North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[<kbrubaker@nc.rr.com>]

hello,

I have seen some posts mentioning use of elderberries for various purposes, 
but i am curious how some of you are processing the fruit.  We used an auger 
style food mill this past year to make quite of bit of juice from our Adams 
and Johns berries.  During the process we noticed quite a bit of "oil" on the 
surface of the juice, but didn't think much of it.  The juice was divided up 
into freezer bags and frozen immediately after processing (no heating).  Upon 
thawing, some of the bags are fine, but others now have a significant 
greenish oil that has separated out.  Should we have heated the juice before 
freezing?

Up until this past year we have just frozen the whole berries and used them 
in baked goods.  I can't tell any difference in the baked foods used with 
this past years berries, so i don't think the crop was any different than 
usual.

any thoughts?

Thank you,
Kurt
Durham, NC