Elderberry - How to Process
In this video, we explore the magnificent Elderberry. It can be a bit of a process to actually get the berries off of the stem though, in order to have them ready to make into syrup, wine, etc. I show my method for getting the berries off the vine FAST, washing, and then drying in order to get them ready to use!
TIMESTAMPS:
Introduction - 0:00
Method Information - 1:04
Method Demonstration - 2:19
Cleaning Information - 4:25
Cleaning Demonstration - 5:28
Summarizing - 6:57
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#elderberry #foraging #wildfood
Пікірлер: 84
You are a life saver! You have no idea how any wasted hours we spend trying to get elderberries off by hand! HOURS! All the years processing elderberries and I didn't think of that. Thank you for making and sharing this video.
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
Haha I’m so glad that it helped! Long process times are what might turn people off to wild food, so it’s always good to expedite. :D
Thank you from Scotland! Enjoyed your video, my first time harvesting elderberries :)
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
Wonderful! Hope all is well in Scotland. Happy foraging. :)
Just picked (California) elderberries for the first time. Your videos are a lifesaver
Glad I saw this video. I don't have freezer space for the other method and I like that I can leave the unripe ones behind
This is what I am knee deep in today. My method is pretty much the same. I don't mind purple fingers (most of it washes off) so I just roll/shake them off into a bucket. A couple of good rinses and then they go into the oven/dehydrator. Cool, then store in a glass jar for my syrups. T'is the season right NOW! Happy harvest!!
This is SO MUCH EASIER! Where have you been for the last 40 years of my life??😂
Thank you for this tutorial. It will help me next year speed up the process.🥰
Thanks, bro. I'll have my first Elderberry plants in the yard this season and I'll try your method.
@FeralForaging
5 ай бұрын
Great! I'm actually using a different method now, the "freeze" method. I'll make a video of that when the season hits for me this year!
@patmancrowley8509
5 ай бұрын
@@FeralForaging Okay! I'll keep an eye out for your new video when the season comes around. In the mean time I'll use this presented method on my first crop. Thanks again for the education. If you're not learning at least one thing new every day then you're falling behind!
We harvest them, break Don the tops into single stems, wash em . Then we I them into the dehydrator 155 degrees for 9 hours. Take an out , one rack at a time and keep the bottom plastic flat catcher under it. Then roll the dehydrated berths on the mesh rack. Still don't know how to get all the lil dems out yet? But this works. Thanks for the information.
My aunt would put them immediately into a steam juicer and partially fill gallon jugs then freeze them for later or make wine.
I loved this video. Super educational and honestly really satisfying to watch! XD I have my first batch of Elderberries and so I'll have to try this method for pre-processing them.
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
Best of luck! Let us know how it goes. :D
Yes, that works, however unripe berries do shake off along with ripe ones.
I like the idea of the soft sided cooler instead of the bucket… A lot less bruising
@FeralForaging
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it works great! I don’t end up with smushed elderberries everywhere.
The only thing I would do differently is use a five gal bucket with water and the strainer to scoop the berries out hopefully the bugs have landed on the bottom and away from my berries. Maybe that would be less work for me and more debris and bug removal. Going to pick mine today!
@FeralForaging
3 жыл бұрын
Best of luck to you! Let me know how it goes.
Love your method! And love the cicalas chirping in the background. They reminded me of my wonderful years in Viginia. Now I live in the central italian appenines but no cicalas and NO HUMMERS.😢
Awesome video.
Interesting method, thanks! Will try it this year.
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
let me know how it works!
I got it. Thanks.
Elderberry in the UK have smaller bushels so I simple hand comb them off the stems.
This video was so helpful. Thank you
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome! Thank you 🙏🏼
Fabulous, great work buddy...🙋♀️
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much 😁
Hi there🙋♀️ Was wondering if you can do a video of making syrup. Thanks..🙋♀️
I’ve been freezing them first but I’m going to give this a try. It looks like this year has been a good year for elderberries.
@FeralForaging
5 жыл бұрын
It has been, we're about ready to harvest here!
@suerogers2931
11 ай бұрын
I have bushels so I use a hair metal pick. Then shake 1/2 to 1 cup in a baking pan to remove noseeims or tiny mites .when I have a gal. Or more I put them in a large tall dish pan and fill it with water. Next skim of any berries that float (they aren't ripe). I repeat this 3 times then strain the berries and freezedry ,dehydrate or cook and can them. This works for cultivated berries. Native berries are dryer and so I double clean before washing and removing any unripe berries. 1pint of fresh berries equals 5 oz. Dry measure or 4.5 oz. weight dehydrated. I then vacuum seal in mylar bags.
Love it thanks
@FeralForaging
Жыл бұрын
Welcome!
Learned something new
@FeralForaging
5 жыл бұрын
Glad that you did!
Great videos...keep up the good work!!!Excited to see the next ones!! Oh and where did you get this bag from? :P Greetings from Greece!!
@FeralForaging
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. :) Here is a link to the bag - theherbalacademy.com/product/plant-identification-foraging-tote-bag/
Do you process then further to get rid of the toxicity?
Good video. Seems like elderberries are all the rage right now. Wish I had known this before we cut down the 20-ft tree encroaching on the deck at our new place. Oops.
@FeralForaging
3 жыл бұрын
That's okay, now you know! Maybe you can plant more. :D
Somehow I missed this video! What did you end up doing with the elderberry?
@FeralForaging
5 жыл бұрын
Lots of syrup; has proven helpful this flu season!
Freezing also ruptures cell walls making juice extraction more efficient. I steam juice my berries.
@FeralForaging
Жыл бұрын
I *just* learned about steam juicing! I'm excited to try it. :D
Where did you get your leaf identification bag???
Can anyone tell me what was the warning message that came up on the screen when he was going back over the process at the end? I tried to seek and pause but couldn’t read it. Thanks
I've been hand-picking my berries off: a messy situation! Waiting for this year's harvest to ripen and I'll be attempting berry removal this way. Praying it works, but then this year's berries are terribly slow to ripen. Are there enough prayers to pass around these days. TY
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
Best of luck! Let us know how it goes. :D
@suerogers2931
11 ай бұрын
For sweeter berries wait til the shine turns dull before picking. Usually 2 days.
Where may I purchase the tote?
I always wanted to grow these and lingonberries
@FeralForaging
3 жыл бұрын
I'm not experienced with growing myself, but this one is also on my to-plant list!
@racheltuomi8695
3 жыл бұрын
@@FeralForaging yeah,they are all really healthy to eat; good immune system boosters and for the blood. I take Elderberry every day but it would be better to grow it 😄
Wait but how would you turn them into wine/jam?
Where in Alabama are you. Are the a lot of wild Elderberries there or do you have hybrids? I am thinking of a move to the Florence area.
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
We have a lot that grow along roadsides and fields! I'm in North AL.
When I was cleaning my berries I seen a white worms do I throw them all away
@FeralForaging
Жыл бұрын
You don’t have to, it’s almost inevitable they’ll show up. Just make sure to freeze or cook ASAP.
@marykennedy1678
Жыл бұрын
Do I wash them before cooking them down
Busting berries?
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
I don’t understand the question.
@bradbrown2168
2 жыл бұрын
@@FeralForaging banging them, are the berries smashing or staying in tact?
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
At least with this soft shelled cooler, nope! No smashed berries.
What do they taste like raw? Mine don’t have much taste at all.
@FeralForaging
4 жыл бұрын
This is correct. They taste like almost nothing raw. Caution with the seeds because they are toxic and should not be ingested.
@spagnot
4 жыл бұрын
@@FeralForaging Thank you. They seem to have very little sugars in them. I plan to make a mead with them so most of the sugars will come from honey.
@FeralForaging
4 жыл бұрын
@@spagnot let me know how it goes!
@persiusk
3 жыл бұрын
You shouldn't really eat many of them raw. I love mead, would enjoy hearing about that proc ss
Do you have to take little stems off
@FeralForaging
11 ай бұрын
I don’t worry about it too much
I just picked elderberries here in Molino Fl,next to Alabama. but they have different leaves and the stems are red.
Thank you I'm hoping this works. So far I have been working on cleaning these elderberries for about 2 hours and they're still little pieces of twig in them I tried seeing if the twig would float that didn't work I've been using tweezers to get the unripe berries out. I started by freezing them cuz I saw that being recommended. I'm about ready to cut down the tree I'm so disgusted with how much I've lost in this process and I'm not even near the end. But since your video I'm going to try to dry them and see if the debris is easier to take out. I'm being very cautious because I heard from a herbalist and nurse practitioner that if you don't get all the little pieces of twig and leaves out, It acts like a abortive product so very dangerous for pregnant women and nursing.
@katrynlord6516
5 ай бұрын
Oh and I also started out with probably three cups worth and I'm down to a half a cup what a pain. I'm thinking by the time I get done with the whole thing I'll have a tablespoon of juice lol😂
Crazy background noise, dogs & those noisy bugs!
@FeralForaging
Жыл бұрын
True
@amykru
11 ай бұрын
I thought I heard some kind of music layered over all of the other noises as well. It was rather unfortunate but the elderberry information was helpful.
My berries won't come off like that,lol
@FeralForaging
2 жыл бұрын
Are you sure they are ripe? Unripe berries don’t come off for me like this.
Yeah, it takes about 6-8 hrs to process a gallon of fruit in a ziplock. It's ridiculous! Thanks!