Preparing Elderberries for Use

Elderberries make great juice, jelly, and pies. However, they are a really labor-intensive fruit. The berries are less than 1/4 inch across, usually closer to 1/8 inch.

However, it's one of my favorite flavors, so it's worth the work to me to do something with some fruits most years.

Watch the video to actually see how the fruits can be removed from the stems. Basically, you want to wash them, dry, and roll them off the heads.

Some people like to freeze the heads before they remove the berries. I tried this. It did make the berries come off easier, but it also made the stems brittle so I got more bits of stem in the bucket of berries that I didn't want to have to sort again. You can choose which "evil" you are willing to accept.