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Harvesting elderberries

Several years ago I bought a "'Walk on the Wild Side'a wild berry cookbook". In the Highbush Cranberry section she tells to freeze the clusters to clean them. Words can't relate how well this works. Do the freezing in a bucket. Take the bucket from the freezer and give the bucket a thump on the floor and you have two things, berries and leaves & stems. This freezing method with slight handling modifications work with elderberries and red currants. It does not work with grape clusters. In the case of elderberries after the removal to the large stems a strong breeze will remove the chaff from the berries. Try it, you will love it.

Reply to
Richard Kruse
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I have tried this method, as I've heard of it before reading this newsgroup. In fact, I tried tonight.

I have about 8 lbs. but have another large supply waiting for me on the vines.

My dilemma is this. It removes the large stems quite well. Lots of "twigs" and berries. But about 1/3 of the berries still have the small stem attached to the m. Is this a sign of under-ripe or over ripe berries? By the time I try to separate the stems from a 1/4 cup, the beries crumple and make a nasty mess. I am separating using the cooke sheet methond, by letting the frozen true berries roll to the bottom, and the one with the stems stay on the top 1/3 of the sheet. I do 1/4 cup at a time.

any help is greatly appreciated.

Greg, Erie, PA

Reply to
Hoss

hi greg, i have used this method and have the exact same results. the small stems are a result of the freezing, not under, or over, ripe berries. this is the first year i destemmed the berries fresh-picked. what a labor intensive job! but, the result is great...eliminating about

90-95 % of those stems. i have been getting 4-6 pounds per trip and it takes about 2-3 hours to destem. i then freeze after. this method also works well on frozen berries, as long as you strip them with fingers and not a fork.hth jim book new castle, pa getting ready for steelhead!
Reply to
jim book

In my experience, if the berries fall off the stem that easily, they're a little overripe. YMMV.

(They are certainly a pain in the neck to pick and clean!)

Woods

Reply to
Woodswun

I will preface this with the fact that I am relatively new to growing and harvesting elderberries. (less than ten years, two batches of wine). Though hardy to this zone they are not growing naturally. I have a race with the ripening of the fruit and a killing frost. (Sept 21). So I harvest about the middle of Sept. I remove the ripe portions of clusters with a snip into my pail. I freeze the works. After the berries are frozen I take my hands , stir and crunch the still frozen berries, removing the large stems. I put back in the freezer. Realize that by now it is most likely into October when one can dress for a cold breeze. It is on one of these days I pour the pail with frozen berries into an empty bucket at a height that the berries will not be blown out of the path to the lower bucket. Do this several times and you should clean berries. Dick

Reply to
Richard Kruse

Dick,

This trick sounds like a winner. I will try this trick, and as winter approaches, we will get plenty of wind off the lake. If I find myself in need of freezer space or an antsy feeling and empty primaries I may try this with a fan blowing across the buckets of berries.

Thanks also, Jim. The above trick sounds like it is worth a try. Those damn little berries are way too time consuming for me. Not that I don't want to spend the time to get it right, but there are soooo many other things on the plate right now that it is berry season.

Greg

Reply to
Hoss

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