Remember the juice I made with the Autumn Olive berries? It didn't have any color after I made it in the fall. I wasn't sure if it would develop any. Even when I use this method with grapes it's very pale right after I process it, and only becomes purple over the course of several months as it cures.
But, I promised you that I'd share the results. So this week, I pulled it out of the pantry.
Here's what it looks like. Interesting, eh? It got cloudy, but didn't turn red at all. I had read in one more complicated recipe for Autumn Olive juice that the pure juice was clear unless you mixed in the pulp. That seems to be correct.
Wait? How did it get red? I added a drop of food color. It looks better, doesn't it? I think I would do this if I were going to serve it to others, just because perception is important. I'm training myself that the color doesn't matter.
How about the taste? It's good, but mild. Even though I added less sugar than for grapes, it still came out rather sweet. I think if I do this again that I'll cut it back a little bit more. I think the tart portion of the berry is the red part, and it doesn't really flavor the juice much. Another option might be to crush the berries in the bottom of the jar a little bit to add some of the red pulp. Since I only made one jar to try I'll have to make more this fall to continue the experiment.
Will I actually do this? I think so. I like the taste, I just want it to be a bit stronger, and a little less sweet.
P.S. Tuesday morning- I tried crushing the remaining berries just a little to release some of the red pulp. That's the solution! The color becomes sort of a dusky light plum, and the flavor is much better.
Checked the pantry, and I still have 3 more quarts of wild grape juice. Elderberry is all gone. Sniff.
 | See If You Can't Beat It, Eat It
See Autumn Olive, Beautiful and Terrible |
8 comments:
Sylvia does that with grapes. Later, we mix it with carbonated water to make grape soda. Never tried elderberry juice, I'm sure it's good. I do love elderberry pie, but it has been some time since I've had any.
It looks and sound delicious to me. I have been too lazy to do that sort of thing but my mother would can all sorts of things. She made jams, jellies, and butters of all kinds. I think my favorite was the pear butter she made after a friend gave me a peck or two of pears from his tree.
I never would have thought that was juice by looking at the jars although it does look like it in the glass.
Your experiment with it seems to have been a success though
I hope you get your EC account back. I sent you my credits before closing my account and I hope you receive them.
I think color does matter when it comes to food and drink. I would think the red would be more enticing. YUM!
Chuck- Ooooo, I think I would like that a lot!
Emma- I don't do as much as we did when I was growing up, but I like the juices, and they are quite easy.
Ann- Yeah, the translucent lack of color is off-putting. I like it better with a little bit of the pulp
CD- I sure hope so too, but I'm not very optimistic with what I've heard from others. Thanks for the credits... If I can't get my account back I'll take a big loss.
Lin- yes, color really does matter, but I didn't want to just add coloring for no reason. However, the little bit of pulp improved the flavor and fixed the color. So, I'll be doing that.
It sounds good to me, stronger tasting and more flavorful. It doesn't sound like you can harvest enough, though, to really make a good supply!
Carmen- no, these are too much work to do a lot, but I would gladly do a few jars a year
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