Elder (a) (Sambucus canadensis)

~ By Gardnbee ~

The main question asked for our assignment this month was: "If farmers and grocery stores disappeared, what grows naturally in your area that you could eat?"

Looking at this question caused me to really think about a solution if that situation occurred using what I had been taught growing up about survival if push came to shove as compared to what I do today with all the modern conveniences I have at hand.

There was a time I lived in apartments, or some other type of housing where space for growing anything at all was limited to me but I still grew tomatoes, green peppers and various types of Herbs in containers where ever I could to supplement what I picked up in grocery stores or at farmer's markets located in the different cities I found myself in. My big thing was getting vegetation and fruits that could be stored, using several methods, for out of season usage or if I were out of work for any particular time period.

Storage has always been a big thing with me and even today I keep a good supply of staples, canned goods, dried plants, berries and the like that would do us for a three month period and beyond (in some cases) in the event of some kind of catastrophe either minor or major. I work in quarters of three (for gathering natural vegetation) months based on the natural cycles of the seasons.

When growing up and spending time with relatives up north who were very much into gathering wild vegetation I learned to recognize many plants and their value that even today I still gather where available, dry or process in other ways for future use while enjoying fresh as well :)

Plants like: Indian Cucumber; Dandelion; Milk Weed; Wood Nettle; Fiddleheads; Wild Carrot; Wild Garlic and Wild Onion. Fruits like: Wild Crab Apple; Wild Blueberry; Wild Choke Cherry; Wild Gooseberry and Wild Wintergreen. Of course there are trees that produce syrup like the Black and Sugar Maple or Balsam Fir; Northern White Pine whose needles can be used to make tea and the shrub Elder (a) (Sambucus canadensis) whose cooked berries are good to eat.

All of these plants are just a few of what is available in Nature that hold a variety of beneficial attributes helpful in maintaining good health as well as just tasting good. The only plants listed that do not grow on our property, or immediate vicinity, are the Wild Blueberry; Choke Cherry; Wild Gooseberry and Wintergreen. In order to harvest these we do some traveling into more northerly areas according to their season.

One of the wild berries that do grow in our immediate area and right next to our home is the Elder-berry which comes from the Elder shrub mentioned above and this is the plant I am going to share with you today.

This shrub may also be recognized by common names like: American elder, black elder, common elder, elder-berry, rob elder and sweet elder. It is native to North America and grows to about 12 feet high in damp areas where there is full sun and little disturbance present. Its stems are covered in yellowish-grey, rough bark with serrated leaves that grow opposite to one another and produces tiny white flower "cymes" that blossom about May to July from which the dark purple berries appear. Harvesting of the fruit takes place around mid to late August into September or as soon as the berries appear ripe enough to pick.

Although there are many medicinal uses for the dried root, bark and berries I won't go into them here but I will say that the berries, when cooked, are delicious in jams and pies.

Here is a recipe for Elder-berry Jam:

- Prepare 2 quarts of elderberries. Wash the berries and remove the stems from the stalks then just loosely crush the berries with a fork.

- Put the loosely crushed elderberries into a heavy porcelain or glass saucepan. Add 6 cups of sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice.

- Bring this mixture to a boil over low heat. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until all of the sugar is dissolved and continue boiling the mixture until it thickens then begin stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

- Pour the hot mixture into three clean pint jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of space at the top. Place canning lids on the jars. Tap gently on the lid to remove any air bubbles. Screw the lids firmly shut.

- Fill a large canning pot, or large enough to hold your pint jars, with water and bring to a roiling boil. Using tongs, put your jars into the boiling water and leave for about 10 minutes.

- Remove the jars from the water with tongs and let them cool upside down overnight. Then store for future use.

- Stored Elder-berry jam will keep for about a year but once opened must be refrigerated and used within a week or two at most since it contains no preservatives.

**PLEASE NOTE: I am making no suggestion that any one goes out into Nature to collect plants or their fruit for any type of use what-so-ever unless you absolutely know what you are doing or have someone with you that does!

         

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