Juicy elderberries invite you to snack. To ensure that everything goes smoothly when harvesting, you should follow a few rules. Under certain circumstances the fruits are anything but wholesome. Here you can find out how to pick elderberries correctly.
How do you pick elderberries correctly?
To pick elderberries correctly, look for a blue-black to purplish-black appearance with no reddish tinge or green spots. Using gloves, pick whole cones, remove unripe berries, rinse the cones and comb the berries from the stem with a fork. Cook the fruit to at least 80 degrees Celsius to dissolve the poison content.
Identifying ripe elderberries
Under normal weather conditions, the ripening period of elderberries extends from early August to mid-September. The fruits dangle from the branches in dense, enticing clusters. Since they contain poisonous sambunigrin when unripe, you should use the following criteria to assess their ripeness:
- the berries are colored blue-black to violet-black
- there is no reddish shimmer
- red elderberries have no green spots
To be absolutely sure that they are fully ripe, put on gloves and crush the berries. If a burgundy red juice comes out, all concerns can be put aside.
Instructions for correct picking
If the maturity test is satisfactory, put on gloves and old clothing. Elderberry juice causes stains that are difficult to remove. Therefore, a basket lined with plastic film is considered an ideal means of transporting the harvest. How to do it right:
- cut off a complete umbel using scissors
- pick out some unripe berries
- rinse the harvest thoroughly under a water spray
- comb the berries from each umbel with a fork over a kitchen sieve
Plan the harvest so that you have enough time for further processing. Elderberries do not last long and quickly enter an undesirable fermentation process. If you cannot cook the fruit immediately, freeze the entire cones until then.
Destone red elderberries
The fruits of the red elderberry contain seeds whose toxic content does not decompose when cooked. It is therefore essential to pit them before preparing them.
Tip
It is the berries of black elderberry in particular that are excellent for cooking. With just a few ingredients you can conjure up aromatic jam, fruity jelly or a first-class syrup. However, the fruits only reach their digestibility by heating them to at least 80 degrees Celsius, because the poison content dissolves at this temperature.
