August 20, 2025 • 29 mins
Anna and Jenny talk about the over-hyped elderberry as a home remedy, what it’s actually good for, and the ways you can preserve it.
They discuss which types are safe, and which are not, they discuss that it isn’t especially effective, and you shouldn’t spend a lot of money to access these products.
Here’s the link to the articles that we reference: https://www.consumerreports.org/medicine-and-treatments/natural-cures-guide-which-work-which-dont-a2935767175/
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-9446-play-it-safe-when-preserving-elderberries
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/sp-50-536-preserving-fruits-wild-berries-fruits
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the PerfectlyPreserved Podcast.
I'm your host Jenny Gomes.
And I'm Anna Cash.
Here we come together to bringyou a podcast all about
preserving food safely, easily,and dare I say, perfectly.
At home.
We are master food preserversmoms wives, and we love talking
about canning.
ready to can like a masterpreserver.
(00:20):
Let's get into today's episode.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (00:22):
welcome back to another episode of The
Perfectly Preserved podcast.
I'm Jenny, and I'm here with myco-host, Anna, and we are so
excited to talk today about whatmight feel like a little bit of
a controversial topic,elderberry, and whether or not
you should be preserving it.
There's actually a ton toconsider when elderberry both as
a home remedy and as a safe orunsafe.
(00:44):
Home preservation option Beforewe dive in, thank you so much to
everyone who has left us areview.
It seriously helps our podcastso much reach the earbuds of
other canners when you leave usa review.
it also helps when you share itwith a friend.
So thank you.
Thank you so much for that.
let's dive in to all thingselderberry.
Anna, if you were to describewhat you think of when you think
(01:08):
of elderberry, what do you thinkof?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (01:11):
I don't know.
for me, elderberry is like this.
I don't wanna say almostmythical, but it's like this
syrup that people in healthymom's groups that they talk
about.
oh, if you're feeling under theweather, just take a spoonful of
elderberry.
it has magical healing qualitiesand, we're not here to say
(01:33):
definitively one way or theother, but we definitely are
gonna talk about it.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (01:37):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (01:38):
preserve it.
We're gonna talk all about it.
So hopefully this isn't ahundred percent controversial,
but we do wanna talk about
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (01:45):
Yeah.
So elderberry has definitelybeen super hyped up as one of
those things that people willsay if you can do, you can your
own elderberry.
And I've been asked about it alot.
It grows
squadcaster-7310_2_ (01:56):
elderberry.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (01:57):
where I live, both right where my home
is and then up in the mountains.
and which is unique, I thinkbecause.
I'm sure that lore, that crunchymom homestead lore probably has
spread to parts of the nationwhere it isn't local.
So one thing that I was reallythinking about when planning
this episode was the mom or thefamily that's trying to boost
(02:19):
their kids' immunity, but theydon't have that foraging, that
free, basically, that freeelderberries.
Should they spend the money toget their hands on some
elderberry?
That was really the person I wasthinking of when we were
thinking about this episode.
but we're gonna start with themost important information that
we could share that is a hundredpercent a fact.
There are a couple types ofelderberries and some are
(02:43):
absolutely not acidic enough forsafe water bath canning.
I didn't know this because theonly kind that grows near me.
At the very tip top ofCalifornia is the kind that's
safe to water.
Bath can.
So lucky for me, I don't have tochange what I do or what I know
about elderberries, but thereare a couple different types of
elderberries that are not safefor canning because they're not
(03:05):
acidic enough.
and then today we're referencinga couple different articles from
the Oregon State UniversityExtension Office.
Then, I guess I'll start withthe one that says, play it safe
when preserving Elderberries.
So elderberries are native toNorth America.
They're a popular landscapingherb.
They're actually very pretty.
I feel like the green leaves arepretty, the berries are pretty.
(03:28):
but there's a couple types thatif you're thinking of canning or
sourcing them from someone, youneed to know which kind you're
getting.
Blue elderberries are native tothe west.
You can use them in any canningrecipe as you would a high acid
berry, just like blackberries,blueberries, or strawberries.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (03:45):
They
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (03:46):
would say, almost sky blue because
they're blueberries are powderedwith a white, natural powder, a
powdery appearance.
It's a dusky blue when they'reripe.
So they're sky blue They're verypretty.
Like they're the color of youreyeshadow.
If it's 1986, right?
They're very blue.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (04:04):
Yes.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (04:05):
they're really pretty.
their leaves are, A prettynondescript, I would say not
notable, but it's the powderreappearance of their
elderberry.
The berries when they're ripe,that would signal safe.
The powdery sky, blue, safe, andthey're native to the west.
The American elderberry nativeto the eastern United States.
They have been domesticated andthey're available in nurseries.
(04:26):
Their leaves are a lot, to me,they look skinnier in this
picture.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (04:30):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (04:31):
They have different colors of berries
and they do not have the powderycoating.
They are safe to freeze, safe todehydrate, but do not use them
like a high acid fruit.
research in both Oregon andMissouri have shown American
elderberries vary in acidcontent and are not consistently
below the 4.6 pH, so they'reconsidered a low acid food.
(04:54):
You could easily.
Freeze them, dehydrate them, butI wouldn't can them.
So if I were you and I lived in,anywhere where these blueberries
are.
Blue, blue and not the dusky,powdery whited coating.
I would be very thoughtful aboutwhere you get your elderberries
from, from whom you purchasedthem.
If you bought any kind ofelderberry, tincture,
elderberry, tea, elderberry,anything.
(05:15):
I would ask which cult ofra arethese?
Are these American elderberries?
Are they blue?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (05:20):
are these
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (05:20):
What do they look like before you
process them?
there's also another kind calleda European elderberry
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (05:26):
also
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (05:26):
they are also domesticated and they
are like,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (05:29):
also
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (05:30):
berries look in this picture much bigger
and very dark, very black, blackpurple.
And they are high in acid butthey are difficult to
distinguish from the Americanelderberries.
be thoughtful then.
And then there are redelderberries and I actually.
Okay, this is Monday.
On Saturday, I was hiking withfriends in the mountains
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (05:49):
on
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (05:50):
and
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (05:50):
I.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (05:51):
came across a bunch of red
elderberries, and I thought,these must be elderberries, but
I didn't.
I had never seen red ones inperson.
And sure enough, this picture isexactly like what saw in the
mountains, so they look exactlythe same as the blue.
Their leaves are the same, butthe berries are a beautiful,
bright red.
There's not enough research doneon these red ones, but they do
(06:13):
have a higher toxinconcentration, which we're gonna
talk about, particularly in theseeds.
So it would not be wise to usethese for food preservation or
for eating.
if you were starving in themountains and you ate these,
you'd end up with a bellyache orworse.
So I wouldn't use the beautifulred ones.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (06:30):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (06:31):
So that's the most important thing
that we definitely, if you clickoff from here and you've taken
the most important thing, it'snot the most controversial thing
we'll say today, but it is themost important that if you are
going to be preserving, we wantyou to be very clear on which
variety you have in front ofyou.
And.
The safe kind are the kindthat's native to the west and
have the powdery white coatingon top of the blue, so they're
sky blue.
They're actually so much like myheadphones, if you're watching
(06:53):
this on YouTube, they're verysimilar to my headphone color.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (06:56):
Mm-hmm.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (06:57):
so
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (06:57):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (06:58):
go ahead Anna.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (06:58):
And I would say too that it's not
necessarily that the other twoaren't safe to make syrup with,
but canning it is notrecommended because of the pH
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (07:08):
Great.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (07:09):
So the red ones were like, the
information isn't out.
We don't wanna use the red onesat all, but the European or the
American elderberry, those aresafe to use, but not for canning
because of their low acid
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (07:26):
Right.
let's talk about whether or notelderberry is the magical cure.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (07:31):
Not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (07:32):
imo, immunity boosting make you
better when you're sick.
thing that so many people on theinternet are sharing when they
are selling you.
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (07:41):
internet
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (07:41):
Some of these supplements, what have
we found, Anna?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (07:44):
Well, we are going to link an article
by the consumer reports aboutnatural cures guide, basically
like talking about differentthings, supplements or
practices.
It even goes into like massagebut they are saying that not
necessarily that elderberry isgoing to prevent you from
(08:06):
getting sick.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (08:07):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (08:07):
it can help you.
That can help in the aid ofgetting better if you are
feeling unwell.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (08:14):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (08:14):
know.
What are your thoughts about
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (08:16):
Right.
So consumer reports, I love thembecause they are not-for-profit
and they just test all thethings.
and I actually subscribed tothem when we were starting our
home remodel so that I couldread about like which dishwasher
is most likely to not break downand get my dishes clean and the,
for that type of unbiasedinformation.
And, I just love this articlebecause it covered a ton of
(08:37):
different home remedies.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (08:39):
it
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (08:39):
And it is more than happy to give
credit where credit's due, butwhere there's information
lacking or EV evidence In thecontrary, it's just very
interesting to read, and I thinkwhat probably has happened in
the elderberry world is thatthere's a lot of people who are
able to make money off ofselling elderberry,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (08:57):
who to
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (08:58):
I think it kind of has some of
that, like lore around itbecause it's like a beautiful
color.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (09:03):
It
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (09:04):
It just has a wonderful mix of the
homemade and it's like you canget it, but it's a little, it's
not everybody can have it.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (09:11):
I,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-20 (09:11):
thriving off of some really good PR
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (09:14):
uh.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (09:14):
and the research.
Indicates we've read both thatit's inconclusive, like maybe it
helps, maybe not in terms ofhelping you get better when
you're sick.
And then some just said flatout, it doesn't make any
difference at all.
Like the Consumer Reportsarticle pointed out that
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (09:28):
all
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (09:29):
when people were sick and either they
were given a placebo or theywere given elderberry, there was
no change in the duration orseverity of their symptoms.
I also think elderberry hasreally been given a lot of hype
as like it boosts your immunity,which you might believe would
help prevent you from gettingsick in the first place.
And that is not actually whatthat means at all, and it's not
what elderberry is gonna do foryou
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (09:49):
means at all.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (09:50):
to what research we were able to
find, which is kind of a bummerbecause it feels really great to
be.
Preserving something that youwanna feel good about giving
your kids before they head backto school or before you travel
in an airport or whatever.
That feels really good to dothat.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (10:05):
in an
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (10:05):
But based on what we've read, and
again, we'll link what we'veread, I don't think that you, I
would feel very confident sayingto our listeners, I would not
spend
squadcaster-7310_2_08 (10:14):
confident
jenny-gomes_1_08-04- (10:15):
inordinate amount of money getting your
hands on elderberry because thebenefits that we can feel
confident.
Saying it will give you
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (10:23):
confident.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (10:23):
same as many other healthy foods that
you probably have much easieraccess to.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (10:28):
Foods
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (10:28):
other vitamin C rich foods like
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (10:31):
other
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (10:32):
If you can get your hands on apples
but not elderberries for anaffordable price, I think your
time and money would be farbetter spent on something like
applesauce or oranges or thananything that's more readily
available.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (10:45):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (10:46):
a good, it is a good source of
vitamin C and like many otherwild berries that does have some
other nutrition to it.
But for the hype that's reallybeen built up around elderberry,
I just, I don't think, Iwouldn't spend any money getting
it personally, and I wouldn'trecommend our listeners do it.
You know what I mean?
Have you seen like people sellthe supplements, the powders,
(11:07):
the tinctures, the syrups?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:09):
the dehydrated
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (11:10):
Oh
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:11):
the syrups I've seen.
yeah, I've seen a lot of it.
And part of it is you cannotfault people for
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (11:19):
yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (11:20):
back to the land wanting to do more
natural
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (11:23):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:24):
But you also need to realize that
maybe that hike up into themountains did you more good than
the elderberries
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (11:30):
Yeah,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:30):
You
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (11:31):
a hundred percent.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (11:32):
getting outside and, and having that
exercise and the fresh air, Ithink does a lot for your immune
system as
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (11:40):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:41):
and has been known to, to be a
little bit more helpful thanelderberry.
and like Jenny said, there areso many fruits and vegetables
that we can eat, that we cangrow, that we can forage, that
are chock full of vitamins andminerals.
And, I'm a huge proponentanyway.
I don't know about Jenny, butI'm a huge proponent of having a
(12:02):
really varied diet and that canalso help, keep your immune
system up.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (12:08):
Yeah, like if I had a friend who
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (12:10):
Yeah,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (12:11):
a surgery or suddenly was sick, or
God forbid worse, like reallyill, my first thing that I would
preserve them would not beelderberry.
It honestly would be bone broth.
It's easy on the tummy.
It has lots of nutrition.
You can't really get from lotsof other places quite as easily.
if I were at a canner.
Faced with oh gosh, I gotta comeup with a nutritional powerhouse
(12:31):
for someone I love elderberry.
Wouldn't even make the list,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (12:34):
Yes.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-20 (12:35):
wouldn't even come up near
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (12:38):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (12:38):
list.
I did wanna share though.
Um, so Elderberry is availableto me for free, all over the
place.
I can pick it when it's inseason, I can get my hands on
it.
So I have definitely preservedit a lot.
Um.
It makes a tasty pancake syrup.
We're gonna talk about somerecipes in a little bit, but,
um, it's important that therecipes you use have added
(13:00):
sugar, which you may not beexcited about.
Um,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (13:03):
Which you may not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (13:04):
my sister has kids that are younger
than mine, so when hers weregetting close to the age where
they were gonna be, you know,need a little immune boosting,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (13:11):
where they were.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (13:11):
We juiced elderberries.
She was leaning more into evenif it maybe helps, well then I'm
gonna give it to'em, which isgreat.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (13:18):
it's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (13:18):
Great.
Give your kids the elderberryjuice.
That's great.
But juice with no sweetener,it's berry sour.
So then we were like, okay, sowe're gonna put all this honey
in it, and then we put a littlebit of apple cider vinegar in
it, and then we justrefrigerated it at the back of
her fridge.
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (13:32):
Vinegar.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (13:32):
So the apple cider vinegar was
still like living.
Honey was still doing what HoneyDoes, soothes your cough, but is
it gonna, is it a magical cureall?
Maybe, maybe not.
but it was, I'll tell you, it'svery hard to get it to taste
good without sugar.
So even if you don't, can it,and you're still just thinking
about consuming it, It's alittle bit of a trick to get it
to be something you can chokedown.
(13:53):
but thinking about.
That is really important.
And that's something we, thatwas like our controversial
episode for the season, I guess,like whether or not you would
spend any money on elderberry.
it is important to note that rawelderberries are toxic and they
can make you sick.
if you ate a lot of them, youwould probably suffer cyanide
poisoning, which soundshorrific.
(14:13):
And I don't know if there'sanyone out there that's gonna
eat a ton of them raw, but youshould, think twice before doing
so.
Gosh, where am I hitting?
Hitting all the notes, Anna?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (14:22):
Yeah.
The most important thing is thatif you're gonna use.
Elderberries, just make surethat you're cooking them, that
you're not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (14:28):
Yeah,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (14:28):
it's super important because that
cooking process,
jenny-gomes_1_08-0 (14:32):
neutralizes.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (14:33):
that, cyanide property.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (14:35):
Hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_ (14:35):
Neutralizes the cyanide that's in
elderberry.
So, even if you got.
Dehydrated elderberries in themail, you would need to cook
those
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (14:43):
Hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (14:44):
into some type of syrup.
But it's a, it's an interestingtopic.
I mean, I think anybody who'sspent any amount of time being a
mom or having kids, you've heardof people saying, oh, you know,
you just need to give him alittle bit of elderberry syrup
and it'll
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (15:00):
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (15:00):
knock that flu right
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (15:02):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (15:02):
Uh, but.
Yeah, this consumer report and,and I need to look into the
study that they did actuallyand, and really like dive into
the statistics of it.
but it just said, you know,taken four times a day, one
teaspoon each.
I think it
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (15:18):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (15:19):
let's see, yeah, it says, in it people
who took elderberry extract fourtimes daily for five days saw no
difference in how.
Long their flu lasted and howlousy they felt compared to
those who got a placebo.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (15:32):
Right.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (15:33):
you know,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2 (15:34):
Hopefully it feels good.
Like,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (15:36):
little awkward.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (15:37):
yeah, I'm like, sorry, don't wanna
rain on your parade, everybody.
Hopefully it feels good.
Like if you don't have access tothat, we don't want you to feel
like, oh man, I gotta spend abunch of time and money to get
my hands on elder barrier, orwhat else will I give my kids?
That's not, I don't think that'ssupported by facts at all.
I think if you enjoy making itand giving it to your kids, then
that's awesome.
But I would not go outta my wayat all to source it
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (16:01):
my way
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (16:02):
as a way to boost my kid's
immunity.
When surely you have somethingelse available to you that is
also wholesome, organic,something that you felt really
good about, like some other highvitamin C fruit.
Something with fiber.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (16:16):
Mm-hmm.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (16:17):
the other thing.
The berries are minuscule.
The berries themselves arereally tiny
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (16:22):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (16:22):
and they're kind of a pain,
honestly.
I mean, they're great orwhatever, but they're not easy.
They're way smaller than chokecherries.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (16:30):
not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (16:30):
They're the, I'm holding my hand up.
Like they're a little bittyguys.
Um, maybe that's a good segue.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (16:35):
teeny.
They look like bbs almost.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (16:37):
Yeah.
So small.
So maybe this is a good segue totalk about, like, how can we
preserve them?
If you wanna do it, let's getinto how you can, can them.
When you're harvesting them, you
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (16:47):
harvesting
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (16:48):
like, if you're like a, like, I like
to do things correctly, person,you might want to pick all them
off individually and you'll justbe standing there for so long,
which is fine if you wanna standthere for so long.
If you don't, you can take apair of, like either kitchen
shears or loppers and just nipoff the big clusters so that
that's what you bring home.
And then on those big clusters,you can just throw the whole
(17:10):
cluster into the freezer.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (17:11):
and then on those?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (17:11):
Then once they are frozen, they knock
off of the cluster much easier.
So that is the tactic I've usedusually, unless the elder
berries themselves are quite abit bigger than I remember one
year I was like, dang, these areall really big.
And I think I was able to kindof pull them off pretty easily.
So, I mean, again, if you wannapick'em all off one by one, go
(17:32):
ahead.
But you can easily freeze themand then knock them off those.
That's pretty easy.
I have never done this, but inone of the articles from the
Oregon State Extension, itdescribed how to preserve them.
And it talked about using ascreen, so knocking them over a
screen that's set over a bowl,which looks like a really good
(17:52):
idea.
it's called screening.
So that's like a cooling rack.
That seems like a really smartway to do that.
I always juice mine in a steamjuicer and I think we have an
episode all about steam juicers,or about how to steam juice.
How to make juice.
So that's how I juice mine.
Did you do a different methodwhen you made yours, Anna?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (18:13):
man?
It's been years.
I don't even remember the methodthat I used.
picked mine from up in themountain and like you said, they
were really small and I waslike, am I even gonna get
anything out of these?
I, I'm sure I used a steamedjuicer.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (18:26):
Yeah.
And it takes a lot of them.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (18:28):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (18:29):
This is not a,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (18:30):
a lot of
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (18:30):
it's not like an easy win.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (18:31):
gonna ask you like how much juice,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (18:34):
Geez.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (18:35):
much elderberry juice do you get out
of like per
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (18:39):
Yeah, for,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (18:40):
how, I don't even
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (18:41):
I'm looking on this article from
Oregon State, which I just lovebecause it's all fruit that I
have near me.
The recipes that they give forhigh sugar jams and jellies that
you can use with elderberries,it's 16 ounces of berry pulp or
juice.
So to get 16 ounces of juice isquite a bit like, I don't know,
(19:04):
a five gallon bucket full of theclusters.
Do you think that's a goodguess, Anna?
Quite a bit.
Maybe more.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:10):
Yeah.
I mean, you would have to have alot because they're
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (19:13):
They're so small.
You have to ask yourself, is thejuice worth the squeeze?
A lot of work to get in there.
I think that's what we say ifyou're gonna butcher a rooster
or not, will the juice be worththe squeeze?
Will it be worth all the work?
But, elder, I mean, you can doit.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (19:26):
Such a hilarious Absolutely.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (19:28):
Well
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (19:29):
That's what I
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (19:29):
good
squadcaster-7310_2_08 (19:30):
currents.
I'm like, is the juice worth thesqueeze?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (19:32):
Because they're small too, right?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:34):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (19:34):
Yeah.
You gotta ask yourself, do Ireally want.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:36):
yeah, I would say at least.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (19:38):
Yeah,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (19:39):
at least a full hopper's worth in
your steam juicer
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (19:42):
at least for 16 ounces of juice,
not very much.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (19:46):
Mm-hmm.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (19:47):
It's not very much
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:47):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (19:48):
So once you steam them with that
juice, you would follow a highacid water bath canning recipe
for syrup like pancake syrup.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (19:56):
recipe for
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (19:57):
Or a sweetened juice.
And you can add spices if youwant.
The one time we did this, I didthis with my sister, we did add,
I wanna say clove and maybeginger, We were just trying to
like, make it as warming.
Did it help?
I don't know.
God only knows.
but if you have those things onhand and you wanna do it, it
tasted pretty good.
With the honey, the apple cidervinegar and some spices.
(20:19):
And maybe that will feel amazingto you.
Maybe you should do that.
the thing that I would makeagain and again with it is a
beautiful purple jelly,beautiful blue ribbon jelly,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (20:29):
jelly.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (20:30):
jelly at the county fair.
But that is not what you'reprobably think of when you think
of elderberry.
You think of like.
Curing cancer, but this is justjelly for your toast,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (20:38):
Right.
And I don't know about you,Jenny, but when I made
elderberry syrup, it wasn'tlike, this is so delicious.
I want to eat a lot of it.
I feel like you really have toadd a lot of sugar or other
flavors to it.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (20:51):
with.
Sugar.
So this organ state says for 16ounces of juice, you do 19
ounces of
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (20:59):
of
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (20:59):
sugar.
So yes, that's a lot of sugar.
If you're new to this, that'squite a bit of sugar.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (21:04):
a
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (21:05):
I think the flavor of elderberry
is nice, but it's not, you know,stop, hold the presses.
It's good.
It's great, but it's not myabsolute favorite.
My dad actually really likes itand it's like part of his
nostalgia, like his mom made it.
It's very pretty.
We have it growing on the ranch.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (21:22):
very
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (21:23):
It's very pretty.
It's tasty, it's sweet, it'sfruity.
I think the flavor of chokecherries is like more of a
unique taste.
And even though you have to adda ton of sugar, it's still
delicious.
Unique.
It has a taste, elderberry has ataste, but
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (21:40):
elderberry
jenny-gomes_1_08-04- (21:41):
remarkable and less interesting to me
personally than choke Chewy.
I don't know.
Yeah.
I mean, it's good, but it's notthe best goodness.
I mean, maybe someone out there,if you love elderberry, great.
I'm so glad you do.
But it's just isn't, it's not apreserve that I would like
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (21:55):
We're not.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (21:56):
have to make every year.
We're not hating on elderberry.
We promise
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (22:00):
Yeah, we're not gonna yuck anyone's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:02):
Yes.
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (22:03):
elderberry
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:04):
No.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:05):
like the best end all be all.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (22:06):
Yeah.
Eat it.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (22:07):
Um, but you know what I would say,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:10):
Yes.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (22:11):
I would say that I actually love
elder flour syrup.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:16):
Oh,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:16):
Have you ever made that?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (22:18):
is that from the same?
That is from the same plant.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:20):
Yes.
The flowers have this gorgeous,really strong heady smell.
It's beautiful in the spring,the Oregon State Extension has
it near the bottom.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:33):
Ooh.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:34):
like 10 to 20 elder flower, clusters
and some lemon, some citricacid, and you make a simple
syrup
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:41):
ooh.
squadcaster-7310_2_08 (22:42):
gorgeous.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:43):
Oh,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (22:44):
And if you don't have access to
elder flowers right now, you cango to IKEA and purchase elder
flour syrup.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:53):
What Ikea?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (22:54):
What?
It's wonderful.
I went and got
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:57):
The furniture store.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (22:58):
Yeah,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:59):
The one that's like a maze.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (23:00):
In their food department.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (23:03):
What?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (23:03):
If you can find their food
department, have like ablueberry syrup and a lingen
berry and elder flower.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (23:11):
Wow, that is a surprise.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (23:14):
If you wanna be the fanciest girl
at the ball, you bring an elderflower syrup to your next get
together and some club soda andsome ice and maybe some lemons
to cut into slices.
And everybody will be like, whatis this?
It's delicious.
it's wonderful.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (23:31):
That elder flower recipe is on the
Oregon State Extension website.
At the bottom, it has like ablue, background on the recipe.
And this not only looksdelicious, it looks easy.
See, like the dopamine you wouldget from making some fabulous
drink with friends is probablygonna be better for your health.
Like some tincture that someperson on the internet sold you
(23:53):
for way more than what it'sworth.
Sorry.
that is a great recipe.
There also is a recipe forelderberry vinegar, which sounds
fun, and that probably has, somemerit to it.
That sounds awesome.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (24:06):
Mm-hmm.
sounds awesome.
Yeah, and it would be a reallypretty color.
It would be like that dark bluecolor
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (24:12):
be beautiful.
And then
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (24:13):
the berries
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (24:14):
there's elderberry syrup also.
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (24:16):
Elderberry syrup
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (24:18):
you know, if you wanna make
elderberry syrup and serve it toyour kids on pancakes, I feel
like that was a fun and greatidea.
And I've done that in the past.
And I just think my kidsactually were, they were like,
next time make blackberry syrup.
Or it like, it's good.
Wasn't their favorite, but thereis a good recipe on this website
for it.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (24:35):
sure.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (24:36):
okay.
Talk to us about dehydrating.
Did you ever dehydrate,elderberries?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (24:40):
I haven't.
I imagine it would be prettyeasy.
You want'em to be bone dry, andthen you can package them for
later,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (24:47):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (24:48):
in a, I would say like a paper bag,
not a plastic one, just in casethere's any type of moisture.
it's similar to like drying outseeds for the next season.
You'll wanna make sure thatthere's good airflow and that
they're dehydrated in that way.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (25:03):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (25:03):
you could also hang the clusters and
dry them out if you don't have adehydrator.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (25:08):
So when I dehydrated'em.
it was kind of a lot of work fornot very many berries, but, I
just snipped off the big clusterhead.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (25:15):
Like
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (25:16):
They really look like some sort of
anatomical, like clusters ofnerves or something.
They're kind of interesting, soit's like a big cluster.
And then on them are smallerclusters.
So I cut all the small clustersoff so I could spread'em out on
a dehydrator tray and.
Then once they're crispy dry,then you can just pull up the
crisp.
Ooh, they're a lot like a dillhead.
That's probably a more sensible,comparison.
(25:37):
Okay.
Then I held up the, the head
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (25:40):
It's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (25:40):
and then
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (25:41):
shape
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (25:41):
Yes, and then kind of crumbled off
the dried berries, and thatworked great.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (25:46):
The
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (25:47):
a good, fast way of dehydrating
that I'd say.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (25:49):
Nice.
And how did you use them afteryou dehydrated them?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (25:53):
I don't know if I even did I,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (25:55):
Or did you,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (25:55):
I think I did it and then it was
like, it just took like a whole,a whole dehydrator full was like
three quarters of a cup ofberries.
I mean, it was almost nothing.
I remember being like, well,that was a lot of time for.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (26:06):
Wow.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (26:07):
And I just also think of the
dehydrated berries as somethingpeople may buy on the internet
or buy from source unknown.
And if you thought you weregoing to get them and then
rehydrate them and can them, youneed to know what variety they
are and you may not be able totell because they're dry as a
bone, right?
You wouldn't maybe know just bylooking at them.
So I just feel like there'sgotta be some people victimized
(26:29):
by people overpricing theirelderberry out there.
I just feel pretty sure of it.
I don't like that.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (26:33):
Yeah.
It is hard, like you said,people are looking for a health
remedy and they might think, oh,if this is wild sourced or if
it's this or it's that.
some of those greenwashing.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (26:43):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (26:44):
Things that people say on their
packaging or on theirbusinesses.
if you're not careful, you canget duped a lot of times by
those
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (26:52):
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (26:52):
types of marketing strategies.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (26:55):
we aren't here to yuck your yum or,
harsh on your home remedy camp,you know, pantry shelf at all
because we love all the waysthat we can, feed our families
and feed ourselves nourishing,delicious things.
but I.
I've thought a lot about howelderberry has been really hyped
up to be probably more than whatit really is.
And we would hate for anyone outthere to be like, oh man, I
(27:16):
really gotta spend a lot of timeand money getting my hands on
these tiny little berries thatdon't have a lot of juice.
Because one, there's differentvarieties that you need to be
aware of, and two, the researchis not there to make me think
like, oh man, this is,
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (27:29):
research is not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (27:30):
this is really worth a lot of work
and money to get your hands on.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (27:33):
right.
Yeah, I think that is the bigtakeaway.
let food be thy medicine andmedicine, be thy food, said the
famous Hippocrates, but have avariety, look for all different
ways to get your vitamins andminerals
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (27:46):
mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (27:47):
Have a varied diet.
Don't just think that this onething is gonna be the thing that
is gonna be your end all cureall,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (27:54):
right, right.
And if you can get intosomething delicious and enjoy
it, then that's amazing.
We're so happy to support that.
Just be sure you're using thekind of berries that are the
powdery blue and, all will bewell.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (28:05):
Yes.
For canning and everything else.
put it in your fridge and thatlasts how long, Jenny?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (28:11):
Um,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (28:12):
six
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (28:12):
yes.
Long time.
Mine lasted a long time.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (28:15):
Maybe longer than that you can also
freeze
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (28:18):
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (28:19):
Yeah.
So there's options out there, Ithink whatever you're gonna do,
make sure that you're doing itsafely.
You can check out our show notesfor the links to the articles
that we have referenced,hopefully this was helpful for
you.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (28:31):
And not too highly controversial.
It's like we should have alittle, like a little micro list
of like Anna and Jenny's mostcontroversial episodes.
This will be one of them.
And then don't water glass youreggs.
That would be the second one.
And then, oh, the fermentedgarlic craze of post COVID or
right during COVID.
Everyone was trying to fermentgarlic.
That's also not a great idea.
(28:51):
Oh yeah.
We're not big fans of MeghanMarkwell show.
That was controversial of us.
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (28:56):
That's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (28:56):
Okay.
That's all we got, but
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (28:58):
All
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (28:58):
Happy preserving everyone.
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
(29:19):
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
Welcome to the PerfectlyPreserved Podcast.
I'm your host Jenny Gomes.
And I'm Anna Cash.
Here we come together to bringyou a podcast all about
preserving food safely, easily,and dare I say, perfectly.
At home.
We are master food preserversmoms wives, and we love talking
about canning.
ready to can like a masterpreserver.
(00:20):
Let's get into today's episode.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (00:22):
welcome back to another episode of The
Perfectly Preserved podcast.
I'm Jenny, and I'm here with myco-host, Anna, and we are so
excited to talk today about whatmight feel like a little bit of
a controversial topic,elderberry, and whether or not
you should be preserving it.
There's actually a ton toconsider when elderberry both as
a home remedy and as a safe orunsafe.
(00:44):
Home preservation option Beforewe dive in, thank you so much to
everyone who has left us areview.
It seriously helps our podcastso much reach the earbuds of
other canners when you leave usa review.
it also helps when you share itwith a friend.
So thank you.
Thank you so much for that.
let's dive in to all thingselderberry.
Anna, if you were to describewhat you think of when you think
(01:08):
of elderberry, what do you thinkof?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (01:11):
I don't know.
for me, elderberry is like this.
I don't wanna say almostmythical, but it's like this
syrup that people in healthymom's groups that they talk
about.
oh, if you're feeling under theweather, just take a spoonful of
elderberry.
it has magical healing qualitiesand, we're not here to say
(01:33):
definitively one way or theother, but we definitely are
gonna talk about it.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (01:37):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (01:38):
preserve it.
We're gonna talk all about it.
So hopefully this isn't ahundred percent controversial,
but we do wanna talk about
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (01:45):
Yeah.
So elderberry has definitelybeen super hyped up as one of
those things that people willsay if you can do, you can your
own elderberry.
And I've been asked about it alot.
It grows
squadcaster-7310_2_ (01:56):
elderberry.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (01:57):
where I live, both right where my home
is and then up in the mountains.
and which is unique, I thinkbecause.
I'm sure that lore, that crunchymom homestead lore probably has
spread to parts of the nationwhere it isn't local.
So one thing that I was reallythinking about when planning
this episode was the mom or thefamily that's trying to boost
(02:19):
their kids' immunity, but theydon't have that foraging, that
free, basically, that freeelderberries.
Should they spend the money toget their hands on some
elderberry?
That was really the person I wasthinking of when we were
thinking about this episode.
but we're gonna start with themost important information that
we could share that is a hundredpercent a fact.
There are a couple types ofelderberries and some are
(02:43):
absolutely not acidic enough forsafe water bath canning.
I didn't know this because theonly kind that grows near me.
At the very tip top ofCalifornia is the kind that's
safe to water.
Bath can.
So lucky for me, I don't have tochange what I do or what I know
about elderberries, but thereare a couple different types of
elderberries that are not safefor canning because they're not
(03:05):
acidic enough.
and then today we're referencinga couple different articles from
the Oregon State UniversityExtension Office.
Then, I guess I'll start withthe one that says, play it safe
when preserving Elderberries.
So elderberries are native toNorth America.
They're a popular landscapingherb.
They're actually very pretty.
I feel like the green leaves arepretty, the berries are pretty.
(03:28):
but there's a couple types thatif you're thinking of canning or
sourcing them from someone, youneed to know which kind you're
getting.
Blue elderberries are native tothe west.
You can use them in any canningrecipe as you would a high acid
berry, just like blackberries,blueberries, or strawberries.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (03:45):
They
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (03:46):
would say, almost sky blue because
they're blueberries are powderedwith a white, natural powder, a
powdery appearance.
It's a dusky blue when they'reripe.
So they're sky blue They're verypretty.
Like they're the color of youreyeshadow.
If it's 1986, right?
They're very blue.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (04:04):
Yes.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (04:05):
they're really pretty.
their leaves are, A prettynondescript, I would say not
notable, but it's the powderreappearance of their
elderberry.
The berries when they're ripe,that would signal safe.
The powdery sky, blue, safe, andthey're native to the west.
The American elderberry nativeto the eastern United States.
They have been domesticated andthey're available in nurseries.
(04:26):
Their leaves are a lot, to me,they look skinnier in this
picture.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (04:30):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (04:31):
They have different colors of berries
and they do not have the powderycoating.
They are safe to freeze, safe todehydrate, but do not use them
like a high acid fruit.
research in both Oregon andMissouri have shown American
elderberries vary in acidcontent and are not consistently
below the 4.6 pH, so they'reconsidered a low acid food.
(04:54):
You could easily.
Freeze them, dehydrate them, butI wouldn't can them.
So if I were you and I lived in,anywhere where these blueberries
are.
Blue, blue and not the dusky,powdery whited coating.
I would be very thoughtful aboutwhere you get your elderberries
from, from whom you purchasedthem.
If you bought any kind ofelderberry, tincture,
elderberry, tea, elderberry,anything.
(05:15):
I would ask which cult ofra arethese?
Are these American elderberries?
Are they blue?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (05:20):
are these
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (05:20):
What do they look like before you
process them?
there's also another kind calleda European elderberry
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (05:26):
also
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (05:26):
they are also domesticated and they
are like,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (05:29):
also
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (05:30):
berries look in this picture much bigger
and very dark, very black, blackpurple.
And they are high in acid butthey are difficult to
distinguish from the Americanelderberries.
be thoughtful then.
And then there are redelderberries and I actually.
Okay, this is Monday.
On Saturday, I was hiking withfriends in the mountains
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (05:49):
on
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (05:50):
and
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (05:50):
I.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (05:51):
came across a bunch of red
elderberries, and I thought,these must be elderberries, but
I didn't.
I had never seen red ones inperson.
And sure enough, this picture isexactly like what saw in the
mountains, so they look exactlythe same as the blue.
Their leaves are the same, butthe berries are a beautiful,
bright red.
There's not enough research doneon these red ones, but they do
(06:13):
have a higher toxinconcentration, which we're gonna
talk about, particularly in theseeds.
So it would not be wise to usethese for food preservation or
for eating.
if you were starving in themountains and you ate these,
you'd end up with a bellyache orworse.
So I wouldn't use the beautifulred ones.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (06:30):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (06:31):
So that's the most important thing
that we definitely, if you clickoff from here and you've taken
the most important thing, it'snot the most controversial thing
we'll say today, but it is themost important that if you are
going to be preserving, we wantyou to be very clear on which
variety you have in front ofyou.
And.
The safe kind are the kindthat's native to the west and
have the powdery white coatingon top of the blue, so they're
sky blue.
They're actually so much like myheadphones, if you're watching
(06:53):
this on YouTube, they're verysimilar to my headphone color.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (06:56):
Mm-hmm.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (06:57):
so
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (06:57):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (06:58):
go ahead Anna.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (06:58):
And I would say too that it's not
necessarily that the other twoaren't safe to make syrup with,
but canning it is notrecommended because of the pH
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (07:08):
Great.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (07:09):
So the red ones were like, the
information isn't out.
We don't wanna use the red onesat all, but the European or the
American elderberry, those aresafe to use, but not for canning
because of their low acid
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (07:26):
Right.
let's talk about whether or notelderberry is the magical cure.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (07:31):
Not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (07:32):
imo, immunity boosting make you
better when you're sick.
thing that so many people on theinternet are sharing when they
are selling you.
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (07:41):
internet
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (07:41):
Some of these supplements, what have
we found, Anna?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (07:44):
Well, we are going to link an article
by the consumer reports aboutnatural cures guide, basically
like talking about differentthings, supplements or
practices.
It even goes into like massagebut they are saying that not
necessarily that elderberry isgoing to prevent you from
(08:06):
getting sick.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (08:07):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (08:07):
it can help you.
That can help in the aid ofgetting better if you are
feeling unwell.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (08:14):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (08:14):
know.
What are your thoughts about
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (08:16):
Right.
So consumer reports, I love thembecause they are not-for-profit
and they just test all thethings.
and I actually subscribed tothem when we were starting our
home remodel so that I couldread about like which dishwasher
is most likely to not break downand get my dishes clean and the,
for that type of unbiasedinformation.
And, I just love this articlebecause it covered a ton of
(08:37):
different home remedies.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (08:39):
it
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (08:39):
And it is more than happy to give
credit where credit's due, butwhere there's information
lacking or EV evidence In thecontrary, it's just very
interesting to read, and I thinkwhat probably has happened in
the elderberry world is thatthere's a lot of people who are
able to make money off ofselling elderberry,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (08:57):
who to
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (08:58):
I think it kind of has some of
that, like lore around itbecause it's like a beautiful
color.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (09:03):
It
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (09:04):
It just has a wonderful mix of the
homemade and it's like you canget it, but it's a little, it's
not everybody can have it.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (09:11):
I,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-20 (09:11):
thriving off of some really good PR
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (09:14):
uh.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (09:14):
and the research.
Indicates we've read both thatit's inconclusive, like maybe it
helps, maybe not in terms ofhelping you get better when
you're sick.
And then some just said flatout, it doesn't make any
difference at all.
Like the Consumer Reportsarticle pointed out that
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (09:28):
all
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (09:29):
when people were sick and either they
were given a placebo or theywere given elderberry, there was
no change in the duration orseverity of their symptoms.
I also think elderberry hasreally been given a lot of hype
as like it boosts your immunity,which you might believe would
help prevent you from gettingsick in the first place.
And that is not actually whatthat means at all, and it's not
what elderberry is gonna do foryou
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (09:49):
means at all.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (09:50):
to what research we were able to
find, which is kind of a bummerbecause it feels really great to
be.
Preserving something that youwanna feel good about giving
your kids before they head backto school or before you travel
in an airport or whatever.
That feels really good to dothat.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (10:05):
in an
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (10:05):
But based on what we've read, and
again, we'll link what we'veread, I don't think that you, I
would feel very confident sayingto our listeners, I would not
spend
squadcaster-7310_2_08 (10:14):
confident
jenny-gomes_1_08-04- (10:15):
inordinate amount of money getting your
hands on elderberry because thebenefits that we can feel
confident.
Saying it will give you
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (10:23):
confident.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (10:23):
same as many other healthy foods that
you probably have much easieraccess to.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (10:28):
Foods
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (10:28):
other vitamin C rich foods like
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (10:31):
other
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (10:32):
If you can get your hands on apples
but not elderberries for anaffordable price, I think your
time and money would be farbetter spent on something like
applesauce or oranges or thananything that's more readily
available.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (10:45):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (10:46):
a good, it is a good source of
vitamin C and like many otherwild berries that does have some
other nutrition to it.
But for the hype that's reallybeen built up around elderberry,
I just, I don't think, Iwouldn't spend any money getting
it personally, and I wouldn'trecommend our listeners do it.
You know what I mean?
Have you seen like people sellthe supplements, the powders,
(11:07):
the tinctures, the syrups?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:09):
the dehydrated
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (11:10):
Oh
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:11):
the syrups I've seen.
yeah, I've seen a lot of it.
And part of it is you cannotfault people for
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (11:19):
yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (11:20):
back to the land wanting to do more
natural
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (11:23):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:24):
But you also need to realize that
maybe that hike up into themountains did you more good than
the elderberries
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (11:30):
Yeah,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:30):
You
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (11:31):
a hundred percent.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (11:32):
getting outside and, and having that
exercise and the fresh air, Ithink does a lot for your immune
system as
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (11:40):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (11:41):
and has been known to, to be a
little bit more helpful thanelderberry.
and like Jenny said, there areso many fruits and vegetables
that we can eat, that we cangrow, that we can forage, that
are chock full of vitamins andminerals.
And, I'm a huge proponentanyway.
I don't know about Jenny, butI'm a huge proponent of having a
(12:02):
really varied diet and that canalso help, keep your immune
system up.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (12:08):
Yeah, like if I had a friend who
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (12:10):
Yeah,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (12:11):
a surgery or suddenly was sick, or
God forbid worse, like reallyill, my first thing that I would
preserve them would not beelderberry.
It honestly would be bone broth.
It's easy on the tummy.
It has lots of nutrition.
You can't really get from lotsof other places quite as easily.
if I were at a canner.
Faced with oh gosh, I gotta comeup with a nutritional powerhouse
(12:31):
for someone I love elderberry.
Wouldn't even make the list,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (12:34):
Yes.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-20 (12:35):
wouldn't even come up near
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (12:38):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (12:38):
list.
I did wanna share though.
Um, so Elderberry is availableto me for free, all over the
place.
I can pick it when it's inseason, I can get my hands on
it.
So I have definitely preservedit a lot.
Um.
It makes a tasty pancake syrup.
We're gonna talk about somerecipes in a little bit, but,
um, it's important that therecipes you use have added
(13:00):
sugar, which you may not beexcited about.
Um,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (13:03):
Which you may not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (13:04):
my sister has kids that are younger
than mine, so when hers weregetting close to the age where
they were gonna be, you know,need a little immune boosting,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (13:11):
where they were.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (13:11):
We juiced elderberries.
She was leaning more into evenif it maybe helps, well then I'm
gonna give it to'em, which isgreat.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (13:18):
it's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (13:18):
Great.
Give your kids the elderberryjuice.
That's great.
But juice with no sweetener,it's berry sour.
So then we were like, okay, sowe're gonna put all this honey
in it, and then we put a littlebit of apple cider vinegar in
it, and then we justrefrigerated it at the back of
her fridge.
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (13:32):
Vinegar.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (13:32):
So the apple cider vinegar was
still like living.
Honey was still doing what HoneyDoes, soothes your cough, but is
it gonna, is it a magical cureall?
Maybe, maybe not.
but it was, I'll tell you, it'svery hard to get it to taste
good without sugar.
So even if you don't, can it,and you're still just thinking
about consuming it, It's alittle bit of a trick to get it
to be something you can chokedown.
(13:53):
but thinking about.
That is really important.
And that's something we, thatwas like our controversial
episode for the season, I guess,like whether or not you would
spend any money on elderberry.
it is important to note that rawelderberries are toxic and they
can make you sick.
if you ate a lot of them, youwould probably suffer cyanide
poisoning, which soundshorrific.
(14:13):
And I don't know if there'sanyone out there that's gonna
eat a ton of them raw, but youshould, think twice before doing
so.
Gosh, where am I hitting?
Hitting all the notes, Anna?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (14:22):
Yeah.
The most important thing is thatif you're gonna use.
Elderberries, just make surethat you're cooking them, that
you're not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (14:28):
Yeah,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (14:28):
it's super important because that
cooking process,
jenny-gomes_1_08-0 (14:32):
neutralizes.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (14:33):
that, cyanide property.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (14:35):
Hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_ (14:35):
Neutralizes the cyanide that's in
elderberry.
So, even if you got.
Dehydrated elderberries in themail, you would need to cook
those
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (14:43):
Hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (14:44):
into some type of syrup.
But it's a, it's an interestingtopic.
I mean, I think anybody who'sspent any amount of time being a
mom or having kids, you've heardof people saying, oh, you know,
you just need to give him alittle bit of elderberry syrup
and it'll
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (15:00):
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (15:00):
knock that flu right
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (15:02):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (15:02):
Uh, but.
Yeah, this consumer report and,and I need to look into the
study that they did actuallyand, and really like dive into
the statistics of it.
but it just said, you know,taken four times a day, one
teaspoon each.
I think it
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (15:18):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (15:19):
let's see, yeah, it says, in it people
who took elderberry extract fourtimes daily for five days saw no
difference in how.
Long their flu lasted and howlousy they felt compared to
those who got a placebo.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (15:32):
Right.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (15:33):
you know,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2 (15:34):
Hopefully it feels good.
Like,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (15:36):
little awkward.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (15:37):
yeah, I'm like, sorry, don't wanna
rain on your parade, everybody.
Hopefully it feels good.
Like if you don't have access tothat, we don't want you to feel
like, oh man, I gotta spend abunch of time and money to get
my hands on elder barrier, orwhat else will I give my kids?
That's not, I don't think that'ssupported by facts at all.
I think if you enjoy making itand giving it to your kids, then
that's awesome.
But I would not go outta my wayat all to source it
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (16:01):
my way
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (16:02):
as a way to boost my kid's
immunity.
When surely you have somethingelse available to you that is
also wholesome, organic,something that you felt really
good about, like some other highvitamin C fruit.
Something with fiber.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (16:16):
Mm-hmm.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (16:17):
the other thing.
The berries are minuscule.
The berries themselves arereally tiny
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (16:22):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (16:22):
and they're kind of a pain,
honestly.
I mean, they're great orwhatever, but they're not easy.
They're way smaller than chokecherries.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (16:30):
not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (16:30):
They're the, I'm holding my hand up.
Like they're a little bittyguys.
Um, maybe that's a good segue.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (16:35):
teeny.
They look like bbs almost.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (16:37):
Yeah.
So small.
So maybe this is a good segue totalk about, like, how can we
preserve them?
If you wanna do it, let's getinto how you can, can them.
When you're harvesting them, you
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (16:47):
harvesting
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (16:48):
like, if you're like a, like, I like
to do things correctly, person,you might want to pick all them
off individually and you'll justbe standing there for so long,
which is fine if you wanna standthere for so long.
If you don't, you can take apair of, like either kitchen
shears or loppers and just nipoff the big clusters so that
that's what you bring home.
And then on those big clusters,you can just throw the whole
(17:10):
cluster into the freezer.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (17:11):
and then on those?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (17:11):
Then once they are frozen, they knock
off of the cluster much easier.
So that is the tactic I've usedusually, unless the elder
berries themselves are quite abit bigger than I remember one
year I was like, dang, these areall really big.
And I think I was able to kindof pull them off pretty easily.
So, I mean, again, if you wannapick'em all off one by one, go
(17:32):
ahead.
But you can easily freeze themand then knock them off those.
That's pretty easy.
I have never done this, but inone of the articles from the
Oregon State Extension, itdescribed how to preserve them.
And it talked about using ascreen, so knocking them over a
screen that's set over a bowl,which looks like a really good
(17:52):
idea.
it's called screening.
So that's like a cooling rack.
That seems like a really smartway to do that.
I always juice mine in a steamjuicer and I think we have an
episode all about steam juicers,or about how to steam juice.
How to make juice.
So that's how I juice mine.
Did you do a different methodwhen you made yours, Anna?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (18:13):
man?
It's been years.
I don't even remember the methodthat I used.
picked mine from up in themountain and like you said, they
were really small and I waslike, am I even gonna get
anything out of these?
I, I'm sure I used a steamedjuicer.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (18:26):
Yeah.
And it takes a lot of them.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (18:28):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (18:29):
This is not a,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (18:30):
a lot of
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (18:30):
it's not like an easy win.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (18:31):
gonna ask you like how much juice,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (18:34):
Geez.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (18:35):
much elderberry juice do you get out
of like per
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (18:39):
Yeah, for,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (18:40):
how, I don't even
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (18:41):
I'm looking on this article from
Oregon State, which I just lovebecause it's all fruit that I
have near me.
The recipes that they give forhigh sugar jams and jellies that
you can use with elderberries,it's 16 ounces of berry pulp or
juice.
So to get 16 ounces of juice isquite a bit like, I don't know,
(19:04):
a five gallon bucket full of theclusters.
Do you think that's a goodguess, Anna?
Quite a bit.
Maybe more.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:10):
Yeah.
I mean, you would have to have alot because they're
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (19:13):
They're so small.
You have to ask yourself, is thejuice worth the squeeze?
A lot of work to get in there.
I think that's what we say ifyou're gonna butcher a rooster
or not, will the juice be worththe squeeze?
Will it be worth all the work?
But, elder, I mean, you can doit.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (19:26):
Such a hilarious Absolutely.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (19:28):
Well
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (19:29):
That's what I
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (19:29):
good
squadcaster-7310_2_08 (19:30):
currents.
I'm like, is the juice worth thesqueeze?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (19:32):
Because they're small too, right?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:34):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (19:34):
Yeah.
You gotta ask yourself, do Ireally want.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:36):
yeah, I would say at least.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (19:38):
Yeah,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (19:39):
at least a full hopper's worth in
your steam juicer
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (19:42):
at least for 16 ounces of juice,
not very much.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (19:46):
Mm-hmm.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (19:47):
It's not very much
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (19:47):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (19:48):
So once you steam them with that
juice, you would follow a highacid water bath canning recipe
for syrup like pancake syrup.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (19:56):
recipe for
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (19:57):
Or a sweetened juice.
And you can add spices if youwant.
The one time we did this, I didthis with my sister, we did add,
I wanna say clove and maybeginger, We were just trying to
like, make it as warming.
Did it help?
I don't know.
God only knows.
but if you have those things onhand and you wanna do it, it
tasted pretty good.
With the honey, the apple cidervinegar and some spices.
(20:19):
And maybe that will feel amazingto you.
Maybe you should do that.
the thing that I would makeagain and again with it is a
beautiful purple jelly,beautiful blue ribbon jelly,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (20:29):
jelly.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (20:30):
jelly at the county fair.
But that is not what you'reprobably think of when you think
of elderberry.
You think of like.
Curing cancer, but this is justjelly for your toast,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (20:38):
Right.
And I don't know about you,Jenny, but when I made
elderberry syrup, it wasn'tlike, this is so delicious.
I want to eat a lot of it.
I feel like you really have toadd a lot of sugar or other
flavors to it.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (20:51):
with.
Sugar.
So this organ state says for 16ounces of juice, you do 19
ounces of
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (20:59):
of
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (20:59):
sugar.
So yes, that's a lot of sugar.
If you're new to this, that'squite a bit of sugar.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (21:04):
a
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (21:05):
I think the flavor of elderberry
is nice, but it's not, you know,stop, hold the presses.
It's good.
It's great, but it's not myabsolute favorite.
My dad actually really likes itand it's like part of his
nostalgia, like his mom made it.
It's very pretty.
We have it growing on the ranch.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (21:22):
very
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (21:23):
It's very pretty.
It's tasty, it's sweet, it'sfruity.
I think the flavor of chokecherries is like more of a
unique taste.
And even though you have to adda ton of sugar, it's still
delicious.
Unique.
It has a taste, elderberry has ataste, but
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (21:40):
elderberry
jenny-gomes_1_08-04- (21:41):
remarkable and less interesting to me
personally than choke Chewy.
I don't know.
Yeah.
I mean, it's good, but it's notthe best goodness.
I mean, maybe someone out there,if you love elderberry, great.
I'm so glad you do.
But it's just isn't, it's not apreserve that I would like
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (21:55):
We're not.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (21:56):
have to make every year.
We're not hating on elderberry.
We promise
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (22:00):
Yeah, we're not gonna yuck anyone's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:02):
Yes.
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (22:03):
elderberry
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:04):
No.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:05):
like the best end all be all.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (22:06):
Yeah.
Eat it.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (22:07):
Um, but you know what I would say,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:10):
Yes.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (22:11):
I would say that I actually love
elder flour syrup.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:16):
Oh,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:16):
Have you ever made that?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (22:18):
is that from the same?
That is from the same plant.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:20):
Yes.
The flowers have this gorgeous,really strong heady smell.
It's beautiful in the spring,the Oregon State Extension has
it near the bottom.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:33):
Ooh.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (22:34):
like 10 to 20 elder flower, clusters
and some lemon, some citricacid, and you make a simple
syrup
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:41):
ooh.
squadcaster-7310_2_08 (22:42):
gorgeous.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:43):
Oh,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (22:44):
And if you don't have access to
elder flowers right now, you cango to IKEA and purchase elder
flour syrup.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (22:53):
What Ikea?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (22:54):
What?
It's wonderful.
I went and got
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:57):
The furniture store.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (22:58):
Yeah,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (22:59):
The one that's like a maze.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (23:00):
In their food department.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (23:03):
What?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (23:03):
If you can find their food
department, have like ablueberry syrup and a lingen
berry and elder flower.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (23:11):
Wow, that is a surprise.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (23:14):
If you wanna be the fanciest girl
at the ball, you bring an elderflower syrup to your next get
together and some club soda andsome ice and maybe some lemons
to cut into slices.
And everybody will be like, whatis this?
It's delicious.
it's wonderful.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (23:31):
That elder flower recipe is on the
Oregon State Extension website.
At the bottom, it has like ablue, background on the recipe.
And this not only looksdelicious, it looks easy.
See, like the dopamine you wouldget from making some fabulous
drink with friends is probablygonna be better for your health.
Like some tincture that someperson on the internet sold you
(23:53):
for way more than what it'sworth.
Sorry.
that is a great recipe.
There also is a recipe forelderberry vinegar, which sounds
fun, and that probably has, somemerit to it.
That sounds awesome.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-0 (24:06):
Mm-hmm.
sounds awesome.
Yeah, and it would be a reallypretty color.
It would be like that dark bluecolor
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (24:12):
be beautiful.
And then
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (24:13):
the berries
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (24:14):
there's elderberry syrup also.
squadcaster-7310_2_0 (24:16):
Elderberry syrup
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (24:18):
you know, if you wanna make
elderberry syrup and serve it toyour kids on pancakes, I feel
like that was a fun and greatidea.
And I've done that in the past.
And I just think my kidsactually were, they were like,
next time make blackberry syrup.
Or it like, it's good.
Wasn't their favorite, but thereis a good recipe on this website
for it.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (24:35):
sure.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (24:36):
okay.
Talk to us about dehydrating.
Did you ever dehydrate,elderberries?
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2025 (24:40):
I haven't.
I imagine it would be prettyeasy.
You want'em to be bone dry, andthen you can package them for
later,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (24:47):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (24:48):
in a, I would say like a paper bag,
not a plastic one, just in casethere's any type of moisture.
it's similar to like drying outseeds for the next season.
You'll wanna make sure thatthere's good airflow and that
they're dehydrated in that way.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (25:03):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (25:03):
you could also hang the clusters and
dry them out if you don't have adehydrator.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (25:08):
So when I dehydrated'em.
it was kind of a lot of work fornot very many berries, but, I
just snipped off the big clusterhead.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (25:15):
Like
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (25:16):
They really look like some sort of
anatomical, like clusters ofnerves or something.
They're kind of interesting, soit's like a big cluster.
And then on them are smallerclusters.
So I cut all the small clustersoff so I could spread'em out on
a dehydrator tray and.
Then once they're crispy dry,then you can just pull up the
crisp.
Ooh, they're a lot like a dillhead.
That's probably a more sensible,comparison.
(25:37):
Okay.
Then I held up the, the head
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (25:40):
It's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (25:40):
and then
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (25:41):
shape
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (25:41):
Yes, and then kind of crumbled off
the dried berries, and thatworked great.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (25:46):
The
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (25:47):
a good, fast way of dehydrating
that I'd say.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (25:49):
Nice.
And how did you use them afteryou dehydrated them?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (25:53):
I don't know if I even did I,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-202 (25:55):
Or did you,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1454 (25:55):
I think I did it and then it was
like, it just took like a whole,a whole dehydrator full was like
three quarters of a cup ofberries.
I mean, it was almost nothing.
I remember being like, well,that was a lot of time for.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (26:06):
Wow.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (26:07):
And I just also think of the
dehydrated berries as somethingpeople may buy on the internet
or buy from source unknown.
And if you thought you weregoing to get them and then
rehydrate them and can them, youneed to know what variety they
are and you may not be able totell because they're dry as a
bone, right?
You wouldn't maybe know just bylooking at them.
So I just feel like there'sgotta be some people victimized
(26:29):
by people overpricing theirelderberry out there.
I just feel pretty sure of it.
I don't like that.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (26:33):
Yeah.
It is hard, like you said,people are looking for a health
remedy and they might think, oh,if this is wild sourced or if
it's this or it's that.
some of those greenwashing.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (26:43):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (26:44):
Things that people say on their
packaging or on theirbusinesses.
if you're not careful, you canget duped a lot of times by
those
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (26:52):
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (26:52):
types of marketing strategies.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_145 (26:55):
we aren't here to yuck your yum or,
harsh on your home remedy camp,you know, pantry shelf at all
because we love all the waysthat we can, feed our families
and feed ourselves nourishing,delicious things.
but I.
I've thought a lot about howelderberry has been really hyped
up to be probably more than whatit really is.
And we would hate for anyone outthere to be like, oh man, I
(27:16):
really gotta spend a lot of timeand money getting my hands on
these tiny little berries thatdon't have a lot of juice.
Because one, there's differentvarieties that you need to be
aware of, and two, the researchis not there to make me think
like, oh man, this is,
squadcaster-7310_2_08- (27:29):
research is not
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (27:30):
this is really worth a lot of work
and money to get your hands on.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (27:33):
right.
Yeah, I think that is the bigtakeaway.
let food be thy medicine andmedicine, be thy food, said the
famous Hippocrates, but have avariety, look for all different
ways to get your vitamins andminerals
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-202 (27:46):
mm-hmm.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (27:47):
Have a varied diet.
Don't just think that this onething is gonna be the thing that
is gonna be your end all cureall,
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025 (27:54):
right, right.
And if you can get intosomething delicious and enjoy
it, then that's amazing.
We're so happy to support that.
Just be sure you're using thekind of berries that are the
powdery blue and, all will bewell.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-2 (28:05):
Yes.
For canning and everything else.
put it in your fridge and thatlasts how long, Jenny?
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (28:11):
Um,
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (28:12):
six
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_1 (28:12):
yes.
Long time.
Mine lasted a long time.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (28:15):
Maybe longer than that you can also
freeze
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (28:18):
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04- (28:19):
Yeah.
So there's options out there, Ithink whatever you're gonna do,
make sure that you're doing itsafely.
You can check out our show notesfor the links to the articles
that we have referenced,hopefully this was helpful for
you.
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_14 (28:31):
And not too highly controversial.
It's like we should have alittle, like a little micro list
of like Anna and Jenny's mostcontroversial episodes.
This will be one of them.
And then don't water glass youreggs.
That would be the second one.
And then, oh, the fermentedgarlic craze of post COVID or
right during COVID.
Everyone was trying to fermentgarlic.
That's also not a great idea.
(28:51):
Oh yeah.
We're not big fans of MeghanMarkwell show.
That was controversial of us.
Yeah.
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04 (28:56):
That's
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (28:56):
Okay.
That's all we got, but
squadcaster-7310_2_08-04-20 (28:58):
All
jenny-gomes_1_08-04-2025_ (28:58):
Happy preserving everyone.
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
(29:19):
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
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