Beverage Recipes > Elderberry and Blackberry Wine

How to make dry elderberry and blackberry wine:
The two fruits in this wine give beautiful, rich, jewel colours to the finished drink. Make it in Autumn and drink it at Christmas sitting by a huge log fire. A brewing shop is the best place to look for all the necessary ingredients.



Ingredients

1lb elderberries, stalks removed, and washed
2lb blackberries, washed
9oz raisins, chopped
1 Campden tablet, crushed
2lb granulated sugar
1 level teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 level teaspoon citric acid
2 level teaspoons tartaric acid
2 level teaspoons yeast nutrient
1 sachet burgundy wine yeast
5 pints boiling water
1 pint boiling water to dissolve the sugar.
2lb granulated sugar
(see measure conversions for more information)

Method

- Put the elderberries and blackberries into a sterilised fermentation bin.
- Mash the fruit well.
- Add the raisins.
- Very carefully pour the 5 pts of boiling water over the fruit.
- Leave to cool.
- Stir in the Campden tablet
- Put lid on bin and allow to stand for 24 hours.
- Dissolve the sugar in one pint of boiling water.
- Add this to the fermentation bin.
- Add the pectic enzyme, citric acid, tartaric acid, yeast nutrient and yeast.
- Add this mixture to the fermentation bin.
- Stir well, cover and leave to ferment for 5 days, stirring daily.
- Strain the mixture through a straining bag.
- Discard the pulp.
- Pour the liquid into a demijohn.
- Fit with a bung and airlock.
- Leave in a warm place until there is half an inch of sediment in the bottom of the demijohn.
- Rack the wine off into a clean, sterilised demijohn.
- Make up to a gallon with cold, boiled water.
- Fit a clean sterilised bung and airlock and allow to complete fermentation.
- Bottle when bubbling ceases.

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Land For Food Production

Sat May 15, 2010 9:18 pm // 8 comments // granny_nuts


I wonder just how much land it would take to feed a family of, say, 4? I know that if my family didn't buy fruit and veg we wouldn't have enough to eat but is self sufficiency down to amount of land or method of growing? Last year I overcrowded my small veg plot with counter-productive results like mildew and snail infestation that went unnoticed until we came to pick the tomatoes (all holes!). I wonder if anyone has ever been totally self providing or whether the local market and barter played...