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There’s an elderflower liquer that I found that is great and much less expensive than St Germain. I picked up a taste for it in the before times, when visiting the UK. One pub in particular that I miss very much.

um … ok. But remember that time you made elderberry wine …

I’m intrigued by the pickling jar. Is there a brand name on it? Is it just for cold pickling or can it be put in a hot water bath as for canning?

I’m still trying to convince myself I can drink the dark liquid mint leaf vodka that I put up. Should I mix it with sugar? It does taste like mint, but….the color leaves a lot to be desired. When you read the word leaves think grass clipping runoff leave colored.

I don’t remember anything flavored with it in the States, though. Do we even grow elder?

Aunt Abbie and Aunt Martha Brewster made elderberry wine in Brooklyn. But their extra ingredients were… problematic. No one ever drank a second glass.

@Rich, I heard somebody is planning a remake named Fentanyl and Old Tats.

Ccccccccchhhhhhhhhaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggge!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EE8kOv26BuQ

Only in the remake it’ll be Biden running up the steps of Air Force One and tripping after declaring victory in Afghanistan.

Hahaha…I was thinking about the elderberry wine. It was cordial, actually. And it turns out, our variety of elderberries need cooking first.

For those that don’t recall, a sip of the stuff made ralph like Krakatoa.

The pickling jar is this one from Lakeland. I have two and they work very well. The air release valve was the problem. It released a constant waft of pungent pickling fumes into the fridge.

Thank you, Stoaty. I found one US source for the Lakeland jar, but says it’s imported from the UK. $28. Ouch. But while searching for the Lakeland brand, I found several US brands of the same type, so I will probably buy a few of those. I hadn’t thought about making a small batch of sauerkraut, but I might give it a try. (We do love the Reuben sandwich.)

And of course, Biden said to expect food shortages because of Putin. That’s a BIG buck to pass, huh. We may start keeping chickens, but I heard that they’re a dangerous gateway drug animal.

I have only one suggestion for Uncle B. buy her her own refrigerator and accoutrements for her experimental work. My wife did similar things using the freezer we keep for longer term storage. Over the years I have found all manner of frozen items that I have pointedly refused to ask “why?” I finally drew the line when, way at the back, triple bagged, under other items not often moved, I found a frozen 5 foot long headless rattlesnake. “I thought you could tan the hide for some nice snakeskin.” The source of the snake and it’s headlessness went unexamined by me.

She has her own freezer, and I do not inspect it or ask any questions, and it has vastly improved my serenity.

Hubby and I used to own a property that had several cherry trees, pie cherries not sweet. One year we had a bumper crop. After canning multiple quarts we still had an enormous bucket of them. We pitted them, added sugar and cheap vodka. We let them sit for about a month stirring every day. We strained the vodka and bottled it. Like cherry pie in a glass. And those cherries? We made devil’s food cake layers, split the layers and put the cherries between the layers. Covered the cake with a chocolate Grenache. BEST. DAMN. CAKE. EVAH!

I always wanted to see The mountains of France after the ’68 Grenache olympics.

Seriously though, Mrs D just 86’d some lovely Grenache I was using to dip strawberries in when she wasn’t looking.
Drat.