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Frankly I am a bit surprised. Everywhere I read on the internet, it said that elderberries don’t come ripe until September — and what’s more, they follow blackberries and precede wild grapes; our blackberries are still green. But few of those online sources are from California, where drought and sun ripens everything early.
Friday morning Holly and I went down to the American River to check on some wild grape leaves; I am looking for a vine with exceptionally large leaves so I can preserve them to make dolmades down the road. “I think we should also check on the elderberries, just in case,” I said, and Holly agreed.
When we arrived at the first of the many bushes I watch over, it was loaded with black berries, many with the characteristic bloom that makes them look like miniature grapes. (More on the grape-elderberry connection later.) When I saw all those ripe berries, I admit I had an attack of smug: Despite EVERYONE telling me that elderberries don’t come ripe until autumn, I was certain I could find ripe ones now.
How? Highway 50 showed me the way. On my way home from work every day, I pass three elderberry bushes along Folsom Boulevard. Even whizzing down the road, I can check their progress daily. I first saw dark berries on one of the bushes nearly a month ago, and almost rear-ended someone because I did such an extended double-take. Dark berries in June? Maybe it was just the exposed location of these bushes, with no tree cover and a constant exhaust bath.
But more and more berries had darkened on those bushes, and this past weekend I had both the time and the inclination to check on them in less polluted places. Our efforts Friday morning were rewarded: Checking on the string of bushes I’d scoped out getting the Lay of the Land, we managed to pick 4 1/2 pounds within two hours.
The secret to elderberries, it seems, is that they are a rolling bush: Parts of some bushes are still in flower (meaning you can still make elderflower syrup and liqueur if you hurry!) while the berries below have already ripened. Even when I picked my stash of elderflowers in May there were green berries on some.
So in a way I guess it is true that elderberries will be ripe in September — yet you can start picking them long before that. But beware, slackers! Ripe elderberries are sweet — sweet enough that the deer like them very much. We saw a lot of nibbled-off spots on the bushes we picked from. By September I suspect the only remaining elderberries will be too high for the deer to get; and then you need to worry about birds.
How did I know I had 4 1/2 pounds of elderberries? I weighed them after spending two hours destemming them. This is the least fun part of dealing with elderberries, but it needs to be done: The stems and leaves of the plant are slightly toxic, and definitely bitter.
Turns out taking elderberries off their stems isn’t so hard after all. You need to be patient and have a light hand, however, as the berries are fragile. Work with small portions of each cluster at a time, and gently rake your half-open hand over the berries, letting them fall into a bowl set beneath you.
Again, let me stress the word “gentle.” Unripe berries hold onto the stem, ripe ones fall off easily. And you don’t want to eat unripe berries.
The best berries are on stalks that have begun to turn a bit reddish; there will be a few elderberry raisins on them. But the larger black berries on stalks with light green stems are also OK. Just be sure to avoid clusters that have red berries. Ripe elderberries are black.
What to do with all these berries? Admire them, to start. Poured into a large, flat Tupperware, they looked like $10,000 worth of caviar: Shiny, tiny black orbs. So pretty! Dip your face close, and you will get the unmistakable aroma of winegrapes.
It was at this moment I realized just how good these could be in the hands of a competant winemaker — only you’ll never find one working with elderberries in California, as this place heaps so much scorn on “fruit” wines that I can barely mention them in public. Tyranny of the Grape, I call it.
I made an elderberry wine years ago, from store-bought “medicinal” juice. It was thin. To do it right you need real berries, and a lot of them. I reckon at least 5 pounds per gallon. Maybe I will go for it and make a 3-gallon batch, but I still haven’t decided…
I did make some liquor, though. In fact, I made two kinds of elderberry liqueur: One with whole berries in vodka with lemon zest, the other with crushed berries, sugar and lemon juice. I will keep you posted on how they finish up in the coming months.
I also did something I have not done in a long, long time. I made jelly. Or tried to, at least. Why jelly?
Elderberries share one more thing in common with winegrapes: They have little seeds in them, which are edible enough but would make a jam grittier than a rustic strawberry jam. Besides, my main reason for making this jelly is not to put on toast. It is as a base for the classic Cumberland sauce I make to go with wild game such as duck and venison.
Cumberland sauce is traditionally made with red currant jelly, but elderberry seems more natural here in California. For one, red currants don’t grow here. And the local deer eat elderberries. So do the quail and pheasants. I bet wild pigs would, too. Pigs eat anything. So I made a big batch of this jelly to store for the winter.
Which, I think, was the problem. I’d forgotten that big batches of jelly won’t set for some reason, even with commercial pectin. My batch has not yet set, several days later. I think it’ll be syrup forever. But that’s OK, I like syrup, too, and you need to melt the jelly for Cumberland sauce anyway.
So jelly, liqueur and possibly wine — any other uses for elderberries I am missing? I’ve got time, and the season has just begun…
Cool article.
You might be interested in a little anecdotal history – the prevalence of elderberries around here is a “new” phenomenon, by which I mean that ‘when I was a kid’ there were far fewer bushes around, but in the past 10-15 years, there have been a number of rehabilitation projects because of the endangered status of the Valley Elderberry Longhorn beetle (it’s nice to remember the unintended consequences of things like the Endangered Species Act).
Also, I’d like to point out that, at least around Northern California, the edible elderberries are mexican, or blue, elderberries (Sambucus mexicana), and are red when unripe, whereas the red elderberries around here, ripe or no, are toxic (the jury is still out on how toxic, but I don’t want to be the guy who finds out). I’ve yet to see them down in the Valley, but I have seen them in the Sierra. My advice is to stay away from the berry bunches unless you know them to be blue, or until they turn blue. It’s nice to get to know a place, and know which bushes will have blue berries, anyway.
I’ve found them to have a powdery substance on them when they are most ripe.
As for other things to do, I’ve read about folks frying the flowers, and elderberry pancakes.
whenever I think of elderberries I always think of Monty Python.. I don’t see you as a jelly making kind of guy, but I reckon it is going to be bloody good – seems like you are good at anything in the kitchen!
Looking forward to hearing what the berry-booze is like.
Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
Thanks for the post! I also pass by an elderberry bush regularly and have been monitoring it’s progress. I haven’t yet decided what I will do with my little treasured pearls of fruit and with your addition to my growing list I’ve a dilemma. So many options, so little fruit.
Make wine! It is true that fruit wines are wrongfully, widely and viciously disdained. I’ve been looking, lately, for a source (anything, really) which both takes fruit wines seriously and gives them a useful treatment, above and beyond the usual beer-manual appendix. I’m curious to see what you’d do!
Josh: I was wondering about the beetles! As a newcomer it seems there is MORE than enough habitat for them now — elderberries are all over the place…and good advice on the red ones. The “powdery substance” is the bloom I mention, like a bloom on grapes.
Matt: You are right — I am not a jelly-making kind of guy, but what the hell! Why not.
Heebert: I was waiting for someone to use that line…
Will: I am leaning toward it. We’ll see.
Here in Pennsylvania, elderberries are just blooming right now. We won;t have ripe berries until late August or early September. We really have a profusion of bushes in my area, so I’ll be picking as soon as I spot them ripening.
Personally, I love elderberry pie and elderberry jelly. Your batch of jelly that didn’t jell would make a great topping for some homemade vanilla ice cream or added to some yogurt, if you don’t use all of it for Cumberland sauce. By the way, did you use straight elderberry juice, or did you add apple to the mixture? Many of the recipes I’ve seen use apples to increase the amount of pectin. I’ve done it both ways, but usually small batches, no no jelling problems.
I hadn’t considered the idea before, but elderberry liqueur would be really good; I’ve already got a batch of citrus liqueur working, and I’m waiting on local raspberries for the same purpose (among many other uses).
Elderberries up here (east slope of WA Cascades) are an August thing. They’re often ripening around the same time as mountain thimbleberries. I missed the flowers this year due to our Rocky Mt sojourn, but plan to nab a bucket o’ berries later in the summer. Great post, Hank!
These berries have an enzyme which prevents gelling. You really need to add a few unripe berries and/or a strip of lemon rind with the pith attached to boost the pectin levels.
I had the same problem with redcurrants until I discovered that the lemon rind works perfectly and gives a nice “lift” to the finished jam or jelly. I don’t like adding apple as it changes the texture – well to my little tastebuds anyway.
The bonus is that if you remove the rind at the end and let it drain on parchment paper, you have a tasty little snack (a sort of candied fruity chew) for yourself as well as delicious jam/jelly.
Thanks for the elderberry conversation! I grew up in the foothills of the Sierras. Every summer we went up the road towards Wright’s Lake and plucked bunches of the sweet ripe beauties. The berries in higher elevations are always sweeter than those in the valley. I never heard of any toxicity issues of ripe berries. Please tell me more!
[...] Grail, or if older perhaps a Cary Grant film. So it was much to my surprise to learn from my friend Hank that elderberries grow wild all along the American River, less than half a mile from my home. We [...]
Your elderberries will be your best bet during the flu pandemic – from all that I’ve been reading, they could make a real difference – I’m planning on preparing mine for their medicinal benefits – still researching but at “such a time as this”, these little guys will be invaluable.
I live in PA where my family has a little patch of green out of town. We have several very fine patches of elderberries there and I would love to find a good recipe for elderberry pie. Anyone?
In the Suffolk UK and just harvested many little fiddly deep blue and juicy elderberries from the headgerow boundary in my garden I’m brewing up an apple ( using local apple juice) and elderberry jelly and have added sprigs of fresh garden mint for a little twist. Adding peel of a bramley cooking apple for pectin – so let’s see?
Says who the stems are bitter and mildly toxic? I decided to try NOT picking berries off the stems, and made juice using whole heads of stems and berries. I will try it unless I can find documentation of a reason not to. If anyone has this info, Please do share. Thank you!
An update to my own previous comment – I have searched more herbal websites and found more sound advice against using the stems due to higher content of the cyanotoxin. Ok, ok, I will spend the time de-stemming them to avoid a stomach ache.
i have a question. i made elderberry jelly. it tuned out bitter. i went back to the berry to tasted them. the berries are bitter, which inturned made the jelly bitter. is there any fix?
joyce
Joyce: The only things I can think of are that a) you picked some other sort of berry, or b) you had stems in the mix. I’ve never had bitter elderberries — tannic (felty) yes, but bitter no. I’m afraid I can’t suggest a fix, as bitter is a hard flavor to get rid of…
I have been desteming these berriesand many still have tiny stems attached and some berries are 1/3 green and the lower 2/3 blue to black do these need to be removed also? Would the stems not be removed during straining?
Are the stems and somewhat green berries harmful or just bitter?
Diane: I don’t worry about the tiny stems much, although I got pretty good at destemming everything — after about an hour’s work… As for toxicity, yes, elderberry stems are toxic. Not overly so, but enough to give you a stomach ache.
Oh, and I’d toss the green berries. I’d use only fully ripe ones.
We picked elderberries with a friend back in August–at a lovely u-pick farm. At the time, I had a ton of other projects going and couldn’t deal with the berries, so I just froze them, right on the stems. From talking and reading about other people’s accounts of removing berries from the stems, it seems that freezing them first makes it a heck of a lot easier. Because the berries were frozen, it was easy to grab a bunch as a time without worrying about squeezing them too hard. My fingers didn’t get stained at all. I de-stemmed a gallon’s worth in 15 minutes or so, then put them back in the freezer. I’ll process them in the next week or so–syrup and some jelly, I think.
I use to pick black elderberries along the flood control ditches in the Alvarado Niles district of Santa Clara by the bucket full. My brother and I made wine. I still have cases of this slightly dry berry flavored wine. Last time I was down that way I couldn’t find more that a bush or two and every thing is fenced off. When I was young this was all farm land now it is track after track of people.
I moved to Alaska in the 80′s I had several red elderberry bushes but they were mealy and terrible tasting, Early in the winter the magpies would get drunk eating them and provide me with the most entertaining clown show.
Last week I found a bush in the hills above the Carquinez Straits what a treat it is to be here making this jelly that won’t jell.
you can dry them on a tray in the sun. and use them in muffins or pancakes later. you can rehydrate them
Ryan: Great tips! Will pick a few extra pounds for that next season…
Greetings. Just finished my first batch of elderberry jelly here in Boise. Am also going to be making some tincture using vodka for flu season. Decades ago my husband made preserves from Sierra elderberries using wild honey and it was delicious. We freeze the berries prior to removing from the stem then refreeze until use. Since winter is late in arriving we are still picking in the hills below 3,500′. Happy preserving and consuming!! Thankfully thankful.
[...] update on what is blooming it the yard, if the tomatoes are ripe yet and watching the birds eat the Elderberries that were intended for jam. Tending to these green lives kept my soul calm while my marriage [...]
I make elderflower wine. Bottle half and distill the other half of a 25 litre brewing barrel. When the elderberries are ready I make elderberry wine and syrup. The syrup I back blend with the elderflower brandy and it is popular! Call it the best cough syrup you ever had – natural and full of anti viral goodness. Great over ice-cream – for adults, and a sweet nip for the sweet toothed out there.
I found your site while in search of a sauce/jam/jelly for venison as I have a request from a hunter who is also a bit of a foodie thanks to his very capable wife – my sister in law.
I will follow your blog with interest.
Raewyn.
If you Freeze berries with stems then berries come soooooooo much easier cut 1/4 time.
I want to make elderberry jam not jelly,because the skins contain most of the nutrients, and use stevia, because it is healthier than sugar, but I cannot find any recipes for this combination. Please let me know if you have a recipe or a reference. Its so exciting to have these healthful berries so readily available. I want to make the best use of them.
My husband & I are huge elderberry fans! Loved your informative web site. We have been using a pectin by the name of Pamona’s Universal Pectin and we have had 100% success with the jelling aspect of the process. You can find Pamona’s at health food stores and Whole Foods also carries it. If you would like our jelly recipe let me know and I will gladly share it with you. Sincerely, Annie
I didn’t see this tip in the article or comments, forgive if I missed it and I’m sucking eggs, but you will removed the berries far faster if you strip them off with a fork. Just slide the tines of the fork in between the berries and pull up on the stalks. The berries ping off into the bowl. Hey presto!
We freeze the elderberries after picking them because the berries pop off the stems really easily when frozen…10 minutes to de-stem 10lbs of berries. Flavour is still fantastic.
I read most of the comments. I make jelly and do not have a problem with it getting thick and it is beautiful jelly. I also juice my berries in my steamer juicer with the stems and green berries on after washing them in a bath of water and salt removes bugs,with a second clear water rinse. I also remove some by hand to freeze for smoothy’s they are great in icecream to. The blooms can be dipped in sweet batter then deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I live in Oklahoma and have seen them all over the US. Hope you try some of these tips. One more thing depeneing on the strength of the berry juice. I dilute my juice with water to make my jelly 50/50.