Friday, September 11, 2009

Elderberry spiced healing honey

When we moved here in mid-June I spied some Elderberry bushes in bloom.  I wanted to pick them when they were ripe and test out some Elderberry recipes.  We ended up going camping and when I got back they were all dried up on the bush.  I went ahead and picked them anyway and  found some delicious sounding recipes on this great blog.
I really wanted to try the herbal honey paste and decided to put my chocolate fondue burner to good use.  It needed to simmer for 10 hours and I figured this was the perfect (low energy) way to do it.  A tea light candle made a very good low heat source.
The ingredients were just honey, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and elderberries.
It cooked down to a delicious thick herbal healing honey.
The day after it was done we packed up and headed to the beach for the whole day and what should I find as we pull into the parking lot?  Loads and loads of Elderberries in various juicy stages of ripeness. ;-)
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7 comments:

  1. affectioknitSeptember 11, 2009 at 12:01 PM

    Thanks for the Flow of Love link - very interesting - I wish I could get my hands on some elderberries...

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  2. nettlejuiceSeptember 11, 2009 at 12:03 PM

    Heather, thanks for the link. Great idea to use your fondue burner. Your elderberries look different than mine. Mine are smaller and the stems are bright purple and in an umbel formation.

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  3. sheilaSeptember 11, 2009 at 6:12 PM

    Oh you are one perfect Waldorian, you are. I should know: my dh and his kin are all former occupants or teachers of Waldorf schools. I'm still quivering in fear that I've bought the one poisonous elderberry bush...

    Heather, you boggle my mind at the things you get up to.

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  4. LeighSeptember 13, 2009 at 5:51 AM

    What an excellent idea the herbal honey is. Love that you used your fondue pot, very clever! To bad I chunked mine a long time ago.

    Thanks too Heather, for the link. I've been contemplating elder bushes as I work on our master plan, so all this info was a clincher. They are in my future!

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  5. HeatherSeptember 16, 2009 at 1:42 PM

    Hi Nettlejuice - those ones in the pic are Blue Elderberries (I think) and they are just not quite ripe yet, it seems to me that the stems turn more purplish/red once they ripen, there were some on the same plant with a redder stem. Some of the have a very white waxy coating and some look like they've just been dusted in icing sugar. The ones up here at our place are Black Elderberries (again...I think). ;-) I'm hoping to learn more about the different varieties.

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  6. HeatherSeptember 16, 2009 at 1:45 PM

    Shelia - do you mean the Red Elderberry? I've read a few different accounts now of it and I am wondering if it really is toxic or if it is just the seeds in the red ones that are toxic. Seems each book I read in has some different info.

    Yes, I do like to get up to all sorts of things. I'm one of those sorts of people who likes to say, "Yes!!" (and a most emphatic Yes!) to everything life has to offer, you know? Methinks perhaps you do know. ;-)

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  7. HeatherSeptember 16, 2009 at 1:49 PM

    Hi Leigh - yes, I was so pleased I thought to use my chocolate fondue pot for this (not that I think it isn't worth having a chocolate fondue pot even if you only ever use it for chocolate fondue. I think fresh local fruit is amazing in its own right but dip it in a little melted dark chocolate and Oh My!!) ;-)

    I decided to also use the fondue pot for heating oils with flowers (mullein or calendula) on the days that aren't sunny enough to warm the infused oils. It seems to work well. I love that it is only using a candle and I don't have to have a burner turned on for ages.

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