Wild Elderberry & Chilli Vinegar

Wild Elderberry& Chilli Vinegar


You would have to be a nutter not to make this black beauty...it's fantastic.

© Fig 1. L.Moore Elderberries

This is a spectacular vinegar that goes well with lots of goodies. Any restaurateur should be gagging for this and willing to swap his/her granny for a bottle...a few splashes of this will enrich the dullest dish.  This is a stunning touch of class. It is rich in colour, deep and earthy and makes any meal blush with delight.

I was not expecting this to taste so good but believe me it's worth the effort and time. Since I have made it I have had it on my salad, my burger, my venison sausages, cold meats and cheeses...slurp! Hurry go and bag yourself some elderberries before it's too late. They are so versatile. So far I have made elderberry compote (yum), elderberry cordial (delicious) and now the vinegar. This is an incredible month for foraging I feel like a child in a sweetie shop full of delights. Next time you take a walk have a look for these incredible edibles.

Ingredients

Elderberries 350 g
white wine vinegar 500 ml
Sugar 250 g (add more if you like it very sweet I like mine tarty)
chillies (optional)


All I did was collect my elderberries and weigh them. Then I used a folk to scrape the berries off their branches. You can give them a rinse while still attached under a tap.  If you wash them in a bowl of water then you lose a lot of the juice. If you are worried about little nasties then leave them laid out on newspaper and let the little crawlies have time to leave. The best elderberries to pick are when the branches look droopy and too heavy for the branch...this means they are really full and ripe and hanging heavy on the tree.

OH yes back to the vinegar. Once you have gone through the time consuming bit of plucking your berries off their branches put them in a jar with your chopped chillies. Make sure your jar has enough room to take on 500ml of white wine or cider vinegar. Pour the vinegar over your berries and leave with a lid on for 4 days. After a day or two give them a mash and leave them until day 4. Now sieve them and pour the liquid into a clean pan. Discard the berries or recycle them. Heat up your vinegar and then pour in your sugar and once it dissolves stir for about 10 minutes. Do a taste test and if you want it sweeter add more sugar. Now bottle into sterilized jars or bottles...Ta Dah...you won't be disappointed.  

© Fig 2.L.Moore Elderberry vinegar..yum

© Fig.3. L.Moore What an incredible edible

...there is plenty of sites on the internet that will identify elderberries for you. Once your really sure HAVE A GO...slurp

enjoy xx