That syrup is so pretty - what is the flavor like? I love the idea that you can use wild stuff some people consider weeds to make stuff. I love gathering free stuff for jam and jelly
It’s hard to describe the flavor, of this syrup. Kind of mild and floral. To make safe non-acidic jellies, you have to add lemon juice, to increase acidity. So, it also has a citrusy flavor. I had about a cup and a half left, after filling the four half gallons. So it went into the fridge. Then I got a brainstorm, after working outside, in the heat. I added Pellarginio (carbonated water) to it and it made an amazing fizzy drink!!!
Here are a couple shots of the field, where we picked all those Queen Anne’s Lace flowers
I, too, love to be able to harvest wild foods. Years ago, at the beginning of my journey into a natural/alternative lifestyle, DH and I joined a “Weed Walk”, taught by an amazing 90 year old woman. Grace LeFever took us on a walk around her property, talking about all that can be done with with weeds, to improve our health. At the end of the walk, she took the weeds, that she collected and made a yummy green drink.
Happy the Farmer Market thing is working for you -- but, do try to pop on and say all is "OK" --
-- then we don't worry it is not. Was wondering "where you were".
Do you just cut the flower pod on those Queen Anne & simmer in water? Taste? Any other use? Those grow here everywhere, I cut them when mowing.
How are your elderberry bushes? Found a place not far with potted ones, bearing, for sale. This year I want to locate and expand my wild Beauty Berries.
Like your lasagna garden. I know how well that Bermuda grows and expands it's territory!
I’m sorry to be incommunicado for so long. After multiple long days, i was too tired to even think of getting on BYH. Other times, I took photos to post, and then fell asleep in my chair, before I could start a post.
Yes, i take scissors with me, when I pick the flower heads. I slightly open the scissors, and slip them along the stem, up to the flower head and snip. It was actually fun and easy. When we had decided we had enough, I couldn’t stop picking them on the way out of the field.
To make the syrup, I put the flower heads in water and simmer them, to make a tea. After straining the flower heads out, I add the sugar and lemon juice and simmer for 20 minutes.
Our Elderberry bushes are full of flower heads this year. Last year, we only got a few. I couldn’t bring myself to pick them for Elderflower jelly. I made syrup from those berries, as well, and canned it for future use. Again, the flavor is mild and citusy, but different from the Queen Anne’s Lace syrup.
On our way to Sulphur Springs one day, I saw lots of Elderberry plants, with their beautiful white flower heads, along the roadside. So, we went back the next morning. Most of the flowers weren’t fully open, so we left those and plan to go back in August, to pick lots of berries.
Yes, the berries are bitter, and the seeds are toxic, when consumed. By cooking the berries and squeezing the juice out, you don’t eat the seeds. The beauty of Elderberries, is their health benefit. I cook the berries with ginger, until the berries sink. I strain the juice out and add raw, unfiltered local honey, which has multiple health benefits.
We take this syrup during flu season, because it is strongly antiviral and immune building. If we take one tablespoon throughout the season, we pretty much stay flu free. If we start to get a cold or are exposed to someone with the flu, we start taking one tablespoon three times a day. This past winter, when the flu was so bad, we were exposed to people with the flu, but never got the flu. A few times, I started getting a cold, but increased my dosing. Within three days, i started feeling better, and it never progressed into my lungs, the way it did with everyone else i know.
This is the first time i ever did the lasagna garden. I was telling
@goatgurl, how frustrated we were, trying to get rid of the Bermuda grass, when figuring out where to put a vegetable garden. She suggested the Lasagna garden. I had never heard of it. But after looking it up, it made sense. We have an area, outside the chicken yard, that isn’t sprayed by the septic sprayers. So, we shall see how it works.
