Hell's Kitchen

We had just returned home, after a gorgeous long Sunday walk and managed to get our weary offspring up to bed.

I could not face the trauma of watching the new season of Downton Abbey and so I set about conjuring up a new batch of Elderberry Port.

Our once clean kitchen, soon resembled a Hammer Horror mash-up; in the opening scene, I seemed to be playing Damien Hurst, a role that deftly segued into something between Count Dracula, and Dr. Frankenstein.

I took my assorted bags of Elderberries out of the freezer and the first thing I did (by way of scientific preparation) was to empty one of them, partly onto the floor but mostly into the cutlery drawer!

I cleaned up, as quickly as I could, before the Head Chef spotted the blood red evidence spattered all about the place and continued to further create crimson chaos with my home made chemistry set.

First I boiled up the Elderberries; a process that does rather resemble a seething visit to Satan’s scullery. The smell is intoxicating and as I enthused the archaic brew onward, I’m sure something ancient also stirred, deep within my bones.

Then, after wiping a slightly maniacal grin of my face, I proceeded to sieve off the pulp. I poured the potent liquid onto the sugar and some currents (the recipe said raisins but I was improvising by this stage) and then stirred some more.

I had previously set the yeast to start, and by this time it was looking suitably active. So, after cooling the potion to "body" temperature, the final ingredient was added (with a pinch of wicked cackling). The demonic concoction was then drafted into demijohns and bubblers were added.

By the following morning my toils were no trouble, everything was Hubble Bubble. The rest is simply a matter of being patient…

Elderberry Portal

During our recent Stonehenge walk, we noticed a lovely load of Elderberries hanging off a group of trees. Elder has a suitably ancient and mystical bent; it is occasionally known as the fairy tree.

The flowers arrive just in time to provide Summer drinks for picnics (or Pickniks). Later, around September, Elderberries ripen; they are poisonous raw but become very useful when processed.

A Positive Abundance of Elderberries but No Container!

Last year I made Elderberry Port and this has proved to be my best country wine to date. If I were a wine connoisseur I might describe it as eerily full bodied with a magical reminiscence of rubenesque berry fruits, a delightfully gay nose leaving a lingering unfathomable essence… It is proving very popular and I felt that it was high time to replenish our depleted wine cellar.

We decided to go to Southampton Common, to hunt for Elderberries. This is where we had gathered our Elder flowers earlier in the year but it seemed that the blackbirds had filled their boots before we arrived.

We fell back on picking Blackberries, which were very abundant and we were pleased to meet several other families doing the same thing. The Old Graveyard on the common seemed a specially popular spot too; we even discovered Raspberries there.

Butterflies seem to like Blackberries as much as Plums

I was beginning to think that we had left it too late for the Elderberries, but eventually had a fruitful forage in Hedge End during my lunch-hour. I ferried the berries home in my sandwich box each day and froze them in batches, until we had a sufficient amount.

We also picked a good amount on Danebury Iron Age hill fort (always a great spot for a picnic and run about).

Ready For Freezing

I'm now just waiting for my yeast to arrive in the post before going to work on this little hoard. Elderberries can also be used to make jam, syrup, wine, magical potions etc…

Elderberry Port

The Elder tree has long been associated with pagan traditions, witchcraft and folklore; the most auspicious time to encounter faeries is said to be under an elder bush on Midsummer's Eve! 

A Bucketful of Elderberries

Elder Flowers traditionally herald the onset of spring; we celebrated their emergence by using them to make elderflower cordial and champagne.

Fork Off!

Elder berries ripen in late summer/autumn and they can be used for making all kinds of produce. As it happened, I had a spare demijohn in the kitchen so we decided to make Elderberry Port.

Hubble Bubble Boil and Trouble 

This rich and strong wine is reputed to have curative powers; taken hot at night it is said to help prevent the early stages of a cold or sore throat. This is apparently caused by viburnic acid contained in the berries, which can induce perspiration. However, I won’t be able to testify to any of these effects until it’s finished fermenting; something that it is currently doing very enthusiastically.


Steamy Stuff...

These berries were picked from the same bushes that we obtained the flowers from in spring and this is one good reason not to over-pick the flower heads; we gathered a bucket full. On our return to base, I combed the berries from the stalks using a fork and then poured a gallon of boiling water over them.

An Intoxicating Brew

At this point all the unripe/green berries seemed to float magically to the surface, which was handy, so I skimmed these off as a precaution before proceeding with the recipe and creating a mess that looked like a scene from Dante’s hell.

Murder She Wrote!

Although the kitchen soon began to resemble the insides of a witch’s cauldron  the smell was deep, dark and quite enchanting and once the mixture had cooled to a more earthly temperature, I added sugar and the activated yeast. It was soon bubbling away furiously and looking suitably demonic once more.

The Urbane Forager's "Wine Cellar"

The following week, I added blackberry wine to my cannon of Urbane Forager Country Wines and now I must get the butler to put them in the cellar and then wait, and wait, and wait… In the meantime though, I will be converting some of my apples into Urbane Forager’s Cider, which should hopefully be ready to be mulled in time for Halloween!