Elderberry Shrub Recipe

IN Flavour Science
20th May 2015/by Mark Williams

Elderberries should not be eaten raw in any quantities, and the small twigs they hang from are toxic.

A few bits in your cleaned berries are inevitable and wont do any harm. This is one of my core wild larder staples that I just couldn’t do without, and I get itchy every autumn until i’ve stashed enough berries in the freezer to make a huge batch. Its always a hit on my foraging walks, either as a salad dressing or to add sweet and sour fruitiness to drinks. Its also rammed with flavanoids, anthocyanins and vitamins A and C, so you can feel a bit better abbout the vast amount of sugar in it! A spoon a day keeps the colds at bay.

Remove the elderberries from their umbels using a fork or place them in the freezer and remove the berries easily while they are still frozen
Weigh the berries before placing them in a suitable kilner or tub then add 500ml of apple cider vinegar for every 350g of fruit
Leave covered for 3-5 days, stirring occasionally
Strain off the liquid (discard the berries) and add 350g of sugar per 260ml of liquid
Simmer for 10 minutes then bottle.

This recipe also works well for other fruits such as blaeberries, blackcurrants and raspberries, but I think find elderberries most satisfying.

The pink foam that forms during the simmer tastes amazing – like gooey sweet/sour sweets. Try dehydrating it.

I am indebted to Miles Irving who published the basis for this recipe in his excellent Forager Handbook, and he in turn attributes it to forager-herbalist Mandy Oliver.

For more information on elder, elderflowers and elderberries, see here.