Content
- Picking elderberry - the most important rules at a glance
- Recognize ripe elderberries
- Instructions for correct picking
- Stone red elderberries
- Tips
Elderberry is harvested in late summer
Picking elderberry - the most important rules at a glance
Juicy elderberries invite you to snack. So that everything runs smoothly at the harvest, you should follow some rules. Under certain circumstances, the fruits are anything but wholesome. Here you will learn how to pick elderberry properly.
Recognize ripe elderberries
Under normal weather conditions, the maturity of elderberries ranges from early August to mid-September. In dense, enticing grapes the fruits dangle on the branches. Because they contain poisonous sambunigrin in the immature state, you should assess the state of maturity based on the following criteria:
To be sure of full maturity, put on gloves and crush the berries. If a burgundy juice leaves, all concerns can be cleared away.
Instructions for correct picking
Satisfied the maturity test, put on gloves and old clothes. Elderberry juice causes stains that are difficult to remove. Therefore, a plastic-lined basket is the ideal means of transport for harvesting. How to do it right:
Plan the harvest so that you have enough time for further processing. Elderberries are not durable and quickly enter into an undesirable fermentation process. If you can not bring the fruits down immediately, freeze the whole umbels by then.
Stone red elderberries
The fruits of the red elderberry contain seeds whose poison content does not decompose on cooking. It is therefore essential to stone them before preparation.
Tips
It is in particular the berries of black elderberry, which can boil excellent. With just a few ingredients you can make aromatic jam, fruity jelly or a first-class syrup. However, the fruits reach their wholesomeness only by heating to at least 80 degrees Celsius, because from this temperature the poison content dissolves.