Elderberry Flowers: How to pick and use elder flowers
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- Whether you call them elderberry flowers, elder flowers, or elder blow, they all are great to eat! In this video, I go into some details about how to identify this great plant. I also give tips on how to pick the best flowers, and I'll show how to get the flowers ready to use -- both fresh and dried.
This video applies to the Common Elderberry of the eastern United States, the blue elder of the western US, and the black elderberry of Europe because that are so closely related that they were recently combined into the same species.
The elderberry grows as a bush, usually wth multiple stems. It can be a big bush. Look at Klutzy Gardener over on the right, and he's 6 foot, 3 inches tall! Here's the flowerhead attached to the end of a branch. And look how these leaves come out opposite each other on the branch. Each leaf has 5-11 leaflets with jagged edges. As they get older, the elderberry branches get woody and their bark has distinctive bumps. Elderberry branches are not solid wood. They have a spongy pith in the center.
The elderberry flowerhead is gorgeous. It's very flat. It does not have a conical shape - it's flat! Here's how the flowerhead grows: the flowerstems branch out in a whorl, with each stem branching out again into another whorl, and so on. A close look at the flowerhead shows it is made of lots and lots of individual flowers. The flavor of the elderberry flowers does not come from the petals or nectar - it comes from the flowers' pollen! So it's important to harvest the flowerheads at the stage when the pollen is fresh, not before the flowerbuds open up and not after the pollen is gone.
Both in the wild and in a cultivated landscape, an elderberry bush is dramatic! Every year, people stop and ask me what this bush is!
I do want to emphasize that even though the biggest flowerheads may have multiple levels to them, each level is flat and it's not arranged in a cone shape -- that's a different plant! Here's a flowerhead that's too immature to bother with - the buds haven't opened up yet. Here's a flowerhead with some flowers already getting old. The best thing to do in this case is just harvest the part of the flowerhead that's at the right stage.
Even though elderberry flowers are little, it really doesn't take long to collect enough flowerheads to use for a bunch of different things. I like to use a lot of flowers fresh. But the green parts of elderberry plants are not good for anybody to eat, so I rub the flowers off the flowerhead. I do get a little bit of the green stems in there, but not enough to worry about. I also try to make sure the bugs and spiders escape.
I also set some flowerheads aside to dry in a dark place like a paper sack. But I just left these in a bowl. When the flowerheads are dry, it's easier to rub off the flowers. Then I put the dried flowers in a jar so I can use them later in the year for elder flower tea, which is really good!
I'll post a video soon about making tea with from dried and fresh elderberry flowers. And I'll be posting a video on how to make some great elder flower pancakes, too.
Elderberry: Sambucus nigra, Family Adoxaceae
Common Elderberry: Sambucus nigra subspp. candadensis
Blue Elder: Sambucus nigra subspp. cerulea
Black Elderberry: Sambucus nigra
My video on picking and using elderberry flowers: • Elderberry Flowers: Ho...
My playlist on foraging wild foods: • Foraging Wild Edibles:...
My playlist on homestead cooking: • Cooking: On the Homest...
My channel: Haphazard Homestead
/ @haphazardhomestead
very listenable delivery & clear information, thank you
We in Europe (Croatia exactly!) make Elderberry flower Syrup which is perfect with lemons for summer chilling! We also keep some bottles for the winter while it is a perfect remedy for cough! Waiting for some berries to make some jam also! We eat fresh flowers simply dumping them into a pancake dough and frying! Enjoy and blessings from Croatia!
Your elderberry syrup sounds good! I like the fresh flowers in pancakes, too, just like you said. I'll have to try making syrup this year. Thanks!
We make that in Denmark too. I am trying to find out if i can use american elderberry flowers for the syrup. It is so good mixed with water.
@@lottek3271 I have acres of elderberries on my California mountain. They grow wherever I disturb the earth or build a road. So big, I pick out of my truck window! Have about 20 pounds to day to dry, cook or make a liqueur with today. the American flowers and berries are just fine for all uses.
This is litterallythe most informing video on youtube. Thank you so much for this amazing video and Channel 🙂
Much love from Iceland🇮🇸
I have often wondered about the distinct differences between poisonous Hemlock and Elderberry. Thanks for giving a close up look at the Elderberry!
Rainbow Gardens To me, the poison hemlock is so, so different. Poison hemlock is a biannual, so it doesn't make a shrub. Poison hemlock doesn't get bark on the older stalks, the stalks are hollow, and each little leaflet looks like a fern or celery leaf with it's own leaflets. And the little individual flowers, even though they are both white and have five petals, look pretty different up close, with each little elderberry flowers looking more like a little lily. So don't be gettin' into that poison hemlock! : )
Excellent tips on using elderberry flowers!
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening Thanks! They are a beautiful shrub that would fit well in a "do-nothing" landscape. Only one plant is needed to get lots of flowers, although two different cultivars are best to get loads of berries.
I love my elderberry!
4skully That's great!
Niceee. Thank you. Short, sweet, and informative video.
The dried elder flower tea looked tasty!
I love your vids so much! On top of it being so easy to follow, they're so comforting and warming to watch because of your energy! Excited to see the elderflowers popping up here there and everywhere now! X
Been eating elderberry jelly all my life! Didn't know you could eat in the flower stage!!!
I am on the hunt for this bush in my neck of the woods. I live in East TN and talking to many older folks about it, they all say the same "haven't seen one of those around in a long time" so my finding one is now a mission.
My wife and kids are watching your channel now. It is becoming our favorite channel. I think some of the plants on your area are here in the Florida Panhandle.
I'm glad you all are enjoying my videos. There are some great plants out there, just waiting for us! It is pretty amazing how widespread some plants are, all the way from Florida to Oregon -- like the Elderberry bushes. I'll look forward to finding out how you and your family enjoy the flowers and fruit of the elderberry bushes that you find!
Love yr video
I’m down south in Louisiana near the gulf / picking elderberries now 9/3/2018 .. watching your videos are so help full / purple fingers 💟👍🏼
You know what's good, picking elderberries! Your elderberry season is so far ahead of ours here in the Pacific Northwest. What's your favorite way to use your elderberries?
I’m in New Orleans. I have a tree too
I have 3 bushes in my yard and use the berries. I may have to plant a 4th for flowers only! I had no idea. The flowers smell so sweet.
Thank you. This was really good!!!
Cool! I always heard elderberries are good for you but didn’t know anything about them! I googled it while watching the video and apparently they grow in Florida too! I think I saw some on my walk the other day, maybe I’ll go pick them!
Thank you! I had no idea about the pollen! This could explain why my first elderflower syrup was not what I expected.
It is interesting how some flowers are more about their nectar, others about the pollen, and others are about the petals. They are different. I hope your future elderflower efforts go better! I'm looking forward to hearing what you make and how it turns out! : )
Thank you. Because of you I am able to finally gain valuable information from the elder flower tree/shrub on our land. You have the best, most descriptive video on youtube~ a million thanks as I can now stop my search because of your concise, informative, well done video.
Great video, thanks. I just took some cuttings and planted them in the garden. Thanks for sharing :)
+Sunny Hilltop You're welcome! Best of luck with your elderberry bush cuttings! They are wonderful to have around. Happy spring!
Beautiful video miss, thank you for sharing.
We have a HUGE elderberry bush in our yard (central ND). Every year we have to trim it back. It's so gorgeous when in full bloom because of it's flowers and fragrance. To tell the truth, I had no idea what it was until I started some research about it. Now that I know what it is, I'll be making things from it. What a treasure to have moved into this house with this pretty elderberry bush. :-)
Lucky you to have a mature elderberry bush already in your yard! Gorgeous is the right word for them, for sure! You live in a place where plants have got to be hardy! The elderberries are a special plant! If you have a lot of flowers, but don't get many berries setting on, you might get a 2nd plant. They do best with cross-pollination from 2 varieties, even a wild plant. Enjoy your elderberry bush!
Elder grows really well in ND! We are thrilled.
Thank you! Was going to pick today and make a cordial, but it's very windy (and has been for a few days), so don't imagine there's much pollen! Will wait for new blooms and a still morning.
Yep, with the elder flowers, it's all about that wonderful pollen! At least the bushes put out flowers over a pretty long time. Enjoy your elderflower cordial - eventuall! :D
I have elderberries growing in my yard. I have used the red elderberries; a friend made the wine. It was delicious and healthy! I am finally learing the value of this plant on the old homestead farm I was blessed to buy. I did not even know the value until recent years!
That's great that you have elderberries! I would enjoy trying some red elderberry wine - lucky you! : D With red elderberries, folks have to be more careful about not eating the seeds, so wine is a good use. Enjoy your elder flowers and berries this summer!
Your knowledge is magnificent! Thank you for sharing!
This was really informative, thanks for posting!
Hope to see more vids this year as I just got my elder trees!
Makes a good added flavor/aroma in your food.
Very helpful! New to this channel. I have subscribed. Thanks.
Thank you so much for sharing! I hv just discovered that I hv an elderflower Bush in my back yard! But my first flower harvest I’ve just washed the hell out of it to get rid of bugs doh! I’ll hv to wait for the next flowerbuds to open and try again!
There can be a lot of life in an elderfower cluster! That's one difference between what we buy at the store and what we harvest ourselves, for sure. I think you'll get a lot more flavor in your next attempt, Melanie Tan. I'm excited for you to enjoy your newly discovered bush! :D
Love this video, and the one on Elderflower tea. Thanks!
I hope you get to enjoy some elderberry flowers, too!
Just heard about your channel from Southern Homesteading. You have great content and quality videos.
+Prepper Potpourri Well, thanks so much! And thanks, +Southern Homesteading!
nice video i am growing elderberries this year
+Pople BackyardFarm That's great! I'd love to hear how you like the flowers, if you try them! Happy elderberry growing! : )
Thanks I was looking for a video that actually showed me what to do with them without too much talking and this was exactly it!
Greetings from Houston TX :) I enjoyed this video, well explained, lots of info in detail! Learning all about real food/medicine and taking notes! Very appreciated!!!
im in london and this was a great help thanx
I love your videos! Thanks for all the helpful info.
You're welcome! I hope you've been enjoying some wild plants this spring!
Great information and I love the way you present it, as if having a casual conversation with a friend 😊
Thank you so much!
You're welcome, Tonya Ellis! I hope you enjoy plenty of elder flowers and berries this season! :D
Just subscribed, I am wanting to learn more. Thanks
I hope you've been finding some good wild plants in your area this spring!
Thanks so much for the information! I've currently got a pile of flowers on the table in front of me and was trying to figure out how best to get the flowers off with as little toxic stem as possible!
I didn't know anything last night, so I accidentally rinsed them off 😬 but we'll see how the syrup comes out! I may have to go hunting for more (I don't want to take more than a few flower heads off each bush lol)
Very good information!
Thank you for this really interesting video. It would be nice to know how you use the blossoms for the dishes you mention.
They grow everywhere even on the equator in Indonesia where I am from. My mother was German and my aunt makes elderberry jelly for toast. She picks the flowers and washes them. Then she leaves them overnight in high grade apple juice. The next mornings she sifts out the elderberry blossoms. Then heats and adds a little pectin to the apple juice. From this she obtains a very delicate jelly with a very strong elderflower flavour rather than apple flavour. On the toast my aunt puts curd cheese and then the elderflower jelly on top. It is delicious and healthy.
I'm glad you have elderberry shrubs around your area! Your recipe for elderberry flower jam sounds really good! I'll have to try that next season. Here's how I make elderberry flower pancakes: ua-cam.com/video/0aRd3nKzGl8/v-deo.html And here's how I make elderberry flower tea: ua-cam.com/video/w5QwBZ4OOHU/v-deo.html
@@HaphazardHomestead Thank you so muvh. I shall try those. I low your program. My favourite was the pine pollen pancakes.
@@tamaliaalisjahbana9354 What's the recipe for that?
@@e.s.8684 I am sorry but I do not have a precise recipe for it.
Very informative love to see what she is going to do with the flowers. I have been making champagne and cordial for years.🇮🇪
My grandmother made the best homemade elderberry jelly.
Your grandmother knew what's good food! And I'm glad you were able to share that with her.
Darn, I found an elderberry bush today and picked off some blossoms today, but I think they are past the pollen.... I will let them dry for tea anyway! And cut me some stalks in the fall and stick them in the ground to grow my own 😊
If the flowers are still white and in good enough shape to want to harvest them, there's probably still pollen within them. Nice idea to cut some stalks and grow your own elderberry bushes. They are vigorous plants and nice in any landscape. : )
Haphazard Homestead yes the flowers are still white 😊
With all the things I want in my small back yard.... the birds will love it! 😁
Thank you again for great information on this wonderful plant!!
I Absolutely Love your videos. I always look forward to any vid you post. Can't get enough of your down home, casual way of presenting all your useful and fun info.
I'm subbed to a YT channel named "Mutita Edible Art" and I thought you might find some fun info from it. : )
Thanks! And thanks for suggesting the Mutita Edible Art. Man, that is some handiwork! I can chop up some greens, but that's real art!
Great video very healthful
Thanks you. It is very interesting.
You're welcome. I hope you find some elderberry flowers in your area. They are so nice.
Haphazard Homestead I have a tree in my organic garden
Great video
thanks
Thank you for this very good video! I shared. :)
Thanks for sharing my elderberry video, Sue Jackson. I hope you've gotten to enjoy to some elderberry flowers!
Good to know when to pick the flowers. Thanks.
I have this growing wild in our ditch I seen a bottle that had a picture that look just like that plant. so now im sure that this is what its is.
I'm glad this video helped you in your identification of elderberry shrubs. They are a great plant to get to know!
Great vid :) keep em coming
Weather Thanks!
Thank you
ELDER BLOSSOM WINE
Frieda Heydel Redmond
I was told when I was a child (I'm 78) that this recipe came from Germany with my Grandma Frieda's family in 1891 when she was ten years old. Somebody in the family has made a "run" of it almost every year since. I made my last batch, however, in 1987. It makes a pale golden dry wine that mellows to an almost liqueur-like quality in time.
Ingredients:
1 qt elderberry blossoms
1 gal boiling water
2 gal cool water
1 lemon, sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 lb raisins
9 lbs sugar (10 lb bag minus 2 1/4 cups)
1 yeast cake
Directions:
Separate as many of the individual, tiny blossoms from their connecting stems as endurable (any remaining stems will give the wine a bitter taste.) This is most time-consuming and will leave a durable nasty yellow-brown stain on your thumb and forefinger if you do not use surgical gloves. Put blossoms, lemon, and orange (in a fermentation sack or nylon panty hose leg) into a container with sugar and pour boiling water over them. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add cool water, stir, and add yeast (Never add the yeast until after the cool water has been added). Let stand, covered, in a warm place for 7 days, remove fermentation sack, and add raisins (in a fermentation sack). Let stand 6 days, remove raisins, and jug in a five gallon carboy fitted with a fermentation lock. When fermentation activity has ceased, I normally stopper the jug and store the wine in a cool dark place.
Yield: 3 gallons.
I collected a lot of pollenreadytops placed upside down in Argentine
pampa honey for a week.It made me have intense dreams after ingesting three ounces.I guess it's my metabolism reacting that way...But nice!!
thank you ❤
A member of my FB foraging group posted that he battered the fresh elderberries flowers and then deep fried. By the way, he did not say in details of which part he ate. He only showed pictures of the after cooking deep fried battered elder flowers and a picture of leftover of the flower's stems on a plate, so I assume that he only ate the petals (even though he deep fried all parts of the flower). After watching your video, now I know why.
growing elderberry - want to use the flowers for tea, etc.
I hope your elderberry bushes are doing well. They should be flowering soon!
I make elderberry jelly. The flavor has a complex of three different fruits. First you taste a grape flavor next a blackberry flavor then a blueberry flavor. On the front of your tongue you taste grape then as it goes to the middle of your tongue it taste like blackberry then just be for you swallow you taste a blueberry flavor. Try making elderberry jelly. You will love it.
That's a great description of elderberry jelly! I think it tastes even better it ages. I better get busy this summer to make some! Thanks!
I love these flowers and i have a hugh tree in my garden. This year a pigeon decided to nest there so we kept away but after a few weeks her nest got raided by magpie who ate her eggs. Now both parents look very sad.
Thank you!
LARK'S GARDENS You're welcome! With all your herbs, I'd bet that you use elderberry flowers, too!
Awsome
Really like your video I like to make tea after the flower's are dried did no you could use fresh flowers
Thank you. Excellent video.
If it is in a cone shape, what is it?
Thanks! Song
We call em "Meadowsweet" over here.
I dried them and I am trying to separate the flowers from the little tiny stems they are attached and it is such a pain, is it ok to leave the littlest stems that are on the flower in with the tea mix, I know the green parts are poisonous?
When are the elder flowers ready...early spring?
can i use the elderflowers of the red elderberry to make tea?
Yes, the Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) flowers are fine. Some folks don't like their flavor so much, but others find them just fine, like me. But the berries are a different story -- and take a more detailed understanding of their issues. They are worth a separate video! If you try the Red Elder flowers, I'd be interested in what you thought of their flavor.
Do you know where I can get some fresh elderberry flowers? I live in Chicago. Thank you!
You've probably got Elderberry bushes nearby. They get planted in parks and home landscapes because they are so pretty and trouble-free. And they are pretty common along country roads or along the margins of wooded areas that don't dry out too quickly. You will notice those big, white flowerheads - even at 60 mph in a car! Your flowering season is probably just getting started there in northern Illinois, in June or July. And you may even see some in local markets that carry wild-crafted foods, too. Hope that helps - and I hope you find some elderberry flowers!
i have a shrub outside with conical flowers just like that, leaves the same. is that Red Elderberry then? Can I still utilize the flowers? I know the berries have a process to them but what about the flowers? anything special then?
Can elderflowers bloom at different times from the same area?
What about the red berried elder? Sambucus racemosa
Do you know if people make elderflower tincture? I don't want to make syrup because I don't want the sugar in my diet. Thanks in advance!
So this flower won't give fruit? Just asking cus i just have one bush loke that
Hi, i have a question. I wasn’t aware that the stems of elder flower have cyanide. I set a 32 oz jar with dried flowers with some stem pieces, ive now come to realize a week later may be toxic. What are your thoughts? Can it be used for skin tonic? I used 80 proof alcohol. Thanks!
How much dried elderberry to use per cup of tea.
I heard some elderberry plants are poisonous and can kill. Which varies are to be considered and avoided? Thanks
+leo wang Thanks for your question. This video applies to the Common Elderberry of the eastern United States, the blue elder of the western US, the Mexican elder of the US Southwest, and the black elderberry of Europe. They are all so closely related that they were recently combined into the same species, Sambucus nigra. As mentioned in the video, even though the biggest flowerheads may have multiple levels to them, each level is flat and it's not arranged in a cone shape. If the flowerheads are in a cone shape, that is not the elderberry you are after! This video is also about using the flowers and only the flowers. The berries are edible, too, with the proper knowledge, but I haven't made a video about that yet. The other parts of the elderberry bush should not be eaten -- not the roots, stems, or leaves. They contain compounds that can make people ill. The seeds within the fruit of other elderberry species, like the Red Elder (Sambucus racemosa) can make people ill, too. Hope that helps!
PLEASE, IF YOU SEE THIS....please help!! We have enjoyed blossoms and ripe fruit from many wild elderberry trees. Yet, when we moved, we bought Adams and Johns varieties and planted them near flowers and fruit trees (pollinator attractors) and each year the 'patch' gets bigger with new growth. They bloom nicely and then begin to set berries....and while the green berry is small (approx. BB size) THEY DROP. We have NEVER harvested ripe berries. Any suggestions???
How can you tell if the pollen is gone? O :
got tons of this at our homestead, thx for the share, just sub'd. hope you get a chance to check out our suburban homestead.
+Permaculture Homestead I'm glad you get to appreciate the wonderfulness of elderberry bushes!
Thank you for uploading
#stevenschoolalchemy
You just said the magic “ BOOGIE MAN “ word, that really makes me cringe...😳SPIDERS !!!!!!! One of my worst fears! 😆😆😆😆 anyway, Thanks for sharing more foraging information.