Elderberry on the River
My friend Garrett recently mentioned running out of jam making fruits. I often cycle on the American River Bike Trail where abundant items lurk. Each ride I take note of the vast quantities of berries, which I’ve been told are the Himalayan blackberry variety, along with raspberries. Mentioning this, we ended up hoofing it to the trail.
Elderberries stopped us, my first official encounter. I’ve seen them for years on the trail but never really knew what they were- I was ecstatic. Didn’t quite make it to the berries (I won’t go into the funny details) but ended up with about four pounds that Garrett graciously denied.
He told me they would be messy processing but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I raked them off their stems into a bowl (per Garrett’s guidance), picked out lingering pieces of stem then put them through my food mill.
Next the juice was strained. I had about four cups. Not much given the original amount of berries, but I’d been prepared for the work versus reward.
I sat there happy with my prized elderberry juice, what a vibrant, deep purplish color.
You know how you can hear about less common food things, think about them and wonder what you’d do if you had some? That had been my relationship with elderberries. Garrett, along with local forager Hank previously shared elderberry stories. This is where my intrigue started.
The Blue, Mexican or Tapiro Elderberry (botanical name “Sambucus Mexicana”) is the variety growing on the trail. This deciduous shrub, that you can also trim to grow more like a tree gets from 10 to 20 feet tall. 
Interesting fact- the processed berries are good for treating rheumatism. I say processed as I learned all elderberries contain toxic chemicals if you eat them raw. The small, white flower clusters can be gathered to make liquor, sorbet and other things. The juice is commonly sold in natural food stores for immunity, colds and coughs.
Syrup- easy and versatile. Thus far, it’s gone into smoothies, vinaigrette, mixed into sparkling water and been drizzled on desserts.
I gathered ideas from other recipes and ended up with a 3-to-1 ration of juice to sugar, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. You can then adjust the sweetening and add spices if desired. Let me know about your ideas if you’ve processed or come upon fresh elderberries.
Elderberry Syrup
3 to 4 cups fresh elderberry juice (about 4 pounds fresh)
1 to 2 cups sugar, honey or agave nectar, whichever you prefer
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Method:
Thoroughly wash berries by plunging them into a bowl of cold water.
Gently pull the berries off the stalks. I found lightly raking your fingers through them worked. Make sure to wear clothes you don’t care about as the juice stains!
In smaller amounts, process the berries through a food mill to extract the juice. Compost or discard the stems and seeds.
Strain the juice into a bowl to make sure you’ve got a clean liquid.
Put the juice into a non-reactive pot, stirring in 1 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Bring to a boil then immediately turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the syrup has thickened.
At this point, taste the syrup. I started with 1-cup sugar and added a little more, then continued to simmer an additional 5 minutes. If you like zing, add the additional tablespoon of lemon juice.
Cool slightly and pour into the vessel of your choice.
It should last refrigerated for several months. (I’ve even heard of it lasting a year.)
Hi Lynn,
Isn’t elderberry syrup wonderful? I made several batches of elderberry jelly last summer (only one batch so far this season) with elderberries picked at the river (recipe and story here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/elderberry_jelly/). The syrup is naturally antiviral and in fact I’ve been buying it for 20 dollars a small bottle for years, to use when I feel a cold coming on.
Elise,
The jar of elderberry syrup in my fridge has become a recent favorite. I’m hoping to collect more this season and will try your jelly (I’m a morning toast and jam person). Hopefully I won’t be needing the syrup for immunity this fall/winter!
A friend recently introduced me to elderberries at the river. He makes beautiful pies, jams, and even a luscious elderberry liqueur. I’ve made an elderberry plum cobbler and a simple sauce by simmering berries, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and a little water. No need to use a food mill. We put this sauce on everything – pancakes, waffles, spread on toast with lemon quark, with peanut butter, and just spooned out of the jar. I live 5 blocks from river access and had no idea these wonderful berries were practically in my back yard!
Cyndi,
Thanks for sharing. You’ve made some marvelous things. I like your method not putting the berries through a food mill- much easier. I’m curious do you strain your simple sauce or go the rustic route? The cobbler sounds inviting. Hum… want to go foraging for Elderberries next week?!
I found some elderberries last year but wish I could find more. We have a river in our county and I’m sure there must be other elderberries along it- they like growing near water. I made three batches of elderberry syrup since last September which we used whenever coming down with colds and it helped lessen the severity I usually experience. You’re in a warmer region than me so my source probably isn’t ripe yet but you’ve got me excited to check!
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Angelina,
Glad we got you excited! When you make your elderberry syrup for colds, do you put any sweetener in it? I should probably make a batch for immunity while elderberries are still available this season.
I use raw honey. The first couple of batches I made with just the berries, water, and honey. Then I added rosehips and astragalus. My son liked it plain better but I felt we all had better results with the blend.
I would love to forage enough this year to also try making elderberry jam. Tomorrow I’m going to my foraging source to see if they’re ripe yet!
angelina´s last blog ..Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe – Recipes
Another good thing about this fruit is its nutritional value. Berries in general have antioxidants that can eradicate harmful free radicals. I’ll try this one out with some canning salsa recipes I made at http://www.chile-pepper-sauces.com/canning-salsa-recipes.html. Thanks.
Chef Jay,
Yes, in addition to lots of antioxidants, they are high in Vitamin A, potassium and calcium. Just checked out your tomatillo salsa recipe. Would be interesting to add elderberries to it!
Ooooh….Elderberries!
Hmmm, wonder if we have them growing alongside our creek walk 2 miles from our home. There are lots of small trees / shrubs with similar looking berries. Problem is they’re on steep slopes that I’m not in the mood to tumble down while foraging for fruit.
There are mounds and mounds of Himalayan blackberry brambles that grow on both sides of the path. I usually nibble steadily, rather than walking much, and have trouble getting any berries home!
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I’m learning about how beneficial elderberries are for you. Seems the syrup isn’t too hard to make. Love to find some berries and give it a try, especially the elderberry salsa idea above!