Market Farming

[Roger Weeks <rjweeks70 AT comcast.net>]

My mother has made elderberry (western elderberry - sambucus mexicana) 
and chokecherry jelly for years and years.  Aside from the nectarine 
jelly we make now, these are my favorite jellies.

Many home canners will have seen one of these, but if you haven't, look 
for a steam juicer.  A picture and description of one is here: 
http://store.yahoo.com/dotcoms/bacsteamjuic.html

Basically it uses a 3-piece kettle with water, colander and catch basin 
to steam the juice out of fruits.  It's much less labor intensive than 
straining, and you get a wonderful clear jelly.

Also, to cut the sweetness of elderberry jelly, you can use apple juice 
or crabapple juice to cut the sugar back and add some tartness. 
Currants would work too except they don't grow well here in the west.

Roger Weeks

Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 10:54:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: "C. DeBerry" <deberryfarm AT yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Elderberry jelly
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>


We've made elderberry jelly for years.  Never jam,
though.  The seeds are so large for the amount of
berry that is there, is easier to render out the juice
in a berry strainer than try to separate seeds from
skins and juice.

You only have to remove the large stems, you don't
have to take them off the little stems  (called
"shattering") for jelly -- this will save you loads of
time.  Just throw the washed berries on the  little
stems in a pot with a little water, crush them and
heat through, stir often, then pour into a berry
strainer to drain.

Elderberry jelly tends to be rather sweet, so we
always substitute about 1/2 cup of red currant juice
in place of part of the elderberry juice in the
recipe.  I believe the recipe calls for 3 cups
elderberry juice and 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 pack Sure
Jel and 4 1/2 cups sugar.

I hope this helps!  Good luck!
C. DeBerry
www.DeBerryFarm.com