I would agree with your assessment of the freezing method. I've found that freezing them before de-stemming really makes a mess because they thaw out pretty quickly and become mushy. The fork method on fresh berries gives me the best results. Alternatively, if you are making elderberry juice/syrup, you can go direct to a steam juicer and not even have to worry about getting the fine parts of the stems off. That does not work if you want to keep whole berries, though.
I agree on all parts! When I use my steamer juicer I rinse them off with the sprayer on my faucet. I cut off the majority of the big stems and put the rest in the steamer juicer!
I’ve never eaten elderberries before. I heard a lot about them when we lived in Idaho, but I never had the opportunity to eat some. But they look delicious. Do you have a big garden?
I do have a raised bed garden but I have our elderberry plants in our berm. They can get very large and thus would be more suitable as a landscaping plant versus garden plant.
Great video! I'm just starting out and your video was very informative. I have a question? I read they have a toxin in the seeds. I'm assuming the 125 until done will make them safe to eat?
As the berry ripens the cyanide decreases. Dehydrating does that too. Cooking them (making tea, simmering for stripe, jam/jelly) for a short time completes it
Thank you Jeanine! It appears that my exact model is no longer on Amazon (at least right now), BUT it is on the Excalibur website. Here it is directly from the manufacturer: excaliburdehydrator.com/products/3948cdb-excalibur-9-tray-digital-48hr-timer-black?rfsn=6901075.77e7f5&variant=1106608422958
Thanks for all the great info! I was curious how people harvested and dehydrated their own elderberries. Now I just need to find some :)
I would agree with your assessment of the freezing method. I've found that freezing them before de-stemming really makes a mess because they thaw out pretty quickly and become mushy. The fork method on fresh berries gives me the best results. Alternatively, if you are making elderberry juice/syrup, you can go direct to a steam juicer and not even have to worry about getting the fine parts of the stems off. That does not work if you want to keep whole berries, though.
I agree on all parts! When I use my steamer juicer I rinse them off with the sprayer on my faucet. I cut off the majority of the big stems and put the rest in the steamer juicer!
Great info! I’m hoping to add Elderberries to our homestead!
Thank you! They are prolific growers so make sure you give them space :-)
I’ve never eaten elderberries before. I heard a lot about them when we lived in Idaho, but I never had the opportunity to eat some. But they look delicious. Do you have a big garden?
I do have a raised bed garden but I have our elderberry plants in our berm. They can get very large and thus would be more suitable as a landscaping plant versus garden plant.
Great video! I'm just starting out and your video was very informative. I have a question? I read they have a toxin in the seeds. I'm assuming the 125 until done will make them safe to eat?
As the berry ripens the cyanide decreases. Dehydrating does that too. Cooking them (making tea, simmering for stripe, jam/jelly) for a short time completes it
Correct! Cooking them or heating them in any way removes the cyanogenic glycosides.
When there froze take shake them in a bucket by holding the stems hit the sides of the bucket
With the frozen first do you think the majority of the medicinal value is gone?
No I don't. Especially if you are freezing relatively soon after harvesting.
broken link to the Amazon dehydrator...
Thank you Jeanine! It appears that my exact model is no longer on Amazon (at least right now), BUT it is on the Excalibur website. Here it is directly from the manufacturer: excaliburdehydrator.com/products/3948cdb-excalibur-9-tray-digital-48hr-timer-black?rfsn=6901075.77e7f5&variant=1106608422958
Beautiful woman
DeStem them first not after freezing. It's easiier.