Each year we discover something new on the farm. In addition to our black walnut tree, this summer we discovered an elderberry bush along our southern fence line. By chance, we caught the bush at the exact right time - it was loaded with ripe and juicy berries and the birds had not yet begun to eat them all up. Ian and I hate for anything to go to waste so we picked all the berries, washed them up and transformed them into several jars of elderberry preserves - both jam and sauce.
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We were not really sure what elderberry preserves would taste like
so it was a bit of an adventure. As it turns out,
elderberries taste similar to blueberries. |
The elderberry jam was intentional; the sauce was a surprise. As we try our hand at new and different farm-related endeavours, we are constantly learning new life lessons. This one was: do not use expired boxes of pectin as your jam may not set.
After our first round of elderberry jam making - none of it set; it was
all sauce. So, Ian underwent Round 2 (I will admit that I went to bed at this point) of which we had about 50 percent setting success. Consequently, about half our jars contain elderberry jam and the other half a more runny elderberry sauce. This was a lucky accident because it turns out that elderberry sauce is absolutely delicious on homemade waffles. A life lesson accompanied by delicious waffles - who can ask for more?!
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