Elderberries: Fruit Of Our Ancestors

 

Elderberries.  They grow in the wild and are not usually cultivated. Maybe you’ve had elderberry wine?  According to an older issue of True West magazine, “elderberries were popular on the frontier and were used in multiple ways. Both the snowy white flowers and deep dark berries were made into medicine, syrup, tea, jam and jelly, pie, wine, brandy and even ink!” But not everybody like elderberries. An editorial in a an old California paper stated,” If nature has created anything we heartily dislike, it’s that obtrusive, intruding elderberry (bush). And then such fruit it bears! We would as soon eat wild ground cherries. Adding to the annoyance was the fact that the leaves and roots are toxic as are the berries unless they’re cooked.”  The article carried a recipe for Elderberry Cough Syrup:

“1 cup elderberries, 1 ¼ cups water, 1 cup molasses, 4 TB brandy; wash and clean the berries; place everything into a saucepan and gently boil for 20 minutes. Cool and place into a glass container and use as needed; store in the refrigerator to extend life and keep fresh.” Do you think it would work??

Do remember: Our ancestors made do with what they had, what was around them and learned to live with less.