[Sca-cooks] elderberries

[Johnna Holloway]

149. To make Syrup of Elder.
Take ElderBerries when they are red, bruise them in a Stone Mortar,  
strain the Juice, and boyl it away to almost half, scum it very clean,  
take it off the fire whilst it is hot; put in Sugar to the thickness  
of a Syrup, put it no more on the fire, when it is cold, put it into  
Glasses, not filling them to the top, for it will work like Beer.

The Accomplish'd lady's delight in preserving... 1675

I checked EEBO-TCP and there are not that many recipes. One book gives  
a recipe for a Cherry tart and then says 'use other berries'.

There's a wine recipe in Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery.

Johnnae

On Jun 17, 2010, at 5:58 PM, Pixel, Goddess and Queen wrote:

>
> I meant a period or modern use. ;-)
>
> I haven't found many period recipes for the berries so much, perhaps  
> because they are toxic and bitter unless they're cooked. You can  
> make jam/jelly/preserves with them as well as wine, as mentioned we  
> (or, rather, my grandfather) made syrup, and there are period  
> recipes for using the berries to make a blue color on leather.
>
> Margaret FitzWilliam
>
>