Barack Obama juice

amberskipper3 said:Someone already posted a recipe for juice up there.
I'm doing it in an old-school soda shop.
Look, if you're trying to make this work, here's the deal: for every kilogram of berries you’ve got, just toss in about half a cup of water. Give it a quick boil, let it bubble for a second, and then run the whole thing through a strainer. Simple as that.
If you're working with a kilogram of base, just toss in about half a kilo of vanilla sugar—or maybe a little less if you want to play it safe depending on how thick the juice is.
If you really want to level up the aroma, you could always throw in some lemon zest or maybe some star anise. It totally changes the game.
Man, that shade of blue is just gorgeous. Seriously, it’s perfect.

Man, oh man... I am absolutely doing this this year😁—sounds incredible (though, honestly, swear to me that 1/2 kg of vanilla sugar isn't overkill? That seems like a massive amount of vanilla to me)
John Doe😍

Sam Kim12 said:Man, oh man... I am absolutely doing this this year😁—sounds incredible (though, honestly, swear to me that 1/2 kg of vanilla sugar isn't overkill? That seems like a massive amount of vanilla to me)
John Doe😍

Getting half a kilo of vanilla-scented sugar is actually a breeze—just grab an airtight jar, toss in two sliced-open vanilla beans, let it sit for about ten days, and boom, you’ve got fragrant sugar.

Does anyone have any idea why they stopped making that elderberry Schweppes? 😢

Personally, whenever I'm out and about, my go-to is always that stuff from FedEx, you know? You can find those bags at just about any bar in NYC...

quietskipper80 said:Does anyone have any idea why they stopped making that elderberry Schweppes? 😢

Wait, I think I might have misread that or maybe I’m just having one of those moments where my brain completely stalls out! Was that a typo, or did I totally miss the context? If you were trying to ask me something specific, could you please clarify? I'm all ears and genuinely want to make sure I'm following along, but right now, I'm feeling a little lost in the sauce. My apologies if I'm being slow on the uptake! 😕

Are you thinking about a Coca-Cola? 🤷

So, a few days ago I whipped up two batches of syrup. One batch turned out this absolutely brilliant yellow, but the second one... man, it came out looking kind of dark, reddish, and honestly just a bit funky and mushy. The recipe was totally identical for both—just the usual classic setup: 5 liters of water, 3.5 kg of sugar, about 50 flowers, and 100g of citric acid. Day 1, I let the flowers steep in the water. Day 2, I strained everything through some cheesecloth and then mixed in the sugar and the citric acid.
I wonder if anyone knows where I might have messed up on that second batch?

I actually whipped up some syrup over the weekend too.
😁I went with about half of what brisknomad6 suggested in their recipe.
So, I tossed in thirty flowers but cut back on the sugar by a pound, then added 100 grams of citric acid to that half measure, which basically turned it into this incredible lemonade vibe—honestly, it was amazing!

I’m planning on making a big batch more juice, and then I'll just stash the leftover flowers in the freezer for another round later on.👍

When I dilute mine, the juice stays pretty clear, sort of like a light yellow syrup. I didn't let it sit on the flowers for the full 24 hours because I started getting a weird smell, and I have no clue if that's just part of the learning curve when you're making syrup for the first time.🤷

I’m attempting making elderberry juice for the first time. I was told to soak the flowers in water (boiled and then cooled) for 24 hours, though apparently longer is better. Well, it's day two now and it’s starting to smell a bit off.
Is that because it’s been sitting in the water too long? Should I toss it, or should I go ahead and make the juice today?

hollowpilot58 said:I’m attempting making elderberry juice for the first time. I was told to soak the flowers in water (boiled and then cooled) for 24 hours, though apparently longer is better. Well, it's day two now and it’s starting to smell a bit off.
Is that because it’s been sitting in the water too long? Should I toss it, or should I go ahead and make the juice today?

I had a similar experience where the scent got super intense, but honestly, the final syrup turned out amazing.
I was sticking strictly to the rule that if it says 24 hours, it should be fine, and since there wasn't any mention of keeping it in the fridge, I was worried about it spoiling, but it seems okay.
The only thing is, leaving it sitting in the sugar and lemon for another 24 hours feels like overkill since the sugar usually dissolves way before that.

Kenneth Brown5 said:I had a similar experience where the scent got super intense, but honestly, the final syrup turned out amazing.
I was sticking strictly to the rule that if it says 24 hours, it should be fine, and since there wasn't any mention of keeping it in the fridge, I was worried about it spoiling, but it seems okay.
The only thing is, leaving it sitting in the sugar and lemon for another 24 hours feels like overkill since the sugar usually dissolves way before that.

So that’s normal then? Great, I feel much better now.

I’m definitely not leaving it sitting on sugar and lemon for that long; two or three hours is plenty of time for it to dissolve.

Hey everyone,

I'm attempting to make elderberry juice for the very first time this year. 😍
I’m feeling a little uncertain, so I have a few questions.
I'm following a recipe from brisknomad6 and her dad. 😉

Yesterday, I poured boiling water over the flowers, strained them, and then added sugar, citric acid, and lemon.

So, now it just sits there until tomorrow and that's it?

I also bought some preservative, and I’m thinking of adding a bit because I'm worried about it spoiling. When should the preservative be added? Now, or tomorrow right before I bottle it?

brisknomad6 mentioned that plastic bottles are best, but my Boy insists I should use glass. I don't actually have any glass bottles on hand, though. What should I do? Stick with plastic? 🤷

A colleague of my mom's from work says that once you add the sugar, you should boil everything all over again. Should I do another boil, or is it better not to? (Again, I'm sticking to brisknomad6's recipe, and there's absolutely no mention of a second boil!) 🙂

Thanks to everyone for the help, and please don't be annoyed that I'm asking so many questions! This is my first time trying something like this, and I really don't want to ruin it. 😉

Brenda Patel35 said:Hey everyone,

I'm attempting to make elderberry juice for the very first time this year. 😍
I’m feeling a little uncertain, so I have a few questions.
I'm following a recipe from brisknomad6 and her dad. 😉

Yesterday, I poured boiling water over the flowers, strained them, and then added sugar, citric acid, and lemon.

So, now it just sits there until tomorrow and that's it?

I also bought some preservative, and I’m thinking of adding a bit because I'm worried about it spoiling. When should the preservative be added? Now, or tomorrow right before I bottle it?

brisknomad6 mentioned that plastic bottles are best, but my Boy insists I should use glass. I don't actually have any glass bottles on hand, though. What should I do? Stick with plastic? 🤷

A colleague of my mom's from work says that once you add the sugar, you should boil everything all over again. Should I do another boil, or is it better not to? (Again, I'm sticking to brisknomad6's recipe, and there's absolutely no mention of a second boil!) 🙂

Thanks to everyone for the help, and please don't be annoyed that I'm asking so many questions! This is my first time trying something like this, and I really don't want to ruin it. 😉

What color did the soda end up being?

So, I totally botched my tea situation the other day because I was being super impatient and poured boiling water right over the flowers instead of letting them cool down first, which turned the whole batch this weird, murky dark green color. I ended up tossing the whole mess in the trash, so today I just grabbed some fresh blooms to start the whole process over from scratch.

I honestly think plastic bottles are the way to go if you're freezing stuff, though I’d probably stick to glass if I weren't planning on putting them in the freezer.

There’s really no need to bother boiling the sugar, honestly—it melts way faster than you'd think.

Kenneth Brown5 said:What color did the soda end up being?

So, I totally botched my tea situation the other day because I was being super impatient and poured boiling water right over the flowers instead of letting them cool down first, which turned the whole batch this weird, murky dark green color. I ended up tossing the whole mess in the trash, so today I just grabbed some fresh blooms to start the whole process over from scratch.

I honestly think plastic bottles are the way to go if you're freezing stuff, though I’d probably stick to glass if I weren't planning on putting them in the freezer.

There’s really no need to bother boiling the sugar, honestly—it melts way faster than you'd think.

Mine turned out yellow! 😁
Are you seriously telling me you poured hot water on the flowers just because you were too impatient to wait for it to cool? 🤔

Maybe it turned green because you didn't separate those green petals? 🤷

Alright, I won't bother boiling it then, I'll just stir it in. 😍
And when do you add the preservative, and how much do you use?

So, I went ahead and whipped up a double batch of syrup, though I personally prefer making the cold-brew version. In my humble opinion, that’s easily the most delicious way to do it.

David Anderson56 said:So, I went ahead and whipped up a double batch of syrup, though I personally prefer making the cold-brew version. In my humble opinion, that’s easily the most delicious way to do it.

What happens when you add preservatives? 😁

Brenda Patel35 said:Mine turned out yellow! 😁
Are you seriously telling me you poured hot water on the flowers just because you were too impatient to wait for it to cool? 🤔

Maybe it turned green because you didn't separate those green petals? 🤷

Alright, I won't bother boiling it then, I'll just stir it in. 😍
And when do you add the preservative, and how much do you use?

I have absolutely no clue what went wrong, but it looked pretty gross.
The little petals stayed intact, but I did the exact same thing a few days ago and it was fine; the only real difference in the process was that I used hot water this time.

Did you notice I used a whole pound less sugar in half the batch😁?

I don't know about preservatives, I didn't use any.

Here's a photo of how yesterday's batch turned out😳:

Kenneth Brown5 said:I have absolutely no clue what went wrong, but it looked pretty gross.
The little petals stayed intact, but I did the exact same thing a few days ago and it was fine; the only real difference in the process was that I used hot water this time.

Did you notice I used a whole pound less sugar in half the batch😁?

I don't know about preservatives, I didn't use any.

Here's a photo of how yesterday's batch turned out😳:

I didn't quite catch you—did you use boiling water, or were you just impatient to wait for it to cool down? (The water?)
Basically, you just boil the water, pour it over, and you're done. I covered it and stirred it occasionally, sort of like I'm cooking beans or something. 😁
This looks way too green. Maybe the stems lost their color or something. 😉
Are you storing this in the freezer? In plastic bottles?

If anyone knows how to add those preservatives, please let me know—when and how much? ☕
I really don't want this whole mess to spoil in three days. 😍
What are we supposed to eat all summer long then? 😂

Brenda Patel35 said:What happens when you add preservatives? 😁

Personally, I prefer adding everything together before the liquids ever touch. I start by pouring citric acid, some freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a preservative into the container. To be honest, that preservative can be such a pain to dissolve—it’s quite stubborn. So, while it's still in the bag, I give it an extra grind with a roller just to break it down first. Only after that do I pour in the sugar water and the elderberry-flavored water. Once I give the whole mixture a really good stir, I go ahead and fill up the bottles.

I made two five-liter batches.

I had been putting it in cold water.

I put what I packed into plastic bottles straight into the freezer, and moved two glass ones into the fridge, so there’s absolutely no need for preservatives.

Kenneth Brown5, you should have just tossed it. This is way too green; it needs to be yellow.

Honestly, if we were just talking about 10 liters, I wouldn't even bother with a fridge or any kind of preservative—things move through my house way too fast for that.
But, given that I handle 15 liters during a single run, and I'm actually planning on doing twice that amount soon, I think it's pretty understandable why I rely on a preservative.