The undemanding black elder bush (lat. sambucus nigrabelonging to the honeysuckle family / Caprifoliaceae) finds the necessary conditions for its lush growth throughout Europe, mostly on forest edges near human habitation, even on the poorest soils. The elderberry’s blossoms are beautiful at the end of May and beginning of June, and its fruit cones are ripe in August. The blue-black berries contain two or three seeds and purple flesh, which is intensely colorful. But elderberries are not only attractive because of their appearance, they have also always been one of the most popular folk remedies and are processed into tasty juice, jam, wine or marmalade.

The right thing at the right time

The sight of juicy, plump elderberries invites you to take a bite – an endeavor that you should refrain from if you don’t want to risk a stomach ache and a very unconventional taste experience. All parts of elderberry contain the glycoside sambunigrin[i]. This releases hydrocyanic acid, similar to the poison of belladonna. If you eat the berries raw, you often suffer from stomach ache, nausea and vomiting. Only the fully colored cones of the elderberry bush are harvested. If there are still individual red berries in the ripe umbels, these are removed. The time for harvesting elderberries is mid-August through to September. The berries, whose stalks have been carefully removed, must be cooked at a minimum of 80 degrees Celsius for at least 20 minutes, only then does the sambunigrin break down and the berries become edible. Now you have a clear path for further processing.

Elderberries: pretty juicy

Elderberry juice is clearly the most popular elderberry derivative. If we only drink apple, orange or cherry juice in everyday life, we can enjoy a delicious elderberry juice during the season. At the time of the elderberry harvest, it is still warm outside in summer. We need 2.7 liters of fluid per day, more in summer[ii]. We should drink at least 1.5 to 2 liters a day. Mineral water is probably the main source of beverages in the cellar at home – it refreshes without calories, provides important minerals and trace elements and goes with almost everything. Apple juice and co. provide a little pep. But during the elderberry season, it can certainly be delicious elderberry juice that spruces up our drinking plan and turns a simple spritzer into a tasty health cure. Elderberry juice is simply healthy!

Elderberry juice – an effective drink

Elderberries contain vitamins C, E and B complex, as well as calcium    Chemisches Element Ca mit der Ordnungszahl 20, Mineralstoff, der zu den Mengenelementen zählt. Unter den Mineralstoffen ha..., iron, potassium, magnesium, sodium and phosphorus. These valuable ingredients alone should make us reach for a pure elderberry juice or a juice spritzer several times a day during the elderberry season, the latter preferably in a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part elderberry juice.

The ingredients in elderberries have been proven to boost our immune system[iii] and prepare it for the coming fall. According to one study, taking elderberry extract also brings about a rapid improvement in the symptoms of influenza A and B and shortens the course of the illness. If you have a cold – whether it’s the summer flu or the fall variety – it’s important to drink more. If you have a cold, the mucous membranes in your nose and throat dry out, which reduces their barrier function and provides an even better target for viruses and bacteria. Drinking enough, on the other hand, helps to moisturize the mucous membranes.

A good start to the day is a glass of water in the morning. The mouth is moistened again, the throat no longer hurts so much and the body gets its first fluid boost. You should regularly drink small amounts of liquid throughout the day. Good here is (mineral) water, which is calorie-free and optimally supplies the body, which itself consists of about 65 percent water, with fluids. If we drink pure elderberry juice between meals or mix it as a spritzer, we also benefit from its effects. This is partly due to the increased production of interleukin 6 and 8 (IL-6, IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) when elderberry is ingested. Overall, a study shows that the ingredients in elderberries have pro-inflammatory properties to fight infection and increase the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines II-10[iv].

Elderberries enrich the food and drink plan

But it’s not just the health aspect that makes elderberries so valuable for our diet and drinking plan. Elderberries are one of the treasures of local nature. If you harvest elderberries in your own garden or in the neighboring forest, they have an unbeatable eco-balance and can compete with any exotic fruit in terms of the variety of ways they can be prepared. The classic elderberry juice is a tasty (mixed) drink and is suitable for refining non-alcoholic cocktails and smoothies. Elderberry jelly is also a classic, delicious on bread, in baking and in quark dishes.

Less well known is elderberry or lilac berry soup, which traditionally comes from Pomeranian cuisine and is still popular in German coastal regions and Denmark. This exotic delicacy not only impresses guests, it also provides the body with a healthy fluid bonus in addition to an exquisite taste – one of the reasons why soups should be part of a balanced diet.

You need elderberry soup for four people:

1 kg elderberries

One lemon, its juice and zest

1 piece of cinnamon bark

1 l water

170 g sugar

20 g cornflour

240 ml red wine

2 apples

250 ml milk

50 g butter

100 g semolina

1 egg

2 sachets of vanilla sugar

A pinch of salt

Wash the ripe elderberries and then pluck the berries from the stalks. Then boil the berries together with the lemon zest and cinnamon for about 10 minutes. Then pass the berries through a sieve, add the sugar and boil the mixture again. Dissolve the cornflour in the red wine and add to the mixture, stirring constantly. The whole thing is then seasoned with lemon juice. Now add the peeled and sliced apple and leave to infuse.

To make the dumplings, boil the milk with the butter and a pinch of salt, then add the semolina and bake into a thick dumpling while stirring. Then knead in the egg, vanilla sugar and the remaining sugar and cut out the dumplings with a spoon. Then cook them in slightly simmering salted water.

The elderberry soup is served with the dumplings as a garnish and garnished with a few mint or lemon balm leaves.