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| Autumn at the farmhouse |
We
weren’t ready to make elderberry jelly until Sunday morning. As
you’ll recall from the pre-event post, on Wednesday Mike and I picked
elderberries from a very sincere bush, and I processed the juice. I also
processed juice from country apples. Apple juice tames the flavor of elderberries.
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| Little Canyon |
For
several years, Hallie and Nick have used Pomona’s pectin rather than the more
common grocery-store brands because it calls for less sugar, allows for
adjustments, and is perhaps a softer set. With Pomona’s, you can make any
amount of jelly you wish – from a small batch to larger ones, whereas other
brands insist on a set recipe. So, I decided to give Pomona’s a try.
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| A northern view |
Hallie
and I started with a double batch in order to make quick work of this process.
(If I’d been thinking, I would have suggested experimenting with a half batch.)
I can’t recall the amount of juice, but we used the maximum amount of sugar
suggested for elderberry jelly, which was only four cups. Hallie said we could
taste and make adjustments before before ladling into jars. However, we
forgot. I have one word for that batch – BLEAH! But Hallie thought Nick might
like it. “There’s a point at which the sugar overwhelms the taste of the
berries,” she pointed out. Yes, but we weren’t nearly there.
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| Long evening shadows |
So,
we had enough juice to make another batch. This time I added the recommended
amount of sugar plus an extra cup. We remembered to taste and decided it was
fine.
Sunday was a beautiful day, and in
the afternoon, Hallie decided she really wanted to pick elderberries as part of
the experience. And since Nick couldn’t come this year, she thought it would be
a nice idea to take juice home with her. It was late in the day and I had
misgivings. I could see that we / she would be working into the night, and
these days I seldom work on my feet in the evening hours. But – Hallie was
determined, and so at 4:00 p.m. we went off to pick elderberries. I took her to
the sincere bush, and she was impressed that it was indeed loaded with clumps
of plump little elderberries. It was just a matter of pulling them into reach –
easier said than done – and then snapping the clump off the bush. And they were
ready to snap, too. Mike also came and the three of us picked lots of berries.
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| Evening sun |
And
yes, Hallie was indeed working into the night while I sat with my feet up. But
– she’s been my daughter all these years and knows about how far I go.
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| More evening sun |
At breakfast Monday morning, we had toast and jelly with our scrambled eggs and agreed that the second (sweeter) batch of jelly does have a nice spreadable set. And before Hallie left to return to Seattle, we divided the jars of jelly and the jars of juice. I hope to make more elderberry jelly before the P.E.O. silent auction in November. Sisters are already requesting it, and I'm thinking I might make a really sweet batch with the old-fashioned pectin. After all, my reputation is at stake. KW
2 comments:
Hmm, I've heard of Pomona pectin and now I'm intrigued. Looked them up on the internet and found I could buy at the Co-op here. When I was getting my teeth buffed the other week, the dentist (mom of my regular dentist who sometimes fills in) mentioned that she was thinking of giving it a try (although she couldn't remember the brand, just that they sold it at the co-op).
I ordered my Pomona's Pectin through Amazon, and it was expensive. Hallie said that it could be found less expensively through other outlets. I plan to continue to experiment with it next year.
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