Homesteader’s Medicine Chest II

Nothing So Fine as Elderberry Wine

“Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of Elderberries!”
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail

In The Homesteader’s Medicine Chest we broached the subject of cultivated and wild medicinal herbs like black cohosh, ginseng and goldenseal. In this late fall period it’s time to harvest one of the most useful medicinals that mother nature offers for free… Elderberries. Sambucus canadensis.

Elders are shrubby trees that grow to about 12 feet tall on the edges of rural clearings and farm fields. They produce flat sprays of lacy white flowers in the summer, sometimes a foot across. In the fall these bear clusters of deep purple berries that are hard to miss. Also called the “country medicine chest,” elder flowers and berries have a history in folk medicine and folk lore going back to the Stone Age.

Elder flowers make a sweet-smelling wine, an aromatic tea to treat colds and sore throats, and impart a savory flavor to foods. The fall berries produce the famous port-like elderberry wine said to be a perennial favorite of fairies, elves, leprechauns and gnomes. The Egyptians applied elder flowers to improve complexion and treat burns. The Russians and English believe that elder trees ward off evil spirits, planted them for luck near their houses. Sicilians believe sticks of elder can kill snakes, and they’re probably right. Most any stout stick can be used to kill a snake!

Elderberries contain the most vitamin C of any herb other than rose hips and black currants. They are also rich in vitamins A and B, as well as cartenoids, amino acids, flavonoids, tannins and sugar. Elder leaves, flowers, berries, bark and roots all have traditional medicinal uses. Elder has been shown to contain anti-viral properties and preparations make effective cold medicine, cough syrup and flu remedy. Elderberry wine makes a fine base for tinctures and any elderberry preparation (juice, tea from dry berries, wine, vinegar) makes a good general health tonic to boost the immune system.

Flu season is almost upon us, so it’s a good time to stock up on elderberries. Recent research from Israel and Panama has demonstrated elderberry juice (as a syrup) directly inhibits the influenza virus. Flu virus forms tiny spikes that are laced with an enzyme that helps the virus penetrate the cell walls of a healthy organism. Then the virus sets up reproductive shop. The active ingredients in elderberries disarm the enzyme within 24-48 hours, halting the spread of the virus. In a double-blind study against placebo, those taking the elderberry syrup recovered from flu symptoms twice as fast and also demonstrated higher levels of antibodies against the virus in their systems. This effect was demonstrated against 8 different influenza viruses.

There are a host of recipes for elderberry, from jellies and jams to catsup and fritters. One can follow one of the many recipes for elderberry wine or simply purchase straight juice or wine from specialty wineries like Nuyaka Creek or Wyldewood Cellars.

In light of recent FDA actions to take over the counter children’s cold medicines off the market, there is renewed interest in elderberry as the traditional remedy, a safe and effective alternative to those synthesized drug and alcohol concoctions that too many people use to put the kids to sleep more than ease their discomfort. And which harbor a host of not-fun side effects.

Elderberries can be dried, juiced and/or frozen. A syrup concentrate can be added to vodka for a stronger tincture base, in which sassafrass or black cherry barks give up their qualities, making a stronger by-the-spoonful cough and sore throat medicine. There’s great information out there on the web, so check some of the links below and see if you can find some elder trees in your area that can help get you through the winter!

Links:

Harvesting the Elderberry

Herbal Information Center: Elderberry

Alternative Medicine: Elderberry

Prodigal Gardens: Elderberries

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Filed under Health, Herbal Medicine, Landscaping, Medicine, Wild Herbs, Wine |