Elderflower Jelly
Elderflowers come before elderberries on the elder shrub or tree. Once the blooms fade, the berries start, and then, a few weeks later, they’re hanging down, heavily ripe. Walking through our elderberry orchard right now, the rich floral scent of elderflowers hangs in the air. This year, we decided, for many reasons, to harvest some of the elderflowers.
Like all of our plantings, we do not use pesticides on our elders, and only use natural fertilizers. They grow on our own property, far from traffic.
We began harvesting elderflowers, and top in our mind was what to make from them. Mike grew up in Sweden, and elderflower is a taste he grew up with, so we had lots of ideas to choose from.
The wild blackberries at the back of our property were ripening at the same time, so wild blackberry and elderflower jelly seemed like the perfect place to start. While harvesting the next batch, we decided on elderflower jelly. While it has no honey in it, the taste is similar to a rich floral honey. We love it, and hope you do, too.
