Make them into jelly or syrup. People don't know what to do with elderberries. I won't sell raw berries due to liability.

Here is a link that might be useful: U of MD Elderberry toxicity/uses

Good luck trying to sell them. I tried and finally had to give them away to a jelly maker.

I was just checking your link, and found that the dwarf elderberry (which can be poisonous) isn't found in much of the US, just northeastern area. From the definitions between the dwarf and regular elderberries, the plants and flowers are very similar. If I was in the area that the dwarf was present, I wouldn't sell either.

European elder (S. nigra) and American elder (S. canadensis) also contain a cyanide-like compound in the leaves, twigs, and unripe berries. Some people say ripe (BLACK, not red) berries are OK to eat raw but others say there is a small amount in those too so best to cook the berries.

Dwarf elder (S. ebulus), red elder (S. racemosa) and blue elder (S. caerulea) are all considered toxic. While the effects can just be vomiting and other GI unpleasantness, there have been fatal cases involving children using the twigs as pea shooters, eating maple syrup made from sap gathered with elder wood taps, and drinking elderberry juice (presumably pressed, not boiled and strained).

You really have to know what species you have (I'm assuming S. nigra or candensis if you are cultivating them) and how o prepare them (you don't want any twigs in with the berries while you're cooking them).

Just too much of a liability selling them raw. If you make jelly, you will need to add pectin since the berries are very low in natural pectin.

We have s. Mexicana (blue elder) growing wild on our property (non cultivated). I had a botanist confirm & have been making syrups/jellies for years from it. Living in California with all the regulations it makes it impossible being a small market grower to afford the $500 certification to make "produced goods" such as juices/jams/jellies. I have a sign printed with a disclaimer that the berries must be cooked before use. I've also had my ag inspector write off the "ok" to sell them at market.

I wish I could sell the jellies, believe me!

Any thoughts on selling the berries destrmmed and raw?

There has to be some way to do this!!

There is but is it worth the risk? If you have the ag dept's OK, then go ahead and sell them but instead of a sign on your table I would have the warning on the label. Pack them in plastic clamshells, I would say half pints or pints (but tell people if they want to make jelly you can sell them a larger container/multiple containers at a discount).

I haven't had wild blueberries to market, but sold cultivated ones last year for $4/pint ($3 when going soft), wild blackberries are $5/pint and I could probably get more. Because of the work involved in destemming the elderberries, I think I'd tend to sell them in half pints and price them like raspberries, whatever those are going for in your area.

But check with you insurance first to make sure you are covered for liability if someone ignores the warning label and gets sick.

What I might do then is post a sign on my booth letting jelly/jam making customers know that I offer bulk elderberries on request.

If that is the case... What size container should I use? By the pound? If so, what should I charge? I would imagine serious jelly makers would want 5gallon buckets to get the most out of the juicing??

What do y'all think?

By the pound or cup, most recipes will call for a certain number of either pounds or cups. Yes, serious jelliers would be able to use 5 gal buckets. I'm not as serious as some, but I used over 50# of rhubarb last week, canned 28 qts for future use.

5 gallons is a lot to handle at once - I say sell them by the pound. If they're really serous jelly makers and can process it all at once then they might want 5 lbs but I don't think that's quite a 5 gal bucket - you'd have to weigh a gallon and see.

Linda Ziedrich says you can get about 3/4C of juice from each pound of berries using a steam juicer. I don't know how much you get just boiling them and using a jelly bag. I haven't made it in a couple of years since I don't have that many, and it wasn't a big seller anyway. I think it's an acquired taste.

Sheila, when you can like I do, you can't get started with a small amount like pounds. If I don't have a few bushel, I can't get motivated. It takes 4 Cups of juice for a single batch, that would be 5 1/3 lbs. What I do, and several other jelly makers, is to either freeze or can the juice. Then later, make the jelly. I usually wait til winter, and that way I heat up the house at the same time as making the jelly.

If it's the right elderberry, LOTS of people ARE buying the juice for health reasons.

I just meant to price by the pound and then let people say how many pounds they want. Obviously you can't make a batch of jelly with 3/4C of juice. But I don't think I ever had more than 3 lbs or so at a time (a lot less than 5 gal) and I mixed it with apple or quince juice for the pectin. I think Linda Z's Joy of Jams recipe that makes 3 half pints (not enough for a serious canner) calls for 3C of juice from steam juicer (so 4 lbs) and she says no problem with the set, but I can't speak to that since I always mixed it with other juice, make 5-7 jars at a time.

I've never used a steam juicer. I have TOO many canning pieces of equipment, I'll be handing some off to DILs.

I would love to have a steam juicer - probably use it more than a pressure canner.

BTW, bushels of tomatoes, yes (and you may be interested to know that a Master Food Preserver, digdirt, over on Harvest says the new recommendation is to freeze the tomatoes for a couple of days, then thaw and slip off the skins before canning instead of doing the boiling water/ice water thing). But a bushel of elderberries is a LOT of elderberries!

Thanks guys- ill offer by the pound. And myfamilysfarm- in right there with you! I juice all the harvest when it's ripe & freeze it until the harvest season is over... I've never had less than 10+ pounds of berries to process at a time- seems like a waste of time (not to mention kitchen clean up afterwards!) to do less than that .. At least for me!

I'm glad somebody else processes like me.

Sheila, I've tried the freezing of the tomatoes, but don't like the taste of the tomatoes after. I'll stay with the boiling water method. I barely blanch them, then send them thru my Kitchaid juicer, then bake the juice to thicken it, before canning it. I like my juice thicker than commercial. Some of the juice gets baked down more for some sauce (that I usually add some onion and bell pepper).

Resurrecting an old thread. What did you end up selling them for and how did it go? My backyard plants have a bumper crop.

hungryfrozencanuck - the price of fresh elderberries at farmer's markets varies because of legality (some don't allow them to be sold fresh due to toxicity reasons); and availability (they are next to impossible to find fresh for sale). Also, most elderberry that's planted by humans are cultivars, not safe to eat. The only medicinal ones that grow in the US are usually wild, Blue Elderberry (Sambucus Mexicana) or Black Elderberry (Sambucus Nigra).

I would also like to know what is a good price per lb for them, and also where possibly to order them from for the purpose of making syrup and jams.

Elderberry syrup is an incredible immune function food. We use it in everything starting in late fall through spring. There are so many home herbalists who want those fresh elderberries! A local organic farm here near Asheville sells frozen elderberries in 4 gallon containers for $175.00. He always has a waitlist. Elderberry wine is easy to make also.