Requesting feedback on Vintner's Harvest fruit purees

[Nick Z]

I am considering trying to make some wine. I also like making jams and jellies. I was at the local brew shop a few days ago and they had these gallon cans of something called Vintner's Harvest fruit purees.

Two of them caught my eye: Elderberry and red currant. I searched all this summer and couldn't find anyone selling black elderberry (the cultivated kind). And I missed the boat on red currants.

I was thinking I could split the cans and use half for wine and half for jam. But I can't seem to find precisely what is in them. I know there is some whole fruit and water in the red currant can and some juice in the elderberry can. But I can't figure out whether the contents of these cans are concentrate or pasteurized juice or just berries packed in water. I looked for a website for the manufacturer but I couldn't find one.

Do these fruit purees have decent flavor? Is there much whole fruit in them? I can get the seeds out by running the contents through my food mill.

I promised my mother red currant jelly a few years ago and haven't been able to deliver. And elderberry is supposed to have an interesting flavor. But if it's concentrate I'm not sure how well it would work for jam.

Thank you.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Oregon Fruit AKA Vintner's Harvest is considered the highest quality canned fruit you can buy.

 

[Nick Z]

So that's who makes it. I thought they were part of a larger conglomerate, Winebow.

I'm not sure about using the elderberry because it is in concentrate form but I have no other probable source for black elderberry in the entire state. I'm pretty sure it is grown commercially here but, like lingonberries, I can't find out who does. And they might not want to sell twenty pounds to some dork. I imagine they sell their fruit to wholesalers for processing.

If the red currant is just water and currants it might be a good idea. Especially because I don't think they make that particular flavor anymore. It isn't in the Brew Craft catalog and whenever I do a general web search I almost invariably get the black currant can listed.