Today I have one tray of okra and three trays of elderberries in the freeze dryer. I will use fresh elderberries to make elderberry syrup and tincture. I do not can the elderberry syrup but will make a couple of quarts. We normally start taking this in the fall but we’re going to go ahead and start because of various bugs/viruses going around. I will probably have enough frozen elderberries to last through the winter and will make more syrup as needed. In the event, I run out of fresh elderberries, or for some reason I don’t get any next year, I can use the dried elderberries.
vivoaks says
My husband loves elderberry jelly, but all the plants I found around our property have died, so I have nowhere to find any. Wish I had some here….
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I wonder why they died. I didn’t know it was possible to get rid of an elderberry. If you can find one in along the road or wherever, whack off a piece of it and stick it in some soil. Here, I stuck a couple of dozen of the pieces I trimmed off in dirt and they all grew and are even producing already.
Joyce says
Are elderberries easier to freeze dry than blueberries? I know you said you have to prick the skin on each blueberry for freeze drying, and that’s too much of a hassle.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Yes. No holes needed. 🙂
MARIE L. says
Could you lightly grind blueberries and then freeze dry that mixture? It wouldn’t be the same as whole berries but you might be able to make syrups or use them in smoothies, yogurt, etc ?
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I don’t feel like EVERYTHING has to be freeze dried. But, if we wanted to freeze dry blueberries, we could prick them with a sharp needle and freeze dry them. That’s all it takes and goes surprisingly quickly once you start doing them. Then, they appear as whole blueberries but with the skin punctured, the moisture can be dried out. We flash freeze blueberries and keep them in the freezer. We do the same with blackberries. That way, we can grab a few out as needed (or wanted) and munch on them. On a hot summer day, a few frozen blueberries or blackberries are excellent snacks.
As much as I cook and as much as we eat, we don’t make smoothies.