Elderberry (or Sambucus Nigra) has long been associated with summer in the British Isles and as such is seen growing regularly in the UK, along with further afield such as Europe and North America. Elder has a long history of being used in a variety of home recipes, medicines, and cosmetics, and elderberries make excellent wine. They can also be used in cakes, pastries, and jams, along with cold and flu remedies. So how can you get the most out of this free reward?
If you’re making elderberry wine, fresh elderberries are really the only way to go. You’ll want to use them as soon as possible, storing them in a cool, dark place until use. If you plan to use them for cakes and other tasty treats, or even general storage for later use, you’ll want to dry the berries. Regardless of how you intend to use them, it is worth remembering to remove all stems before use, otherwise they can stain the finished product with a bitter taste.
When collecting elderberries, you’ll want to cut them by the main stem, rather than trying to rip or pinch it. As with elderflowers, it is best to pick the berries when they are dry, so avoid picking them after the rain or first thing in the morning when they are covered in dew. Remember to take only what you are going to use, taking too much and throwing it away is just sacrilege.
Elderberries can be dried in two ways: with time and patience or quickly in the oven.
The way of time and patience includes hanging them from the stems to air dry for a period of ten days. Make sure to cover with a paper bag, with punched air holes, this will catch any that may fall off during the drying process. You can hold the bag in place with an elastic band.
A much quicker way to dry elderberries is to remove all the stems and spread them out on baking sheets in a hot oven. You will need to preheat the oven to 50oC (or less) and leave them there for 7-14 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them, you want them to resemble raisins. Then you should take them out of the oven and leave them until they are completely cold.
