Elderberry Wine

The Old Farm was truely an old farm.
It appeared to be a prosperous farm in the 1800s.
The house was expanded in Victorian times from

its original farmhouse. 

There were old orchards; pear and apple.
A quince tree, vineyard, and black raspberries gone wild.
Walnut trees and a patch of elderberry bushes.

Elderberries (Sambucus) were/are used medicinally by many.

The berries are black or very dark blue and have a sharp, sweet flavor 

that makes them highly preferred for desserts, syrups, jams, jellies.

They are full of minerals, antioxidands, and vitamins.

For many years an old couple would come by in the right season

and ask to pick some berries. Of course permission was given.
That was the way in the country. 

A couple months later a bottle of elderberry wine would appear! 

ELDERBERRY JELLY
(From Kraft Foods page)

3-4 lbs ripe elderberries

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 packet sure jell

4 1/2 cups gran sugar

1/4 tsp butter

Place berries in a large pot and crush with a potato masher to release 

some of the juices. Turn the heat to medium and continue to crush

 as the mixture heats up to a boil. Once the berries and their juices reach a boil,

 reduce the heat to low and let the berries simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Slowly transfer the mashed berries and juice over the sieve (or 4 layers cheesecloth)

to strain the juice into the pot. Let strain for an hour. 

 You will need 3 cups of juice to make one batch of jelly if using MCP pectin, 

3 3/4 cups of juice if using SureJell pectin

Place 3 cups (or 3 3/4 cups depending on your brand of pectin) of juice into a large, 

high sided, wide pot (8-quart). Add the lemon juice and pectin. 

Bring to a boil on high heat. 

Add sugar and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon. 

Bring to a boil again. Watch the pot as the mixture will foam up considerably. 

You may need to lower the heat a bit to keep the foam from boiling over the pot.
Add  sugar and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon. 

Bring to a boil again. Watch the pot as the mixture will foam up considerably. 
You may need to lower the heat a bit to keep the foam from boiling over the pot.
Boil exactly 1 minute, ladle into jars and seal in a hot water bath, 5 minutes.