Elderberry - Healthy Recipes And More

elder

Whether as juice, jelly, jam or boiled-down roaster: Elderberry is the classic from grandma's kitchen and gives all preparations a strong purple color. Elderberries contain a poisonous substance called sambunigrin, primarily when they are unripe, which causes nausea and indigestion. Elderberry must therefore be cooked well. Elderberries can be collected and harvested in Austria from September to October. The elder flowers can be picked from mid-May…

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• Botany
• ingredients
• Use and preparation
• storage

Botany

The black elder (Sambucus nigra) is a wood that is also known under the names elder, elder, holder, elder bush and black lilac. The elderberries are berry-like stone fruits that are only digestible after heating. The flowers are also suitable for consumption. Elderberry blooms in umbels (ie many small flowers) creamy white to yellowish and smells sweet and aromatic. Depending on the variety, the fruit can begin to ripen in mid-August. The spherical berries are deep red to black-purple and have a diameter of about five to seven millimeters. The elder is self-pollinating and therefore does not depend on a pollinator.

Elderberries contain a poisonous substance called sambunigrin, primarily when they are unripe. This substance can cause nausea and indigestion. The Sambunigrin is rendered harmless by heating to over 80 degrees Celsius. The elder should only be harvested when all the berries are dark. As elderberries spoil quickly, they are rarely available in stores (sometimes at farmers' markets). At the edge of the path in the countryside you often come across elderberries and can pick them yourself.

Note Elderberries must not be eaten raw as they are poisonous when raw.

ingredients

Elderberries have a high water content and thus relatively few calories (54 kcal / 100 g). Plenty of vitamins (e.g. vitamin A, vitamins of the B group, vitamin C) and minerals (e.g. potassium, calcium, iron) contribute to the health value of elderberries.

Danger! Processed elderberry products can sometimes contain a lot of sugar.

Elderberry Ingredients	per 100 g of edible portion, raw	Elderberry Ingredients	per 100 g of edible portion, raw
Energy (kcal)	54	Iron (mg)	1.6
Fat (g)	1.7	Vitamin A (µg)	60
Protein (g)	2.6	Vitamin B1 (mg)	0.07
Carbohydrates (g)	6.5	Vitamin B2 (mg)	0.07
Dietary fiber (g)	6.5	Niacin (mg)	1.5
Potassium (mg)	303	Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.25
Calcium (mg)	37	Vitamin C (mg)	18th

Use and preparation

Elderberries are mainly processed into juice, soup, puree, jam, compote, jelly and schnapps or liqueur. The berries must be processed quickly after harvesting and must be heated. After washing, the small berries can be easily detached from the fruit heads with a fork. If you peel it off by hand, the berries can easily burst and turn your fingers undesirably blue. When that happens, clean it with lemon.

Elderberry can be combined well with blackberry, plum, apple or pear. Cinnamon, clove and lemon peel are suitable as spices. A classic in Austrian cuisine is the elderly roaster, which is often served with desserts such as Kaiser or pot pancakes. Elderflower syrup is also very popular.

A special treat: elderflower in batter.

Note Elderberries foam a lot when they are cooked - use a high saucepan.

storage

Since elderberries spoil quickly, they should be processed immediately after harvest and not stored.

Note Make sure that no unripe berries are processed.