Beverages and Potions from the Elder
Created | Updated Jun 3, 2005
The elder (Sambruca nigra) is a common tree native to the UK and Europe, and is naturalised in many parts of the world. It is found growing in mixed deciduous woodland, marshy woodland, thickets, clearings, hedgerows and gardens. It flowers in late spring producing an off-white flower, which grows to approximately 5 to 6 mm in diameter. Indeed, it has been said, with some truth, that the English summer is not here until the elder is fully in flower, and that it ends when the berries are ripe. The berries may be red or purple, but are most commonly black.
At one time the elder was rather more scarce and was considered as sacred as other white-flowered, dark-berried plants such as the holly and rowan.
The fragrant flowerheads from the elder tree can be used to make two delightfully refeshing summer drinks. One is the non-alcoholic elderflower presse and the other is the slightly alcoholic elderflower 'champagne'.
The somewhat more potent but equally popular elderflower and elderberry wines may also be made, as also may elderflower 'beer'.
Although in principle, almost any parts of plants can be used to make home-made country wines, in the case of the elder the leaves and bark should NOT be used for this purpose. This is because they contain toxic compounds and, indeed, can be used as a natural insecticide.
Selection of Flowers for Elderflower Recipes
The best time to pick the flowers is on a dry warm day when they are in full bloom. One should select only those umbels which have creamy-yellow stamens, and never pick flowers that are damaged or discoloured. It is important that the flowers are not collected from busy roadsides where they may be exposed to vehicle pollution.
The flowers should not be washed, but care should be taken to shake off any insects and to remove thick stalks. The flowerheads are very delicate and so care must be taken not to bruise them.
Recipes
Elderflower Presse
Ingredients:
25 elder flower heads
4 oranges (sliced)
1 lemon (sliced)
1.8kg (4lb) sugar
85g (3 oz) tartaric acid
1 3/4 litres (3 pints) boiled, cooled water
Method:
Remove as much of the stalk as possible from the flowers and place them in a bucket. Pour in sufficient cold water to just cover the blossoms. Place a loose-fitting lid on the bucket and leave for 2 or 3 days.
Strain the water from the flowers by pouring it through a muslin cloth into a sauce pan. (Dispose of the flowers on the compost heap).
Measure the volume of liquid and add 750g of sugar and 1 tablespoon of tartaric acid per litre.
Heat the pan gently until the sugar has dissolved completely, but don't allow it to boil.
Pour the liquid into clean cordial bottles with screw tops.
To serve, dilute 1 part of elderflower presse with 9 parts of iced water or natural spring water for a delightfully refreshing drink.
Elderflower presse may be used as a base for several other recipes.
Elderflower 'Champagne'
See How to make elderflower 'champagne'. This recipe does not use yeast, as wild yeasts occuring naturally in the flowers facilitate fermentation.
Elderflower Wine
Elderflower wine is traditionally the most popular of Britain's country wines, having a clean and distinctive 'nose'. Connoisseurs say that it has a hint of Muscadelle in the finish. It should be served well-chilled and is a good accompaniment to light meals and salads.
(More detail on the equipment and processes for making home made wine may be found at 'An Introduction to Winemaking)
Ingredients:
1 litre (3 pints) of elder flower heads
0.5 litre (1 pint) of white grape juice concentrate
800g (1 3/4 lb) of white sugar
3.5 litres (4 1/2 pints) of water
2 tsp of citric acid
1/2 tsp of tannin
Campden tablets
Sauterne wine yeast
Method:
Note that petal wines are probably not appropriate as ones first foray into home winemaking. It is best to start with some of the excellent kits available from specialist stores and then to progress to fruit wines such as plum or damson).
Pour 2 litres of hot water onto the petals and mash them with a wooden or plastic spoon.
Allow to cool and then stir in the acid, tannin and one crushed Campden tablet. Cover it and leave in a warm place.
Mash the flowers daily for four days.
Dissolve the grape juice concentrate and sugar in 1 litre of warm water and strain the flower water, through a muslin bag, into the syrup.
Stir in the nutrient and yeast, pour into a demijohn fitted with a fermentation lock, and ferment to a Relative Density1 of 1.015.
Rack into a clean demijohn and add 2 crushed Campden tablets to terminate fermentation.
Move the wine to a cool place for a few days, but no longer than one week. During this time dead yeast cells, fruit pulp and other solid materials (the lees) will slowly sediment to the bottom of the jar, and the wine will start to clear from the top downwards.
Siphon off the wine into a clean demijohn that has been freshly rinsed with sodium metabisulphite solution (prepared from Campden tablets). This procedure may need to be repeated at four-month intervals until the wine is brilliantly clear.
Finally siphon the wine off into freshly washed bottles that have been rinsed with sodium metabisulphite solution, cork and store the bottles on their sides to keep the cork moist and minimise entry of oxygen from the air.
Elderflower Beer
(More detail on the equipment and processes for making home made beer may be found at 'Homebrewing')
Ingredients:
0.5 litre (1 pint) of elder flowers (not pressed down)
4.5 litres (8 pints) of water
1 lemon
454g (1lb) of sugar
Brewers yeast and nutrient2.
Method:
Whilst bringing the water to the boil, squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl with the elder florets and sugar. Pour the boiling water over them, cover them closely and allow the mixture to infuse for 2 hours. Stir in the yeast and ferment in a warm room for 1 week before straining into a screw-topped flagon. Store in a cool place for 1 week, after which the beer will be ready for drinking.
Elderflower beer is a 'mock beer', true beers being made from malt and hops.
Elderberry Wine
There are any number of recipes for elderberry wine; but this one can be drunk either hot or cold.
Ingredients:
1kg (approx 2lb) elderberries, stripped from stems
4 1/2 litres (1 gallon) of water
454g (1 lb) of raisins
Pinch of ground ginger
6 cloves
1/2 tsp of wine yeast (e.g. Burgundy)
150 ml (1/4 pint) of brandy
Method:
Rinse the berries in cold water,and place them in a large plastic container. It's essential to remove every last piece of stalk, which can impart a bitter taste to the wine.
Boil the water, pour it over the berries and leave it to stand for 24 hours.
Press the mixture through a muslin cloth.
Put the juice and all the other ingredients, apart from the brandy and yeast, into a preserving pan and simmer gently for an hour, skimming when necessary.
Allow the mixture to cool and, when it is lukewarm, stir in the yeast. Transfer it into a fermentation jar, top up, fit an air lock and leave to stand in the dark for two weeks.
Rack off into a clean vessel and add the brandy. Then siphon off into clean corkable wine bottles.
This wine is best if allowed to mature for a few months - so Christmas is a good time to bring it out.
Elderberry 'Port'
Ingredients:
1 kg (2 1/4 lb) elderberries
250g (9 oz) blackcurrants
525g (1 lb, 2 oz) blackberries
525g (1 lb, 2 ox) raisins
1200g (2 3/4 lb) sugar
1 tsp tartaric acid
1 tsp Pectolytic enzyme3
1/2 tsp of Port yeast and nutrient
Method:
Follow the basic procedure as for the elderberry wine, except add the pectolytic enzyme once the water has cooled, right at the start. This is because enzymes are proteins that are denatured (inactivated) by heat.
Medicinal Benefits of Elderflower Beverages
The elder has long been used for medicinal purposes. Elderberries, in particular, have been used to ease winter coughs, and a glass of hot elderberry wine can certainly soothe the throat. The berries contain more vitamin C than any other herbal extract, apart from rosehips and blackcurrant. Perhaps for this reason:
Elderberry Wine has a curative power of established repute as a remedy, taken hot, at night, for promoting perspiration in the early stages of severe catarrh, accompanied by shivering, sore throat, etc. Like Elderflower Tea, it is one of the best preventives known against the advance of influenza and the ill effects of a chill... . It has also a reputation as an excellent remedy for asthma.
Maude Grieve, A Modern Herbal (1931)
Maude Grieve also advocates adding a little cinnamon to the wine.
Elderflower wine is generally not quoted as possessing medicinal qualities. However, extracts from the flowers and leaves of the elder, known as tisanes4, have been used in folk medicine to bring relief to colds, chills and other fevers. It soothes coughs by increasing bronchial secretions. In the form of an herbal compress, it is also used to alleviate swelling and inflammation in, for example, rheumatism.
Elderflower Tisane
It is possible to make tisane from either fresh or dried elder flowers. However, most people use the dried flowers because the drying process weakens the cells walls, thus enabling recovery of components from within the cells.
Method:
Add three to four grams (about 2 teaspoonfuls) of dried elderflowers to two-thirds of a cup of freshly boiled water and allow to steep for five minutes before straining.
Use in Herbal Cosmetics
There is much interest these days in making home-made cosmetics, for example:
Bath and Shower Gel
The gel is produced by the mucilage present in Irish moss and is said to be very invigorating. It also softens the skin.
Method:
Prepare an elderflower infusion by pouring boiling water over some elderflower umbels. Take 1 1/2 litres of fresh Irish moss. Add 1 3/4 litres of water together with 4 tablespoons of the elderflower infusion. As an option a few drops green or other colour food colouring may be added.
To use, rub handfuls of the gel over the body before rinsing your skin in the bath or shower.
Natural Pest Control
An extract from the leaves of the elder may also be used as a natural pesticide to combat carrot fly and cucumber beetles. When pests become evident, take 200g of elder leaves, add 500 ml of water, simmer lightly then strain. Add 1 tbsp of soap to a further 500ml of water, mix thoroughly then add to the elder solution. Mix well and spray onto affected plants.