Can you eat raw Elderberries?

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Monday, October 9. 2017

Can you eat raw Elderberries?

No, you probably ought not to, and they are bitter anyway. Birds love them which is the main reason I have planted them.

They are known to like damp habitats or stream edges, but they grow well, and spread, almost anywhere. They like sun. I have found them very easy to grow, and highly productive of fruit in Sept/Oct.

What are they good for? Jam and pies. I have never had Elderberry Wine, and most likely neither have you. Why bother?

People use their flowers for flavoring things.

Posted by Bird Dog in Gardens, Plants, etc. at 15:17 | Comments (14) | Trackbacks (0)

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Elderberry can be one incredible healing powerhouse. When used externally elder can help heal wounds and when taken internally it can help fight colds, flus, and respiratory illnesses.
Take advantage of this amazing natural remedy by making a very simple and incredibly useful elderberry tincture.

#1 Tim McCann on 2017-10-09 16:44 (Reply)

Can't tell whether you are being facetious or not. Damn things are semi-poison when raw.

#2 Bird Dog on 2017-10-09 16:49 (Reply)

Actually he is right...you can even buy the elderberry syrup on Amazon and it is a good flu virus inhibitor. I have several elderberries but the birds always beat me to them along with the bush cherries that I have. I swear they put out sentinels.

#3 indyjonesouthere on 2017-10-09 16:58 (Reply)

Pure superstitious poppycock. They have no healing or health value what so ever.

I have heard that they cure cancer and because of this big pharma wants them banned... Naw, just kidding.

#4 OneGuy on 2017-10-09 17:11 (Reply)

I have had elderberry wine.

At least that's what the label said. It was back during my misspent youth as a new HS grad. Very sweet, almost like syrup. Of course I liked it.

#5 DrTorch on 2017-10-09 17:35 (Reply)

Elderberries make a good jam. Yeah, you need to add sugar. But in upstate Pennsylvania they were routinely picked, sometimes eaten raw, and definitely jammed. Of course, that was before Gorelets and bicycle helmets and the rest of "modern" society....

#6 Mark Matis on 2017-10-09 19:13 (Reply)

What do they smell like?

#7 Jim on 2017-10-09 19:40 (Reply)

Very versatile and used quite often here in all forms from flowers onwards.

#8 Thud (Link) on 2017-10-09 19:44 (Reply)

I suppose that someone with unlimited time on their hands could make elderberry jam or wine but I can't imagine why. Had an old neighbor lady give me a bag of them once so we made jam. Tasted pretty much like grape jam. Got some and tried to pick the berries off but gave up very quickly.

#9 FRP on 2017-10-09 20:41 (Reply)

Native red elderberries are more toxic than blue or black elderberries when raw, and not very tasty. Other parts of the plant are poisonous.

#10 KT on 2017-10-09 21:16 (Reply)

that syrup is made by boiling the berries, which neutralises the toxins.

#11 JTW on 2017-10-10 01:03 (Reply)

Just made (well, 4 weeks ago) a large batch (30lb) of elderberry (black) and blackberry jam-10lb elderberries, 10lb blackberries, 10lb sugar, juice of 4 lemons.
The trick is to cut the bunches of elderberries off the trees and then hand strip them into a tub at home.
The jam tastes exquisite to me. The elderberries help the blackberries to set. I am fighting off friends and relations who have tasted it and want more.

Here in the UK, elderflower wine and cordial are also traditional -scented and delicate. You can now buy the cordial commercially.
made commercially.

#12 Clovis Sangrail on 2017-10-10 07:28 (Reply)

I thought we might have elderberry here, but I think it's really just pokeweed a/k/a inkberry. A website I consulted just now pointed out that leaves are directly opposite each other on an elderberry but alternate on a pokeweed. There are a lot of other differences, too; the pokeweed berries are larger and in less numerous bunches. We have pokeweed berries all over the place, which the animals seem to like. The berries are not good for people to eat. The pokeweed leaves can be cooked and eaten safely when very young and tender. My grandmother was particularly fond of adding them to a mess of other greens.

#13 Texan99 on 2017-10-10 09:25 (Reply)

Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!

#14 Bill Adams on 2017-10-11 14:20 (Reply)

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Monday, October 9. 2017

Can you eat raw Elderberries?