Elderberry Episode

Craig gathered 20 lbs of elderberries from Plain, Washington. These tall shrubs dangle their ripe dark blue berries in clusters making picking easy. When you see bear scat loaded with elderberry seeds in this part of the woods, it is not hard to imagine them standing on their haunches gorging on these wild nuggets. Wild berries are nutrient rich; the dark blue/purple ones are particularly good at nourishing the blood. Elderberry is loaded with Vitamin C and potassium; the immune system is protected by bioflavinoids and other proteins in the berry which destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell.

Processing wild food always takes time, allot of time, but the tradeoff is potency. With two huge bowls mounded with berries, I diligently separated the berries from the stem. Elderberries can be a poison to the digestive system if eaten raw so they must be cooked. I used the berries to make jam, bags of pie filling and a syrup. If one of us has a cold coming on we have a tasty arsenal ready and waiting in our pantry.

Syrups are a very delicious and flexible medicinal medium. You can put a tablespoon in plain water, soda water, warm tea, vodka, warm brandy – have a few doses throughout the day. All ages will seek it out when a cold comes on. Here is the recipe I used this year:

Recipe by: Herbs For Health, Glenbrook Farms Herbs

6 cups fresh elderberries
1/3 –1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lime juice

Wash & mash elderberries, put through a strainer or a juicer. In a quart pan, mix the elderberry juice with honey, ginger and cinnamon. Cover and simmer for 35 mins. Remove from heat and add the lime juice.

You can add 2 cups of vodka at this stage or leave it nonalcoholic for other applications. Pour in a bottle, cap and store in the refrigerator.