What to do with Elder

[HeyWayne]

Last year I trimmed the elder bush roight baack and as a result never had a bloom (I think I pruned it a bit late to be honest).

Anyhoo - this year there seems to be an abundance of bloom - ready, if not there already.

Now - what to do with it.

Any suggestions that don't involve the contents of a science lab?

[lynda66]

i chopped 3 down to about 3 foot high, so just a trunk ... thought that would be it .... nope they have suddenly turned into trees again ... and nope i have no idea what to do with em either, though i could probably nail some branches to them and turn them into a chook perch

[suzie spud]

Lucky you! Here is a recipe for Elderflower 'champagne'. I haven't tried this specific recipe but my friend makes it every year and it is divine.

12 heads of elderflowers (in full bloom and scent, picked on a dry day)
0.7kg white sugar
1 lemon
2 tablespoons wine vinegar

Put blooms in a bowl with juice of lemon. Cut up rind of lemon and add it in (minus the white pith). Add sugar, vinegar and 4 litres of water and leave for 24 hours. Strain into screwtop or sealable bottles. Leave for 2 weeks. You are supposed to drink it within 3 weeks but I've had it a year old and it was still magic. Let us know how you get on.

Whatever flowers turn to berries can also be turned into a delicious drink. You can't eat the berries raw as they are poisonous but I have a juice steamer from Finland called a Mehu Mejya which I use to steam the juice out of the berries. I assume you could boil them for a while and then strain and add sugar to taste. I add apples or other berries to them too for a change. Enjoy.

[lynda66]

not lucky they shade all the sun off my garden lol

[suzie spud]

Lucky you! Here is a recipe for Elderflower 'champagne'. I haven't tried this specific recipe but my friend makes it every year and it is divine.

12 heads of elderflowers (in full bloom and scent, picked on a dry day)
0.7kg white sugar
1 lemon
2 tablespoons wine vinegar

Put blooms in a bowl with juice of lemon. Cut up rind of lemon and add it in (minus the white pith). Add sugar, vinegar and 4 litres of water and leave for 24 hours. Strain into screwtop or sealable bottles. Leave for 2 weeks. You are supposed to drink it within 3 weeks but I've had it a year old and it was still magic. Let us know how you get on.

Whatever flowers turn to berries can also be turned into a delicious drink. You can't eat the berries raw as they are poisonous but I have a juice steamer from Finland called a Mehu Mejya which I use to steam the juice out of the berries. I assume you could boil them for a while and then strain and add sugar to taste. I add apples or other berries to them too for a change. Enjoy.

Ooops! Forgot to mention the Elderflower champagne recipe is from The New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour.

[roitelet]

Elderflower Cordial

20 Large heads of Elderflowers
1.8kg Granulated sugar
1 ltr Water
75g Citric Acid (Difficult to get try Homebrew shops not available from Chemists)
2 Lemons

Place the Elderflowers in a large bowl.
Mix the water with the sugar in a pan and bring it slowly to the boil.
Pour over the Elderflowers and stir in the citric acid.
Grate the zest of the lemons and the slice them and add all to the bowl.
Cover and leave for 24 hours.
Strain through double muslin and decant into sterilised bottles.

It only keeps for a short time but if you put into small mineral water bottles (plastic) it can be frozen.

Eldeberry Cordial

Elderberries
Sugar
Cloves (These act as a preservative)

Pick on a dry day and string the fruit as for Blackcurrants.
Place in a saucepan on a very low heat until the juice runs freely.
Strain through double muslin.
Measure juice - 1 pint of juice to 1lb sugar and 10 cloves
Bring to the boil for 10 mins.
Bottle in sterilised bottles making sure that there some cloves in each bottle.
Will keep for 2 years.

A brilliant treatment for colds and flu as it has anti-viral properties and also a really nice drink hot or cold.

Google for 'Pauls Elderberry Page' lots of receipes there.

[Hilary B]

i chopped 3 down to about 3 foot high, so just a trunk ... thought that would be it .... nope they have suddenly turned into trees again ... and nope i have no idea what to do with em either, though i could probably nail some branches to them and turn them into a chook perch

When we kept goats in a relatively small run (because we couldn't goat-proof anything larger and the neighbours complained about lost veg) the long shoots that a haevily prunned elder sends up were a wonderful source of freesh greenery in summer (I also followed the electricity board's tree pruning gang, and took home roof-racksful of suitable branches). Hay just isn't enough!

[shirlthegirl43]

Elderflower champagne, elderflower cordial and elderflower wine are lovely. Later on elderberry wine and jam. Wish I had an elder tree in the garden.

[Sanjo]

Suzy and Roitelet , When you say "heads" do you mean the actual head as it is on the tree, ie with the green stalky bits attached. Looked at them when out on a walk this morning and now know where to "harvest" a fair bit. Also, I read somewhere that sometimes the elderflower can have a distinct "off" smell and this is the one to avoid as it makes a nasty wine. Is this true in your experiences. Are all elderflowers the same? Thanks in advance. Sanjo

[lynda66]

Elderflower champagne, elderflower cordial and elderflower wine are lovely. Later on elderberry wine and jam. Wish I had an elder tree in the garden.

*sends elder trees off to shirl

[roitelet]

Yes Sanjo, the heads with the green stalky bits. All elder smells like cat pee but it doesn't seem to come over in the taste of products made from it.

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!

[geoff]

I have a dim memory of reading or hearing that you can deep fry elderflowers
Does it ring a bell with anyone else?

[shirlthegirl43]

*sends elder trees off to shirl

Ooh, yes please!!

Yes Sanjo, the heads with the green stalky bits. All elder smells like cat pee but it doesn't seem to come over in the taste of products made from it.

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!

I have noticed a distinct difference with two varieties - one smells heavenly the other like cat wee.

I have a dim memory of reading or hearing that you can deep fry elderflowers
Does it ring a bell with anyone else?

I have seen a recipe somewhere but can't remember where. I think you dip them in batter like you can with courgette flowers.

[Printemps]

I'm a lover of elderflower cordial and the sparkling one too and have just made this year's first batch of the former. I tend to use twice the amount of flower heads as recommended, which produces a more intense flavour, but allows a great dilution if too strong. I strain the mixture into 50cl plastic bottles which I then freeze. If you then dilute the syrup and add a beaten egg white then freeze it, you'll have the most divine elderflower sorbet!

When making the 'champage' cordial I now use any plastic bottles that once contained a fizzy drink, ie lemonade, coke, tonic etc. These bottles are designed to withold the pressure so won't explode on you. Such is the undesirable side-effect of glass bottles!!!

[maytreefrannie]

Yes Sanjo, the heads with the green stalky bits. All elder smells like cat pee but it doesn't seem to come over in the taste of products made from it.

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!

I read that you take off the flower heads by running a fork through the stalks - very awkward when you've washed them. It's good if you can use the green stalks as well, I never knew that.

Regarding the cat-pee smell, I've read that if you use too many flowers for the wine, the result will be cat-piddle wine.

I've made elderflower 'champagne' and elderberry wine a few times but it was some years ago - you've put the idea back in my head for this year. Thanks.