Health benefits of elderberries
Last week I started to get a few sniffles and a bit of a sore throat.

Fortunately, there is a small wood at the bottom of my garden which is comprised largely of Elder trees. Each autumn we help ourselves to the berries of the elders and make numerous bottles of delicious elderberry cordial (and a few other things), which see us through to the following summer.

How elderberries help prevent colds and flu
The main medical benefits of the elder seem to be for its strong anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties, particularly in fighting colds and flu, and associated sore throats.

Elderberries contain Vitamins A, B & C, carotene and tannins amongst other things, such as alkaloids. However, they do also contain toxic cyanogenic glycosides, so be aware that the raw berries are poisonous and should not be eaten. They’re unlikely to kill you but can make you feel ill. They are, however, safe (in reasonable quantities) in various preparations.

If you do still manage to catch a cold, Elderberries can also help coughs and sore throats – they contains pectin which (as well as helping your jam to set) is well-known as a demulcent; i.e. it forms a protective film which helps alleviate irritation of the mucous membranes in the mouth. It also aids other respiratory problems and sinusitis.

Medical research
More research should be done on the various beneficial qualities of elder products. However, data from scientific studies in Germany showed inhibition of 2 strains of influenza virus of 25% and 30% respectively using elderberry extract, while reduction of bacterial growth was up to 99% with a 20% concentration of elderberry extract.

Identification
The berries appear between September and October. They hang in clumps from reddish-purple stalks and turn from green to red to black as they grow. Pick when black but before they start to shrivel. (See photo).

Ripe elder berries as they appear on the elder tree

Various preparations for elderberries are possible but one of my favourites is to make a cordial syrup. Elderberry juice has a full-bodied taste, not unlike blackcurrant juice. Warmed up, it makes a good basis for a non-alcoholic equivalent of mulled-wine in Winter.

Of course elder is often used in conjunction with another product of similar properties or for additional flavour: with peppermint or nettle in a tea, for example.

Sambuca is an Italian liquorice-tasting liqueur made from star anise and often containing elderberry or other flavourings. Not to be confused with the ancient harp-like musical instrument of the same name! Nor, for that matter, should sambuca be confused with Sambucol, which is proprietary elderberry extract which is a great way of getting the benefits of elderberries, especially if you don’t have access to the actual berries.

Elderberry recipes
When cooked, elderberries are safe and pleasant to eat and can be added to apple or blackberry pies, for example, or fruit crumbles, or in chutneys and preserves. My wife often mixes whatever is available, including blackberries, hawthorn berries, damsons, bullaces, rosehips, sloes, etc. All of her experiments seem to have been pretty successful and each has had its supporters who have thought it was the best thing since sliced bread – something which is substantially improved with a dollop of the aforementioned preserves!

Recipe for elderberry juice
40 heads of elderberries
Juice of 3 lemons
2 oz/55ml. Citric Acid
1.5-2lbs/)0.75Kg sugar

Gather about 40 heads of berries (see photo, above). There are usually a number of insects and small spiders, which you may want to remove before putting them into a large pot.
Peel (avoiding the pith) and squeeze 3 lemons into the pot.
Add the Citric Acid and the sugar.
You could try using the far more healthy (though, admittedly, more expensive) stevia or xylitol instead of sugar.

Pour over 2 pints (1 L) of boiling water, stir and leave covered overnight.

Elderberries with lemon slices (and damsons) in pot

Strain. We usually strain twice: firstly through a mesh sieve, squeezing the mush against the side, to extract as much juice as possible, then again through a some fine muslin.

Pour into sterilised, preferably corked, bottles. Some people advise not to use screw top bottles because pressure can build up. If you have no choice, leave a few inches gap at the top and use within a few months. We frequently use screw-top bottle have never had a problem with them used like that.

To drink, add water to taste.

We often include other ingredients, such as other seasonal fruits (like the damsons in the photo above) to make different variants.

Recipe for elderberry wine (or elderberry & blackberry wine)
Aprox. 3lbs/1.4Kgs elderberries (or elderberries and blackberries)
1 Gallon water
2 – 3.5lbs/1 – 1.5Kg sugar
1lb/0.4Kg raisins or sultanas (optional)
1 ripe banana (optional)
1 or 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Yeast & yeast nutrient
1 Campden tablet

Wash and strip the berries from the stalks with a fork, add other (optional) fruits, put into a bucket and crush.
Add 4 pints of boiling water.
Crush and add a campden tablet dissolved in a little hot water.
Dissolve half the sugar into 2 pints hot water and add to the pulp mixture.
Add the lemon juice, yeast and nutrient and cover for 5 days, stirring daily.

Strain and return to a clean bucket.
Dissolve the rest of the sugar into a pint of boiling water and to the bucket when cool.
Once more, cover and leave for 3 or 4 days.
Pour carefully into a gallon jar, leaving behind any remaining residue.
Fill the jar to the bottom of the neck with cooled boiled water.
Fit a fermentation lock and leave until fermentation has finished.
Replace fermentation lock with a stopper and leave in a cool place to clear.
Syphon into dark bottles, and cork.

Some recipes add other fruits such as blackberries, raisins or sultanas, or a ripe banana or two.

Most say that the wine should be left for at least 4-6 months, but some say you should leave it a year, before drinking.

Recipe for Elderberry tea
Many sources, when talking about elderberry tea, actually mean elderflower tea, and refer to ‘elderberry flowers’ and the ‘elderberry tree’. As the flowers of the elder tree appear a month or two before the berries, referring to elderberry flowers doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. So this recipe is for elderberry tea, made from the berries. For elderflower tea, click  here” Recipe for Elderflower tea.

Some sources have also called elderberry juice made with hot water elderberry tea. For most, though, elderberry tea is made by adding boiling water to a couple of teaspoons of dried elderberries. You can either buy the dried berries or prepare them yourself by placing fresh berries (de-stalked and rinsed) on a tray on a low heat (about 115ºF) in a oven for between 5 and 15 minutes until they resemble raisins. (You need to keep an eye on them).