Hello lovely ladies!
I replied to this topic 2 days ago, but apparently didn’t go through 🙁
I also found lots of ripe hawthorn berries yesterday and some rose hips and I am going to try to do some crafts between today and the weekend. So nice that you also found Elderberries Esther, Idk if they are gone in my area or if they dried out. I only found some little ones in only 1 tree that looks like they shrank and dried.
Thanks so much for the links Lynn, they were very interesting to read. Also, I never thought about using vegetable glycerine (as I always related it to soap making: glycerine is a by-product from saponification, but indeed, super nice tip! I will give it a go!
https://www.stephensonpersonalcare.com/blog/2017-06-19-ingredient-spotlight-glycerin-as-an-ingredient-in-soap#:~:text=Glycerin%20is%20a%20natural%20by,such%20as%20lotions%20and%20conditioners.
I have tested 2 different honey replacements: organic coconut nectar (nectar from the stem of the blossom of the coconut palm, high in zinc, iron, calcium, potassium and inulin, as well as antioxidants.) and be(e) crazy honey replacement (organic coconut palm sugar based, vitamins, including twelve of the essential vitamin B complex, contains 16 amino acids, contains minerals including potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, boron, sulfur, calcium and copper).
https://threebyone.eu/shop-now/250ml-organic-coconut-nectar
https://www.zeppie-en-kokkie.nl/webshop/vegan-guilty-pleasures/detail/144/honing-alternatief.html
The organic coconut nectar is the best honey alternative I ever tried, it is really tasty and gave the best results in my tests. It is a little difficult to mix with the herbs especially with elder, hawthorn and magnolia petals, maybe because it’s so thick but the final result was worthy.
I found the be(e) crazy product too runny to craft. I think the results achieved would have been similar to using cane sugar. I think between this one and agave, I would have still preferred to use maple syrup.
https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-pure-maple-syrup-vs-honey-1756.html
I am totally up for a comparison trial meet up: let’s book a date, ladies?