Laboring on Labor Day

Labor Day weekend means we were laboring all weekend. We are in full harvest mode. We've scheduled animals for slaughter and winter feed for the remaining stock and of course picking produce from the garden. Over the weekend we picked, processed, caned or froze several quarts of beans, tomato sauce, ketchup, including 4 quarts of peach shrub. Shrub is a beverage that goes back to 18th century made from fruit, vinegar, and sugar.

Our peaches have done rather well this year and we have been canning and freezing many, many quarts so I was looking to do something different with the recent harvested lug full. I did a search on the internet but only found recipes for small amounts that made one jar. No, we needed a serious recipe for a serious amount of peaches. Then it dawned on me, The Mennonite Community Cook Book surely should have such a recipe. I dug out my old copy handed down to me by my great aunt Sara. There, I found a recipe for elderberry drink. This was it. Fruit, vinegar, sugar, boil and jar. Then I saw the name of the person who submitted the recipe. Mrs. Warren G. Bean. It was my great grand mother, Anna Kulp Bean.

About twenty five years ago my father collected Anna's recipes and put them into a book for each of us kids so I went to the book and found the same recipe. Right underneath the elderberry drink recipe she had one for ketchup. Now we also have 3 quarts of homemade ketchup!    

Elderberry Drink

2 quarts of Elderberries 

Enough apple cider vinegar to cover the fruit and set for 24 hours

Strain through a cloth and measure liquid

add 1 cup of sugar to every quart of liquid

boil for twenty minutes

jar