Ingredient: Elder flowers
Category: Flower
Season: May to June - Home grown
The common elder complex is variously treated as a single species Sambucus nigra found in the warmer parts of Europe and North America with several regional varieties or subspecies, or else as a group of several similar species.
The flowers are in flat corymbs, and the berries are black to glaucous blue; they are larger shrubs, reaching 5–8 metres tall, occasionally small trees up to 15 metres tall and with a stem diameter of up to 30–60 centimetres.
Uses
Ripening elderberries
Both flowers and berries can be made into elderberry wine.
In Hungary an elderberry brandy is produced (requiring 50 kg of fruit to produce 1 litre of brandy).
The alcoholic drink sambuca is not made with elderberries, as some people seem to think.
The berries are best not eaten raw as they are mildly poisonous, causing vomiting, particularly if eaten unripe. The mild cyanidetoxicity is destroyed by cooking.
The berries can also be made into jam, pies or Pontack sauce.
All green parts of the plant are poisonous, containing cyanogenic glycosides (Vedel & Lange 1960).
It is also used in the St-Germain Liquor.
The flowers may be used to make an herbal tea, which is believed as a remedy for colds and fever.
In Europe
The flowers are made into a syrup or cordial (in Romanian: Socată), which is diluted with water before drinking.
The popularity of this traditional drink has recently encouraged some commercial soft drink producers to introduce elder flower-flavoured drinks (Fanta Shokata).
The flowers can also be used to make a mildly alcoholic, sparkling elder flower 'champagne'.
Elder flowers have a wonderful affinity with gooseberries because excellent cordial distilled from Elder flowers is available to all in most supermarkets and wine shops, makes combining them with gooseberries as easy as pouring them from a bottle.
Elder flower makes a superb non-alcoholic drink: one measure of cordial topped with sparkling mineral water and lots of ice, Very refreshing.
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