There’s a good number of reasons to make elderberry cordial. Firstly it’s a drink which has been popular across Europe for centuries, a part of our heritage and a great way to get into wild foraging. Secondly elderberries have a number of health benefits, including high potassium and vitamin C, and have been proven to help stave off winter colds and shorten their duration if taken whilst ill. And thirdly elderberry cordial is super tasty and relatively fool-proof to make. What more reason do you need?
To make your cordial you’ll have to find your trees. Elders are pretty fast growing, unfussy trees. Most specimens today grow alongside our roads, in our hedgerows and beside our waterways and look more like a large bush than a tree. Many stemmed, with a pale, slightly knobbly bark, elders look somewhat weak limbed and often unimpressive. I have however seen much larger more tree-like individuals in areas of less disturbed woodland. Apparently these more mature examples have tough heartwood and roots, which were traditionally used for tool handles or even stakes. Take apart a branch of our younger companions and you’ll be puzzled as to how this can have been the case, given the soft pith inside and the breakable bark outside, however given time and room to grow it seems this will change.
Mythology around elders give many interesting stories to this versatile plant, and may be one of the reasons it is so well spread. It was once believed to be a sacred tree, protected by a tree spirit or goddess. It was planted near houses for this reason, to give protection from demons, and oddly enough lightening. Cutting down an elder was strictly forbidden. Later it was believed to be associated with witchcraft and elders were avoided. Some said to make a cradle from elder wood would result in the child being swapped for a fairy changeling, and to burn elder in the house would allow witches to enter. This may be connected to the fact that toxins present in the elder’s leaves, branches and unripe berries are metabolized into cyanide if ingested. Don’t worry ripe berries are perfectly safe to eat.
The pliability of elder branches made it an easy tree to build into hedgerows, adding to its popularity on farmyards. A nitrogen loving plant farms were ideal places for it to thrive. The leaves and bark are also believed to help keep insects at bay and were sometimes worn by farm workers or attached to a horse’s bridle for this reason.
Aside from its berries elder also provides a bountiful crop of delicate yellowy-white flowers, growing in umbrella formations in large clusters around late spring, early summer. Elderflowers were once used in beauty products such as face washes, to help keep skin young and fair. Today their most popular use is in elderflower drinks, such as cordial and presses. With a true scent of summer elderflower is a subtle yet moreish flavour and well off-set by lemon or apple juice. The flavour also works well in jellies, sorbets or cakes, amongst other forms of confectionary.
But now to elderberries. If elderflowers taste of summer than elderberries taste of winter. A thick, mellow but fruity flavour they create the perfect drink for a mid-winter’s evening, particularly with the addition of some winter spice, such as nutmeg or cinnamon. The berries themselves can be eaten raw but I wouldn’t bother. Individually they have barely any texture or flavour and leave you wondering if what you’ve just eaten was actually a little rotten. Cooked however, with plenty of sugar, they can be used in drinks, jams, pies, cakes, whatever takes your fancy.
So back to the tree. At the end of its pale stems a series of pinnate leaves, small and traditionally leaf-shaped, grow out towards the sun. The bushes are generally more sparsely vegetated than many other hedgerow species and the leaves themselves are a fresh young green. Elder trees are easiest to spot when in flower or laden with berries around September time. Like the flowers the berries grow in heavy clusters and are ripe once they’ve reach a dark purple colour. They should be soft and plump, shrivelled specimens are already rotten.
Generally elderberry collecting is a difficult affair only because of their tendency to go very quickly from under ripe to rotten. And in the brief days when they are ripe you’ll be fighting every bird in the neighbourhood to get them first. But if you can find a bush which hasn’t already been raided (try and choose bushes away from busy roads, where they will be coated in whatever has spluttered from the passing car exhausts) simply snip off whole heads and place into a wicker basket or plastic bags. Wicker baskets have the advantage that whatever has been living in the elderberry heads now has a chance to escape, whereas the plastic bag has the plus that you’re less likely to leak juice down your clothes. Be warned it does stain. Remember it’s best practice only to take a few heads from each bush, leaving some for the birds and giving the tree the chance to reproduce. Generally there will be plenty of bunches up high which only the birds can reach but still its good to take a few from several bushes rather than strip one entirely.
Once you’ve got your elderberries give them a quick wash and then remove the individual berries from the stems and place into a large stainless steel pan. Various techniques can be use, I simply squeezed bunches at a time off the stems, or some people recommend a comb or a fork. I tried the fork technique but failed. Remember to pick out any cyanide laden stems as well as rotten berries and confused spiders before you begin to cook.
Now cover your berries in cold water, until they’re submerged. Take the pot to the boil and then lower heat and simmer with a lid on for 30mins. At this stage you can add the zest of a lemon for a little more flavour. Once the simmering is done simply remove from the heat and strain the contents through a muslin into another bowl or measuring jug. Give the berries a good stamping with the back of a spoon before relinquishing them to the compost heap. With your lovely dark liquid now measure out how many litres you have and deposit it back into the pan. Add 2tsp cinnamon and nutmeg and 400g of sugar per litre before bringing back to the boil and simmering again for 30mins, or until the sugar is completely dissolved (lid once again in place).
The dark syrupy liquid which now remains is your cordial. What you’d like to do with it next is up to you. Add it to liquor as a tasty treat, bottle it up and save for a chilly evening (drinking both hot and cold can be advised) or even use it to make your very own jelly. If bottling remember to sterilise your bottles first to keep your drink mould-free for longer (several months at least). With glass bottles this can be done by boiling them in a pan or placing a little water inside the bottle and then sticking them in the oven for 10mins at 60 degrees c. Plastic bottles can also be used, an anti-bacterial wash can sterilise these, just make sure it’s safe to be used in connection to food and drink.
And that’s it. Easy-peasy and super tasty with a few health benefits just for good luck. Once you’ve tried the berries you may want to return to the same bushes next year for your elderflowers. But remember any heads you pick for your elderflower cordial wont be there for your elderberries, so pick with care.
Ingredients:
1kg elderberries (de-stalked)
Roughly 500ml water
400g sugar
2tsp ground nutmeg
2tsp ground cinnamon
Equipment:
Wicker basket or plastic bag
Secateurs
Stainless steel pan
Measuring jug
Sieve
Muslin
Ladle
Funnel
Bottles
p.s. I adapted a recipe I found on a website call Rowancott Herbs. You can get slightly different quantities, spices and timings but largely most recipes I’ve found are fairly similar and can be adapted to your taste.
A year of firsts 