Elderberry Wine

My neighbor, Wes, has an elderberry bush that is producing tons (not literally…the berries are kind of small) of berries. He finally (I mean graciously) relented to my whiny requests to let me pick some of them (Thanks, Wes!).

Have you ever seen an elderberry?

Here’s some up a little closer.

And here’s what the bush looked like after I was done with it (the birds helped too)!

Elderberries are known to have medicinal value and have shown to relieve symptoms of the flu. Good thing I froze some for use this winter.

Elderberries are antioxidants and have healthy flavonoids and anti-inflammatory components. Who knew so much could be packed into such itty-bitty berries.

If you’re like me, you know you’ve heard about them before, but just can’t recall where. Here’s some interesting tidbits to refresh your memory:

• In the Harry Potter books, the elder wand (made from an elderberry bush) was the much sought after wand in the book, Deathly Hallows.
• Elton John sings a famous song Elderberry Wine
• When my daughter asked where I was and she found out I was out picking elderberries, she quoted the line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “Your mother smelled of elderberries.” The real quote is “Your father smelled of elderberries” but her rendition seemed more appropriate.

Elderberries were known in folklore to ward off witches. Hmm, sounds like another good reason to keep them around.

After reading more about them, I was convinced they would make a splendid muffin, similar to a blackberry or blueberry muffin. The results were delicious.

If you have an elderberry bush of your own, you’re lucky. If you spot one in your neighborhood I encourage you to befriend it’s owner. Offer a batch of muffins in exchange for some of their berries.

Or plant a bush so you can enjoy this tasty and healthy berry in your future recipes. I’ve been trying out lots of elderberry recipes this week and will have more to share with you soon. It’s like our own Elderberry Wine Festival!

Elderberry Crumble Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour, (1 C whole wheat)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup applesauce
8 tablespoons melted dairy-free margarine (1 stick)
1 cup soy buttermilk, (soy milk combined with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar)
⅔ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups fresh elderberries, rinsed and drained

Crumble Topping (optional):
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped nuts
¼ cup flour
¼ cup margarine

Directions:

Heat oven to 350.

Mix crumble topping ingredients and set aside.

Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix applesauce, soy buttermilk, sugar, melted margarine and vanilla.

Place elderberries in a small bowl and add 1 – 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture. Gently stir the elderberries to coat them with the flour mixture.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Add the berries. It’s ok for the batter to be lumpy because you don’t want to over mix so the muffins will be fluffy (which is what we’re looking for in our muffins, not our hips).

Pour the batter into muffin cups, sprinkle with the crumble topping (optional, but highly recommended) and bake for about 17-20 minutes (depending on your oven). Let cool for several minutes before serving. Enjoy!