Elder Wine

The Book of Household Management · Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) · 1861

Source: The Book of Household Management
Time: Cook: 1 min Total: 1 min
Status: success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (11)

For the wine base

3 gallons of water ↝ Water, tap [Tap water]
1 peck of elderberries ↝ Elderberries, raw [Fruits and Fruit Juices]

For flavoring and sweetening per gallon of juice

3 lbs. of sugar ↝ Sugar, NFS [Sugars and honey]
1/2 oz. of ground ginger ↝ Ginger root, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
6 cloves ↝ Garlic, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
1 lb. of good Turkey raisins ↝ Turkey, Ground, raw [Poultry Products]

For fortification

1/2 pint of brandy ↝ Brandy [Liquor and cocktails]

For fermentation

3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast ↝ Yeast [Not included in a food category]

For serving

sippets of toasted bread ↝ Bread, vegetable, toasted [Yeast breads]
a little grated nutmeg ↝ Oil, nutmeg butter [Fats and Oils]

Optional preservation

A bunch of hops

Instructions (9)

Pour the water, quite boiling, on the elderberries, which should be picked from the stalks, and let these stand covered for 24 hours.
Strain the whole through a sieve or bag, breaking the fruit to express all the juice from it.
Measure the liquor, and to every gallon allow the above proportion of sugar.
Boil the juice and sugar with the ginger, cloves, and raisins for 1 hour, skimming the liquor the whole time.
Let it stand until milk-warm, then put it into a clean dry cask, with 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of good fresh yeast to every 9 gallons of wine.
Let it ferment for about a fortnight.
Add the brandy, bung up the cask, and let it stand some months before it is bottled.

Serving suggestion

Elder wine is usually mulled, and served with sippets of toasted bread and a little grated nutmeg.

Optional preservation method

A bunch of hops suspended to a string from the bung, some persons say, will preserve the wine good for several years.

Original Text

ELDER WINE.

1818. INGREDIENTS.—To every 3 gallons of water allow 1 peck of elderberries; to every gallon of juice allow 3 lbs. of sugar, 1/2 oz. of ground ginger, 6 cloves, 1 lb. of good Turkey raisins; 1/2 pint of brandy to every gallon of wine. To every 9 gallons of wine 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast.

Mode.—Pour the water, quite boiling, on the elderberries, which should be picked from the stalks, and let these stand covered for 24 hours; then strain the whole through a sieve or bag, breaking the fruit to express all the juice from it. Measure the liquor, and to every gallon allow the above proportion of sugar. Boil the juice and sugar with the ginger, cloves, and raisins for 1 hour, skimming the liquor the whole time; let it stand until milk-warm, then put it into a clean dry cask, with 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of good fresh yeast to every 9 gallons of wine. Let it ferment for about a fortnight; then add the brandy, bung up the cask, and let it stand some months before it is bottled, when it will be found excellent. A bunch of hops suspended to a string from the bung, some persons say, will preserve the wine good for several years. Elder wine is usually mulled, and served with sippets of toasted bread and a little grated nutmeg.

Time.—To stand covered 24 hours; to be boiled 1 hour.

Average cost, when made at home, 3s. 6d. per gallon.

Seasonable.—Make this in September.

[Illustration: ELDER-BERRIES.]

ELDER-BERRY WINE.—The elder-berry is well adapted for the production of wine; its juice contains a considerable portion of the principle necessary for a vigorous fermentation, and its beautiful colour communicates a rich tint to the wine made from it. It is, however, deficient in sweetness, and therefore demands an addition of sugar. It is one of the very best of the genuine old English wines; and a cup of it mulled, just previous to retiring to bed on a winter night, is a thing to be "run for," as Cobbett would say: it is not, however, agreeable to every taste.

Notes

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