"Ash" (Rowan) berries

[redcollective]

Out tonight surveying the Elderberries in my local wood (preparation for a forage on the weekend which hopefully will result in a couple of bottles of Elderberry Gin.).

Has anyone found the elderberries a let down in their area this year?

Back to the topic: Rowan berries - the bright orange thingies - what are they good for other than jelly?

Recipes?

Cheers folks.

 

[Toddy]

I get rather nice dye from them
Dried they add colour to pot pourri
Stewed with a little sugar and vinegar they make a passable pickle
They fit my peashooter



Cheers,
Toddy

p.s. It's funny with the elders, the first flourish ones are really pathetic but the ones ripening up now are really full and juicy. I think it was all that really hot weather when they needed damp.
M

 

[JonnyP]

Has anyone found the elderberries a let down in their area this year?



Cheers folks.

Yep..........Found loads that have just shriveled up, but there is still quite a good crop of them...........

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

collect when bright red and you can make an alright jam.

on a recent course i taught on, as a demonstration i made some rowan and bramble jam!

it was about:
1/3rd rowan (stalks removed and washed),
2/3 bramble,(otherwise it would be too sour)
couple of table spoon of sugar,
the punters loved it on bread!

 

[Tony]

That sounds like good jam

My daughter is called Rowan, we can sit around the table and be cannibals

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

That sounds like good jam

My daughter is called Rowan, we can sit around the table and be cannibals

Bad man

Me and Womble_Lancs got 2/3 of a bucket full of elderberries last night

I belive its for making into either chuckney(sp) or jam

 

[jdlenton]

picked in october when the berries of the mountain ash a ripe they can be made into a rather nice sauce for meat i'll look out the recepie when i get home

 

[Tor helge]

They are very good as bait for snaring fieldfare .

Tor

 

[fred gordon]

Rowan berries are great in a peashooter. Just like paintball, only cheaper!

 

[MartiniDave]

Never mind the rowan, would you care to share your recipe for elder berry gin? I've only ever used sloes, cherries or plumbs.

Dave

 

[redcollective]

Never mind the rowan, would you care to share your recipe for elder berry gin? I've only ever used sloes, cherries or plumbs.

Dave

Purely experimental Dave - I've heard they need a bit more sugar than say, blackberries or redcurrants might, so I'm going to go with:
Half fill bottle/container with berries - several generous tablespoons of refined sugar, and top up the rest with gin. At three months I might try it to see if it's ready to decant through a screen to get rid of the fruit - it may require a little longer.

 

[redcollective]

For other interesting things to do with elderberries - take a look at this site:

http://www.danish-schnapps-recipes.com/index.html

 

[dtalbot]

Plenty of pretty much every hedgerow crop around here, the sloes are everywhere, even bushes I havn't seen fruit on for a decade or more are covered this year.

 

[MartiniDave]

Red,

Sounds like a good experiment. When I used cherries I had to leave them in the gin for about a year to get a good flavour. Good luck and keep us posted.

Dave