Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) Making Juice

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?QEEFV 14 August 2011 Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) Making Juice

This is the first picking of elderberry for 2011.The elderberry bushes are loaded with fruit this year. This picking had a weight of 12 pounds.

The berries are made into juice. Process is: Pick by pulling directly on the berry mesh. It removes easily from the bush. Remove berries from the structure by swiping across a one inch mesh screen. This only takes a few minutes.

Wash the berries and strain. Add water about one inch below the berries and gently boil. Beat into a mash using the portable blender.The mash is then put through a fine mesh screen. The residue from this straining is then put through a juicer to get maximum nutrients.

The juice is then boiled again gently to remove all air. Then placed in one liter jars and Pressure Canned at 12 PSI for 15 minutes. Pressure canning allows the juice to be stored at room temperature for about a year. Five liters of juice was obtained from about ten pounds of berries. Two pounds of berries equates to one liter of juice.