Elderberry Recipes can be a wonderful and healthy addition to many of your favorite recipes. You will be surprised at how many great elderberry recipes are available. Work your way through them and you will not be surprised at how much you enjoy them. Take this recipe for elderberry jelly for example. Not only is it delicious but with the antioxidant properties you don’t have to feel guilty eating it.
1 package Powdered fruit pectin (some, like a crabapple jelly recipe, does not require pectin but since elderberry is lower in pectin it will require the addition)
Instructions:
Remove the stems from the Elderberries and place in large kettle
Crush berries, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes
Strain juice through jelly bag or piece of cheesecloth
Measure juice making sure you about 3 1/2 cups. If you don’t you can add apple juice to make up the difference
Add lemon juice and pour into kettle.
Add sugar
Heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Add pectin (some, like a crabapple jelly recipe does not require pectin but since elderberry is lower in pectin it will require the addition). Bring to a full boil and boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat, skim off foam and pour into hot jars
Makes 3-4 half pints of elderberry jelly. Enjoy on top of a fresh, homemade slice of Elderberry bread.
Here are some additional elderberry recipes for you to try:
Are sweets just not your thing? Looking for another way to use elderberries? You can also make incredible, tart vinegar by following this Elderberry vinegar recipe:
Elderberry Vinegar
2 c Elderberries, stemmed
Vinegar
Instructions:
Place 2 cups of stemmed elderberries in an ovenproof dish and cover with vinegar.
Cook at 300 F for 1 1/2 hours, or until the berries burst.
Let the mixture stand overnight
Strain through a jelly bag or piece of cheese cloth.
Have You Picked Peaches? Check Out These Fresh Peach Recipes
The best fresh peach recipes, including peach crisp recipes, peach schnapps recipe, recipe for peach pie, fresh peach cobbler and peach tart recipe.
There is nothing better then using fresh peaches in your favorite recipe. Here are some great fresh peach recipes to keep you cooking well into fall.
Craving some new peach crisp recipes? Try this one on for size:
Peach Crisp Recipe
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds fresh peaches, peeled, pitted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup soft butter
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375F. Use a buttered or non-stick coated 8 inch pie dish. Slice peeled, pitted peaches into the prepared baking dish. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon into a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over peaches in baking dish. Bake at 375F for 45 to 50 minutes, until topping is golden brown and peaches are tender. Make sure to serve warm and add a bit of whipped cream for an extra sweet treat.
Is a peach schnapps recipe more what you are looking for? Take a look at this one good with any variety of fresh, ripe peaches:
Peach Schnapps Recipe
Directions:
Peel 12 medium size peaches (much easier to do if you dip in boiling water for about 30 seconds and then immediately stick in cool water.
Remove pits and cut in fourths
Put both the peaches and pits in a glass jar with tight-fitting lid.
Cover with clear, unflavored, 80 proof vodka
Let sit at room temperature in a dark area for 1-2 months shaking lightly and tasting every couple of weeks.
Strain the mixture into a glass with tight-fitting lid.
Store in a dark, room temperature place for at least 1 month before serving.
Serve at room temperature, closing the bottle tightly between servings.
Peach Tart Recipe more your speed? Try this one for your next family get together and I am sure you will have many compliments:
Peach Tart Recipe
Ingredients:
5 c. ripe, sliced fresh peaches
1 tbsp. lemon juice
6 baked 5” tart shells
8 fresh peach slices
1 c. sugar
4 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Whipped cream
Directions:
Combine and let stand for 20 minutes peaches, sugar, and lemon juice. Drain 1 cup juice into a measuring cup (if juice does not equal 1 cup, fill the rest of the cup with water). Blend cornstarch into juice. Cook mixture until transparent and cool. Divide the fruit between the tart shells. Spoon the cold sauce over each tart to form a glaze and chill until set. Use the whipped cream and slices for a garnish. This makes 6 servings so adjust ingredients accordingly.If you are still looking for some great peach recipes like a recipe for peach pie or a fresh peach cobbler recipe try these sites:
Being able to pick pears fresh is a luxury to say the least. Pears are usually ready last summer or early fall for picking. Of course, always be sure to check with your local fruit orchard to make sure. If you let pear ripen on the vine, then they will break down at the core and become soft and mushy on the inside. To determine the readiness of the fruit, be aware of the ease of removal. If there are already pears on the ground that have fallen from the tree, more than likely, you may be too late. However, you should surely pick all of them.
To measure if the fruit it ready to be harvested, you can gently pull on the stem of the fruit. If the fruit snaps off cleany from the twig, then the pears are ready to be picked. Logically, on larger trees the fruit on the top ripens more quickly than the fruit near the bottom of the tree. Once the fruit is picked, then you can allow it to ripen naturally. However, there are other varieties of pears that don’t allow for natural ripening once removed from the twig. Late ripening varities such as Anjou, Bosc and Comice. These particular varieties are a little more high maintanence. The need about 3-4 weeks of storage in 32-45 degrees temperature–you can store them in a refrigerator or a cellar if it is cool enough. Furthermore, wrapping these varieties while they are ripening is a good idea, to prevent shriveling. Below is a listing of places where you can pick your own pears.
In the last couple of years, the pomegranate has been all the rage…with this new juice appearing on the shelves. This seasonly available fruit is renowned for its nutritional properties. Studies show that the juice from this fruit is one of the most powerful antioxidants, which contains a very high level of polyphenols and other free radical-fighting agents.
In 2006 the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published a study which showed that “the polyphenolics in the fruit can play an important role in the modulation of inflammatory cell signaling in colon cancer cells.”
Have you ever wanted to know how to peel a pomengranate? I found this video on You Tube and tried it out myself. This a very good technique, although I still have difficulty with the pomengranate. I think it is a difficult fruit to easily enjoy, like the simple banana.
Prunes are the dried result of a plum. Surely, we all know the biggest benefit of them is regularity! Hallelujah for that! Plums have impressive antioxidant properties, but when converted into their dried counterpart their antioxidant powers can increase by as much as 600 percent! They have a wrinkly texture on the outside and a chewy texture on the inside.
A recent study done at Oklahoma State University found that the dried fruit can help reverse bone loss due to menopause. It suggested that dried plums can reverse a particular process of osteoporosis previously thought to be irreversible.
They are used in many cooking dishes and are also used in making juice. The constipation elixir. They are a rich dietary fiber as a result.
Growing the goji berry is no an easy task. Learn how to grow goji berries and about growing goji plants below.
Being able to grow your own food is always an extra advantage financially and nutritionally. Goji berry plants, Lycium Barbarum or Chinese Wolfberry, are woody perennials and known to be very adaptable.
They prefer a lot of sun, liking places that are hot and dry in the summer. The plant originated in the Himalayas. However they will grow in areas that are humid as well. The plants can tolerate very cold winters as well. But, truly, the only way to find out whether or not a wolf berry will grow in your area is to buy one, bring it home, plant it and see if it grows!
Growing Goji Berry from Seed
If you are going to grow the berry plant from a seed, then you will want to freeze the berries for a month (replicating a hard winter). If you are not growing them from seeds, you can obviously skip this step.
Once they have been frozen for a month, soak them in water in a germinating tray. If you wait a week to 10 days, they will germinate in due time, as the water soaking will make the berries think that it is a wet spring – an important part in growing goji berry.
Once they have germinated, be sure to put them in planter starter pots. You’ll want your soil to be a mixture of worm castings and biological compost, as well as sand to make sure any excess water can drain out of the pots. Let it be known that wolfberries grow in soil of ph of 8.2 to 8.6 in their native environment.
The germinated goji berries should be planted about half an inch down in the pots, of course, plant large berries down deeper. A goji berry seed is smaller than a tomato seed.
In another 10 days to 2 weeks you will notice that the plants start coming up. Once the wolfberry sprouts it is adaptable. The plants grow very slowly in the first couple of months and once their roots get to the bottom of the pot, they will stop growing.
Growing Goji Berry from Cuttings (and continuation of growing them from seed)
If you are taking cuttings from a well-established plant, then you will want to transfer them to 5 gallon buckets as soon as possible (this goes for the germinated berries from the starter pots as well). These 5 gallon buckets should be equipped with drain holes (you can punch them in the bottom if you would like).
The wolf berry plant at its full size is about 8 feet tall and is usually a bit wider than 8 feet. If you keep them in the 5 gallon bucket, they will not reach their full 8 feet, because like the starter pots, the 5 gallon bucket will stop their growth once the roots reach the sides of the bucket.
The shrubs do not yield berries until their third year of growth, but many people also use the leaves of the shrub as salad greens.
In its third year of growth, the shrub will yield purple and white trumpet-like flowers from summer until the first freeze; those flowers will eventually turn into berries.
To keep the shrub growing to its maximum potential, be sure to clip the buds of the plant to get more branches to grow.
DANGERS TO THE GOJI BERRY PLANT:
Birds
Deer
Rabbits
Tomato Worms
Other Insects
You can propagate the plants by taking cuttings, once they are well-established.
Goji berries are very tender and bruise easily. As a result there is no quick way to pick them. So take your time and be patient to get the best yield.
As the shrub gets older in age, it will produce larger and more nutritious berries.
If you are taking cuttings from a well-established plant, then you will want to transfer them to 5 gallon buckets as soon as possible (this goes for the germinated berries from the starter pots as well). These 5 gallon buckets should be equipped with drain holes (you can punch them in the bottom if you would like).
