Yes, raw elderberries and leaves are poisonous, but that doesn't meant they aren't delicious and beneficial when cooked or made into a jam. The berries are tart when cooked and have been used for both medicinal and culinary purposes. Get ready to make a winter juice, jam, pie, or elderberry wine.
- One cup of fresh berries contain 106 calories, 57% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C, 36% of the DV or Dietary Fiber, and more
- Elderberries are a great source of phenolic acids. This compound reduces damage from oxidative stress in the body
- Black elderberry extracts can improve cold and flu symptoms
Recipes:
Elderberry Jelly (simplyrecipes.com)
- 3-4 pounds Ripe Elderberries
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 package SureJell Pectin
- 4 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Butter
Rinse elderberry clusters thoroughly. I find the easiest way to do this is to put them in the basin of my kitchen sink, and fill it up with water. If you've picked your own elderberries, often there are little squash bugs or spiders that will come to the surface, so keep an eye out for them.
Working over a large bowl, work on one small cluster at a time, gently raking your fingers or the tines of a fork across the clusters to dislodge the berries from the stems.Use mostly berries that are completely blue or black. A few underripe green berries are fine; they have more pectin and including them will help the jelly set. For each batch of jelly, collect 3 pounds of de-stemmed elderberries (about 8 to 10 cups).
Place berries in a large pot and crush with a potato masher to release some of the juices. Turn the heat to medium and continue to crush as the mixture heats up to a boil. Once the berries and their juices reach a boil, reduce the heat to low and let the berries simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place a large fine-mesh sieve, or 4 layers of cheesecloth, over a pot. You'll need 5 to 6 (8-ounce) canning jars and lids. Put a steaming rack at the bottom of a large, tall pot. Add the jars and fill the pot with enough water to cover the jars with 1 to 2 inches of water. Once the water reaches a full rolling boil, boil the jars for 10 minutes to sterilize them. Slowly transfer the mashed berries and juice over the sieve to strain the juice out into the pot. Let strain for 1 hour.
Measure out the strained juice. You will need 3 cups of juice to make one batch of jelly if using SureJell pectin. Any amount more than that you can reserve for making syrup, or add to another batch for jelly
Place 3 cups of juice into a large, high sided, wide pot (8-quart). Add the lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil on high heat.
Add 4 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of butter. (The butter helps keep the mixture from boiling up too high.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil again. Watch the pot as the mixture will foam up considerably. You may need to lower the heat a bit to keep the foam from boiling over the pot.
As soon as the mixture reaches a rolling boil that you cannot diminish by stirring, watch the clock. At exactly 1 minute, remove from heat and pour mixture into canning jars to 1/4 inch of headspace from the rim.
Wipe the rims with a damp paper towel. Place lids on jars and rings to secure. Process the jars in a water bath for 5 minutes. Remove from the water bath and let cool. As the jelly cools you should hear a popping sound as the lids seal. Once you open a jar, it can last for several months in the refrigerator
Elderberry Liqueur (honest-food.net)
- 1 pint fresh Elderberries
- 1 quart Vodka
- 3 one-inch pieces of Lemon Rind
- Sugar to taste
Put elderberries into a quart Mason jar and pour over the vodka. Add the lemon rind (make sure the rind has no white pith, as it is bitter.) Seal and put in a dark cupboard for at least a month, or up to a year.
The alcohol will extract flavor from the elderberries over time, so the longer you let it sit, the inkier it will get.
When it is the color you want — anything from a Pinot Noir color to downright black — pour the vodka through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into another jar and add sugar.
How much sugar or honey? At least 2 tablespoons, but to your taste. Shake to combine and put back in the cupboard. After a few days or weeks, the sugar will completely dissolve and the elderberry liqueur is ready to drink. It keeps forever.
Elderberry Oats (navitasorganics.com)
- 1/2 cup Rolled Oats
- 1 cup Plant-Based Milk of Choice
- 1/2 teaspoon Navitas Organics Cacao Powder
- 1 teaspoon Navitas Organics Elderberry Powder
- 1 tablespoon Maplpe Syrup or Sweetener of your choice
- 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
- Dash of Cinnamon
- Combine your oats and plant-based milk, and cook as you normally would—either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Once your oats are ready, stir in the cacao powder, elderberry powder, sweetener, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- Top with fresh berries, granola and/or any other toppings of your choice, and enjoy!
