but it set too hard so it rolls rather than spreading). Then my friend wrote to me saying she had found out elderberries had medicinal properties, could I sent her something. I researched it a bit on the web and found it is good for winter colds and coughs, and what I was after was a "rob" - which, I found out today, stands for thickened juice).

Could not find a definitive recipe, but storage over time seemed an issue with some of them. So I made up my own recipe with info from here and there.

My own elderberry rob

• 500 gr ripe elder berries
• 200 gr sugar 
• 4 clovers
• ground ginger and cinnamon to taste

With a fork, pull the berries from the stalks, removing as many of the remaining stalks as possible. Wash.

Simmer the berries until soft and squash them with a food mill to get the juice (without seeds, as they are mildly toxic). 

Mix with the sugar and bring to the boil, adding the spices. Thicken it to a runny honey texture. Bottle as jam.

Let's see if it works.