Elder
A beautiful and bountiful indicator of the change of the seasons. A forager’s dream in spring and late summer, but feared by the devil!
The summer has been long and hot and we are now in the midst of a mast year. The trees and hedgerows are brimming with fruit and nuts, and I have been doing my best to make the most of this by a lot of hedgerow raiding and making lots of plum and damson gin, jams, jellies, cordials and syrups, and freezing fruit and berries to last us through the winter. This is an important seasonal ritual for me; foraging is a way of keeping my connection and consciousness of the changing seasons, even when life is busy, so not to let the year slip away without notice.
My favourite bounty this year has been the elder. From the flowers in the spring, I have made litres and litres of cordial, which I have bottled, consumed (with or without sparkling wine!) and gifted, and in the last couple of weeks I have been picking pounds of elderberries to make a natural immune-boosting syrup to fend off colds and flu during the winter. So, with that in mind, this Species of the Month is the bountiful elder (Sambucus nigra).
What does it look like?
Elder can grow to a height of around 15m and can be identified by its short trunk and grey-brown, corky, furrowed bark. The twigs and leaves have an unpleasant smell when broken or crushed, which reveal a hollowness or white pith inside. The leaves are pinnate (resembling a feather), with 5-7 oval and toothed leaflets. Elder is stunning in the spring and summer, with bright green leaves and clouds of large, flat umbels (umbrella-like clusters) of creamy-white fragrant flowers in summer from 10-30cm across, which you can normally smell before you see, especially on a hot sunny day from May! As the season moves into the end of the summer and gives way to autumn, the leaves change colour to a yellow then red and the hedgerow and scrub patches glisten with glossy, black-purple berries.
Elders are hermaphrodites, meaning both the male and female reproductive parts are contained within the same flower.
Where to find it
Elder is a large shrub species of woodland edges, hedgerows and grassland where scrub occurs, but can also be found on waste ground, in cemeteries, and often where ground has been disturbed – near badger setts and rabbit warrens, and even on rubbish tips. It prefers rich, well-drained soils, and is widespread across the UK and in many temperate and subtropical regions of the world, and can survive for around 60 years.
Benefits to wildlife
Despite its reputation as a bad-smelling, opportunistic ‘weed’, elder is quick to establish and is beneficial to wildlife, as the flower provides nectar to a variety of insects (which need removing if you are making cordial!) and the berries are eaten by birds and mammals such as dormice and bank voles – so make sure you don’t pick too many for syrups, puddings and wine. It is not just the flowers and fruit that are important, but the foliage are the food source of several moth caterpillar species, including the white-spotted pug, swallowtail, dot moth and buff ermine.
But a word of caution to humans: the vitamin C-rich berries and other parts of the plant of plants from the genus Sambucus are poisonous if they are not cooked!
Did you know?
Here comes the folklore, legends and uses – it wouldn’t be one of my Species of the Month without it!!
- It is thought the name elder comes from the Anglo-Saxon ‘aeld’, meaning fire, because the hollow stems were used as bellows to blow air into the centre of a fire.
- Elder foliage was once used to keep flies away, and branches were often hung around dairies.
- If you burned it, it was thought that the Devil would appear, but if you kept it by the house, you could keep him at bay. It’s also known as the ‘Judas tree’ because legend has it that the traitor Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder bush.
- Mature wood is good for whittling and carving, while smaller stems can be hollowed out to make craft items.
- Elder is also a great source for a variety of coloured dyes, and historically it was used to make lushly patterned Harris tweed. Blue and purple dye was obtained from the berries, yellow and green from the leaves, and grey and black dye was made from the bark.
So enjoy picking and consuming, but make sure you cook it and hang some in the house or in the cattle shed to keep away the flies!
| Megan’s Elderberry Syrup |
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 First of all, please make sure you know what you are picking, ask permission if on private land, and do not be tempted to eat the berries without cooking them first otherwise you will be very ill!
As mentioned, elderberry is used to prevent and remedy colds and flu, and making it is much cheaper than buying it! The berries are rich in nutrients and powerful antioxidants, modulate the immune response, are antiviral, and have an anti-inflammatory effect and work best taken daily as a preventative than a cure.
This is my go to recipe that I’ve modified over the years:
- 6 cups fresh elderberries, stems and any green berries removed (removing berries with a fork is the easiest way)
- 16 cups water or more to cover berries
- 2/3 cups British sugar, to taste (I add 2 and then increase to taste)
Extras to taste
I use:
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 tsp of cinnamon
- 5 star anise
- 8-10 cloves
- Cardamom pods for a spicy flavour
- 9 cups of freshly grated ginger
- Peel of a large orange
Though these are some other options:
- 1-2 whole vanilla beans, split down the middle
- Zest of lemon or lime
- 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
- 2 tbsp of fresh herbs such as bay leaf, olive leaf, thyme, sage, or rosemary etc
Instructions
- Pick and detach the elderberries from stems with a fork and wash (get the insects off!), then put berries in a large pot and cover with water and selected spices, ginger and fruit peel/juice to taste.
- Bring to a boil, and stir; reduce to a medium-low simmer for 30 mins without a lid, stirring occasionally.
- Allow to cool. Using a potato masher, mash berries into the bottom of the pot to extract their juices.
- Strain this through a muslin cloth or fine sieve and dispose of fruit and spices. It does stain so be careful – don’t wear white!
- Add the juice back to the pot, along with sugar.
- Boil again to reduce and concentrate the mixture. I did this for a further 30/40 minutes on a medium simmer.
- Put through a muslin cloth or sieve once more and divide into small sterilised jars/bottles whilst it’s still warm, as this will seal the jars for long storage.
- Fill them right to the top before placing the lids, which will seal once the syrup is cooled.
- Refrigerate open jars for 3-4 months if stored correctly to get you through the lurgy period, or freeze the syrup for up to 6 months by pouring the cooled syrup into ice cube trays for easy dosing.
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Megan Lock
Advisory