Author: Dave Hamilton

Adoxaceae or Moschatel family

The Elder ‘tree’ is a flowering shrub growing to around 6m in height. It produces heads of creamy-white flowers in the spring and dark berries (black, blue/black or red) in the autumn. Both the berries and the flowers are only edible once cooked.

This article covers how to cook elderberries and it’s nutritional benefits, the origin of their name, it’s history and some advice on different cultivars and how to grow them.

Nutrition

Amount needed for 100% Vit C

180g           160g

Amount needed for 100% Iron

540g          925g

Culinary

Elderberry and flower should always be cooked due to the presence of cyaniding glycosides which can cause sickness.

Both the flowers and the berries can be made into cordials and wines.

The flower umbels can be dipped in batter to make fritters. Savoury fritters can also be made by using spiced gram flour for the batter.  The berries are often mixed with apples or crab-apples to make desserts, jams and jellies.

The berries also make an excellent ketchup-like sauce known as Pontack Sauce. The sauce is named after the Pontack’s Head a 17^th Century London Inn and eating establishment.  The sauce is made using a mixture of spices, often including ginger, cloves, allspice and pepper. The berries are cooked like a casserole in the oven with the addition of cider vinegar. The spices are added on the hob before the whole thing is stored away for anything up to seven years, after which time the flavour is said to greatly improve.

What’s in a name?

Its name comes from two possible origins. It may have originated from the old English ellæn or ellærn, which may be a corruption of alder, an unrelated species whose name is derived from the Proto-IndoEuropean word for tree. Others, including naturalist and writer, Richard Mabey claim the name derives from a compound of the Scandinavian tree sprit, Hylde-Moer and Anglo-Saxon eldrun meaning fire. As the tree should not be burnt (see history/Anthropology) it seems strange the tree was associated with fire. However, as the pith is easily hollowed out, the stems were used to blow through, like a primitive bellow, to stoke a fire.

History/Anthropology

In the Middle Ages it was believed that as Elder wood was used to make the Cross and Judas was later thought to have hung himself on one, the tree became cursed. From then on its branches became too weak and brittle to hold a man’s weight. It was also thought that the tree contained the souls of witches and it should not be burnt in the hearth.  This piece of folklore may have some basis in science as the tree sap contains amounts of cyanide which when burnt is released as cyanide gas.

Where to find

Elder is a common shrub in lowland temperate climates. It grows on wasteland, in gardens, hedgerows, woodland and in parks.

Flowers- The flowers should be picked on a sunny day, well after the morning dew.

Berries- The berries are best picked fresh. They can be removed from the stalk using a fork.

Remove Elderberries from the stem using a fork

Buying Elderberries

Flowers- Dried flowers can be found in homebrew shops, some health food shops and herbalists.  Elderflower cordial is widely available.

Berries- It is rare to find the berries for sale fresh but Elder syrup is commonly found in health food shops and herbalists. Similarly, the dried berries can be found in herbalist and from specialist online retailers.

Peak Season

Northern Hemisphere

Flowers Early Summer

Fruit –Late Summer/Early Autumn

Uncommon in Southern Hemisphere

Cultivars

• Sambucus australis. southern elder; South America)
• Sambucus canadensis (syn. S. nigra ssp canadensis; American elder; eastern North America; with blue-black berries)
• Sambucus mexicana (Mexican elder; Sonoran Desert; with black berries)
• Sambucus peruviana (Peruvian elder; northwest South America; with black berries)
• Sambucus simpsonii (Florida elder; southeastern United States; with blue-black berries)

The antioxidant levels of foods are often measured by Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity or its ORAC value. Most foods with a high ORAC value are herbs and spices such as cloves, turmeric and oregano. However, these are consumed in relatively low amounts (typically 5g-10g at most) and their importance in the diet is often overstated. Elderberries can be consumed in large quantities when made into desserts, typically more than 100g at a time. They contain twice the ORAC value of Blueberries and a third more than cranberries.

Cultivation

It is possible to grow Elder from seed. However, semi-hardwood cuttings, taken from new growth are the preferred method of propagation. Cut a piece at least 1ft or 30cm long. The cuts should be made above a bud on the top and below a bud on the bottom. The top cut should be slightly slanted away from the bud to allow rainwater to run off (and to distinguish the top from the bottom).

The cutting can then be placed at two-thirds of its depth either straight into its final growing position or into a pot containing a mix of sand or perlite and compost. Keep the pot well-watered and plant out a year later.

Large elder cutting can be placed straight in the ground.

Care When Growing

This shrub grows in most soils, wet or dry, but does favour more fertile ground. Elder tolerates a very hard pruning right down to the stump.  It needs little care but can attract large numbers of aphids in the summer.

During March, many wild foods are at their best as nature begins to wake up from its long winter slumber. It can be a month of crisp mornings, sunny afternoons and visibly longer, warmer day. Whole hillsides are flushed a vibrant spring green as their edible, early leaves break bud. Birds flit around frantically building their nests as herbaceous plants break their dormancy, pushing their nutritious spring leaves up through the soil.

Primrose, Primula vulgaris and other Primula species

In the wild, primroses can be found growing amongst hedgerows, roadsides and the fringes of woodlands. Their name derives from the Latin ‘Prima Rosa’, meaning the ‘first rose’ of the spring.  In the wild, they are a delicate yellow, whilst those in flower beds can be all nearly all the colours of the rainbow. Often put in as bedding plants, a wasteful practice in my opinion where flowers are planted just before they come into bloom and removed soon after.

Where I live, they generally begin to flower in February, but it is March that they become more conspicuous.

Eating Primrose

You should only eat the flowers of the primrose and not any other part of the plant. You might put them in salads or use them as a decoration for cakes to add a pop of colour. They have a mild but detectable sweetness and slight floral notes. Their flavour is delicate and can be easily overwhelmed in a dish so mix it with mild flavours if you want the taste to really sing.   

Forsythia, Forsythia spp.

Forsythias burst into life during the early spring with a profusion of bright-yellow four-petaled blooms. They put on this glorious show for two to three weeks before all but vanishing back into the garden as a rather non-descript green shrub. Forsythia is a catch-all name for several species, most of which are native to Asia. There is only one European species, Forsythia europaea, which is native to the Balkans. Most of the garden plants are hybrids cultivated from plants that would have grown on dry banks and scrubland in the Far East. 

Eating Forsythia

The uncooked blooms can be added to salads to give much-needed spring colour. The taste is mildly floral but can be bitter so it’s best to offset them with sweeter plants, such as sweet cicely or use a sweetened dressing, like balsamic vinegar and honey.

Forsythia golden syrup

Yellow forsythia blooms can be used as the base for a bright, golden syrup.

• Prepare a jar of blossoms, a jar of water and half a jar of sugar.
• On the hob, dissolve the sugar in the water on a medium heat.
• When all the sugar has been dissolved, take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool a little before adding the blossoms, which will shrink.
• Allow to steep, leaving the flowers in the syrup overnight before straining the following morning.
• Forsythia syrup can be kept for up to three months in the fridge and used on pancakes or to add a splash of colour and flavour to gin or vodka and tonic.

Hawthorn Leaves, Crataegus spp

Hawthorn is a large shrub or small tree. It has white blossoms with five petals and red berries in the autumn.  In the early spring, the leaves are light green and good to eat with a mild but satisfyingly fresh, flavour. It is often planted as hedging so look for it on the sides of paths, down country lanes and in parks and gardens. It will also grow as a shrubby tree that can be found on the fringes of woodlands and in edgelands or neglected urban areas. 

Eating hawthorn leaves

You can eat the young bright green leaves of hawthorn in the spring. Add them to couscous, a salad, in sandwiches or just munch them straight from the tree.