Elderberries

Choose the best

As with all foraged products, pick only those that are plump, well-coloured and have no evidence of bird or other damage. It’s worth taking secateurs, rubber gloves and sealable containers/ plastic bags, because the juice stains badly. Remove all trace of green stalks.

Store it

Elderberries are best used very quickly but if they do need to be stored, refrigeration is recommended. Wrap well to avoid any trickles of staining juice.

Cook it

You must cook elderberries before eating them. Their bitterness is improved by the addition of sweet spices, including cinnamon and nutmeg. The best use of elderberries is to make a spiced red wine – with aging, it can taste like a very good Rhone or Burgundy red.

Marinating raw elderberries in gin or vodka is not recommended. However, you could cook them with very little water or cider, gently strain off the liquid, sweeten that and then bottle the syrup with gin and vodka and let the mixture improve in a cool, dark place for a few months. You could also try adding a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, black peppercorns, a small piece of fresh chilli and cardamom pods to each bottle. The colour will be great but the flavour nowhere near that of macerated spirits made with other foraged berries.

Read our guide on how to pick and cook elderberries.