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Vol
1, No 6
Page 2B |
Common
elderberry: Sambucus canadensis |
October
2003
|
Page
2A (last page) of this issue features a captioned slide show on how to
harvest and prepare Elder Flowers, and further information on how to identify
the plant. Page 2B (this page) is a slide show of how to harvest and prepare
Elder Berries. Botanical, historical, and medicinal information, recipes,
and links can be found on Page
3.
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Tools
Required: Grocery bags, plastic gloves, large bowl, trash can, trash
can liner.
Total field harvesting time: depends on how far
you have to drive, and to how many sites. The umbrells break off easily.
Total
home preparation time: If you freeze the umbrells first, about half
an hour. If you pluck, about 3 hours. After the berries are plucked, they
can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. If frozen, just scoop out what you
need for your recipes.
Yield:
About a pound of berries for one plastic grocery bag full of umbrells.
Flavor:
Wild berry flavor. Not sweet.
Harvesting
Tips: The umbrells break off easily. Berries can be frozen once. After
they thaw out, do not refreeze.
Serving Suggestions :
Jellies, pies, wine.
Notes:
Available for a long growing season, and plentiful everywhere. The berries
are not edible raw, and should be cooked with lemon and sugar for best
flavor, or fermented.
Nutritional properties: See Page 3 links.
Medicinal properties: . Elder is a potent and popular medicinal
weeds. Go to Page 3 to learn
more.
Elder Berries
Like the flowers, the berries mature at different times, but it's okay to have a few green berries in your recipes, and you can make "capers" with the green berries. This cluster won't mature for another 2 to 3 weeks, leaving it wide open to being "robbed" by hungry birds. Even if they get the first round, there will still be plenty left for you. When the cluster is at least 3/4 or more full of ripe berries (purple), break off the whole cluster, stuff in a bag, and take home for processing. You'll need at least 20 to 30 clusters to make a decent batch of jelly.
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American Elder's "signature":
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IDENTIFICATION
TIP:
American elderberry "bushes" are really a colony of "canes"
that spread by producing modified stems, called stolons or runners, that
crawl along the ground, take root, and form new plants. Elderberries with
stolons often grow in colonies.
Other species of Elder in North America are real trees rather than canes, and can grow up to 50 feet tall! This one is found mostly in the southeast where I live. If you live elsewhere, try finding out more about the elderberry trees in your area--if the berries are edible, etc. and post it to our Elder Chat Board. Elderberries are very common throughout the western world.
Cultivation:
Elderberries
are native to Europe, Asia, and North America, and are widely distributed
in temperate and semitropical regions because they tolerate a wide range
of growing conditions. Some species have been refined through breeding
and are now cultivated in gardens, where they are planted in large groups
or colonies. Although they tolerate many growing conditions, elderberries
do best in deep, moist soil and partial shade.
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