elderberry melomel
- Thread starter hepcat
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Try Wayne B's recipe http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13151&highlight=elderberry&page=2
Elderberries with some complementary fruit and a yeast that is great for dark melomel's
I just planted 10 little Florida-native elder trees in my yard, and hope to be making an elder flower mead and an elder berry mead. Actually, the little "elder ladies" where who first pointed me in the direction of checking out mead-making, lol. The elder leaf is also edible and I thought of making an elder leaf mead, but not sure on how that would taste...
I am not sure that they will be big enough this year to give me a crop, but the (very nice) nursery-man I got them from made "cuttings" for me from some wild elders he had growing on an uncultivated back lot on his property (he only charged me 6 bucks fr the lot of them!). I am thinking of paying him another visit and seeing if he will be willing to let me pick some of the berries this year for a fee as he doesn't use them and they just grow wild there...
Honey
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Elder leaves and stems contain a cyanogenic glycoside (Sambunigrin) that is poisonous. So do unripe (and even some ripe) berries. If you boil the leaves the toxin may be broken down, but I'd be careful otherwise.
Also, if you plant elderberries in your yard, watch out as they will take over and they are extremely difficult to kill or remove.
Also, if you plant elderberries in your yard, watch out as they will take over and they are extremely difficult to kill or remove.
wow - I'm glad you said something. I was under the impression they were edible and I've already chewed up one to see what it tasted like! (Still kicking, though, lol.) Well I suppse I will stick to the berries and flower.
Honey
Yeah, well Filleul would be where I'd send you first if you were a Patron, since many folks think it is a good application of elderberries in a mead. Since we have to save some things for our Patron members, I won't give away too much about that specific recipe here but I will say that elderberries by themselves tend to make rather deep, dark, earthy flavored melomels and wines, and so I recommend adding some more tart, acidic fruit to the recipe to provide the "high notes" that are lacking in elderberries alone. I used black currant for that in the Filleul recipe.
so many delicious sounding recipes in the Patrons section. And the fact that they've been "Proven" is a big bonus.
I just ordered 1 lbs of dried elderberries(Sambucus nigra) a few days ago and was planning to make a elderberry mead ...
I made a 1 US gallon elderberry mead about a year ago. I had never tasted it before and did not expect anything. It was positively suprising that it was sort of reminiscent of red wine. As I think I remember(The notebook only says pretty good) the honey got overpowered. I might also have had some problems getting it started to ferment(I dont remember clearly). This mead did not get any aging.
The "non proven" recipe I used (I think I got it somewhere, but dont remember where) was just 2 dl(~0.2 quart) dried elderberries, ~2.25 lbs clover honey for 1 US gallon total.
Definitely worth a go
especially if you got a lot of free berries and extra especially if its only small quantities like a couple of US gallons. Take a look around, for example on places jackkeller.net dried berries, fresh berries or otherplaces to get some guidlines. Other than that you should probably follow the advices of experienced people like wayneb's post #12.
I made a 1 US gallon elderberry mead about a year ago. I had never tasted it before and did not expect anything. It was positively suprising that it was sort of reminiscent of red wine. As I think I remember(The notebook only says pretty good) the honey got overpowered. I might also have had some problems getting it started to ferment(I dont remember clearly). This mead did not get any aging.
The "non proven" recipe I used (I think I got it somewhere, but dont remember where) was just 2 dl(~0.2 quart) dried elderberries, ~2.25 lbs clover honey for 1 US gallon total.
Definitely worth a go
especially if you got a lot of free berries and extra especially if its only small quantities like a couple of US gallons. Take a look around, for example on places jackkeller.net dried berries, fresh berries or otherplaces to get some guidlines. Other than that you should probably follow the advices of experienced people like wayneb's post #12. Should the berries and flowers be boiled for a certain amouth of time before they can be considered "safe"(especially if other people than myself drink it)?
Yes I knew about the potential toxicity of the leaves, stems and branches of the plant which does some what concern me, I would be super careful to only use ripe berries and make sure to cull all other plant parts before using in a mead must. And I might also heat them too, and would def freeze them before use too.
And no worries re the recipe, I've found a few others online.
But would you be willing to just share with me how many lbs/pints or whatever you use per gallon of must Wayneb?
They grow wild all over the place around my area so can get pretty much all I'll need later this summer.
And no worries re the recipe, I've found a few others online.
But would you be willing to just share with me how many lbs/pints or whatever you use per gallon of must Wayneb?
They grow wild all over the place around my area so can get pretty much all I'll need later this summer.
I find no need to boil flowers or ripe berries. You can pour hot (boiling) water over fresh berries or you can steam juice them, but I've not found that to be needed. With dried berries you don't need to worry as the drying process destroys the toxin in the berries.
