Elderberries

Elderberries

Our chickens enjoy hanging out under the elderberry bushes in the summer. These elderberry bushes were planted naturally by wild birds that roost in the spruce trees (not shown) behind the bushes.

​There are two elderberry species (Sambucus genus) native to the United States, although there are at least 20 species worldwide plus various subspecies. Sambucus racemosa or the red elderberry is found throughout most of the United States and Canada. However, it is absent or rare in many southern states (grows in zones 3-7) from Texas to Florida, extending north into Nebraska in the west and South Carolina in the east (see BONAP map). Sambucus nigra or the black elderberry is found throughout the United States (except for Alaska) and much of Canada (see BONAP map) and grows in zones 3-9. S. nigra is also known as the common elderberry or S. canadensis, and some consider S. canadensis a subspecies of S. nigra. The elderberry is a fast-growing bush that grows 6-12 feet tall and can spread prolifically by seed due to birds eating the fruit. Elderberries prefer moist soil and often grow in edge habitat in full or partial shade. However, most elderberries are adaptable to full sun, and our best-producing black elderberry bush is in full sun but growing at the edge of our pond, so in very moist soil.

The red elderberry plant, including stems, roots, leaves, seeds, and berries, is toxic. The berries may be edible when cooked, but I have read conflicting information about their edibility, and most sources agree they should not be eaten. Both red and black elderberries contain cyanogenic glycoside, which is metabolized, once ingested, into hydrogen cyanide. This can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. I suspect, although I have not been able to find a research paper that tested this, that red elderberries may contain higher levels of the cyanogenic glycosides or other toxic compounds, making them inedible. The color of the berries is the easiest way to differentiate the red elderberry from the more commonly eaten black elderberry. When ripe, red elderberries are red and black elderberries are dark purple/black. Where I live in central Wisconsin, zone 4, red elderberries ripen first while black elderberries do not ripen until August/September. Another way to differentiate the two plants is that the red elderberry inflorescence (flower cluster) tends to be more cone-shaped, leading to cone-shaped clusters of berries. The black elderberry inflorescence is flat and round, distinctly different from the red.

​The black elderberry plant is also toxic, including all green parts, the roots, seeds in the berries, and maybe the berries themselves. The amount of cyanogenic glycoside decreases significantly in the berries as they ripen (Appenteng et al.), so it is important to only eat ripe berries. Although many people report being able to eat the berries raw, it is best practice to cook the berries before consumption, which significantly inactivates the remaining compounds that cause toxicity. 

Elderberry Uses

The berries from the black elderberry plant are generally used to make syrups, jams, and wine, although canning jelly/jam must be done with caution due to them having a less acidic pH than was previously known. ​A recent study discovered that the average pH of elderberries is 4.92 with a range of 4.73-5.19, making them not safe for canning as was previously thought. The cutoff for canning low-acid fruits is 4.6, although most recipes are designed to measure significantly lower to account for variation in the ripeness (and hence acidity) of fruit. However, there is one recipe, tested by the University of Wisconsin Extension, which if followed exactly, can be used to make elderberry jelly or jam.

Many people believe that black elderberries have medicinal properties. They do have high levels of anthocyanins, like Aronia berries, which are an antioxidant. They may also have anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties, although few well-controlled research studies have been done, and most data is anecdotal.

Elderberries we collected the summer of 2024 to ferment into elderberry wine.

One of the most popular uses for elderberries to to make wine. For wine, I have always used cooked berries because I use a steam juicer to easily extract the juice, rather than trying to mash the tiny berries. However, many wine recipes use raw berries, I assume this is safe because the seeds will drop out of solution during fermentation and when you rack the wine you will leave the seeds (the toxic part of the berry) behind. The process of fermentation may also neutralize the toxins. Although I prefer to use cooked berries to eliminate any possibility that the toxic compounds will leach out of the seeds or out of any contaminating stems (the stems that attach to each berry is fern-like and difficult to separate from the berries), I would like to ferment a non-cooked elderberry wine to compare the resulting wines. One disadvantage of cooking is that it can change the taste of the wine and release aromatic compounds that you may want to keep in the wine. That being said, my elderberry wine from cooked juice is delicious (see my blog post on making elderberry wine)!

Conclusion

​Whether you want to make elderberry jam, syrup, or wine, or simply want to plant elderberries to provide food for birds and other native wildlife, I highly recommend planting a few of these native bushes. Although they can grow large for a bush, they can easily be pruned to keep them smaller. Once established, you can even cut them to the ground and they will re-sprout from the base of the trunk.

References and Resources

1. American Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L. ssp. Canadensis (L.) R. Bolli). United States Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/sambucus_nigra_l.shtml
2. Appenteng MK, Krueger R, Johnson MC, Ingold H, Bell R, Thomas AL, Greenlief CM. Cyanogenic Glycoside Analysis in American Elderberry. Molecules. 2021 Mar 4;26(5):1384. doi: 10.3390/molecules26051384. PMID: 33806603; PMCID: PMC7961730.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7961730/#:~:text=In%20pressed%20juice%20samples%2C%20the,0.12%E2%80%932.38%20%C2%B5g/g.
3. Bonap, Sambucus. https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/State/Sambucus
4. Bulatovic-Danilovich, Mirjana. Elderberry, A New Old Crop. WV Extension. Jan 2022. https://extension.wvu.edu/agriculture/horticulture/elderberry
5. Common Elderberry. Sambucus canadensis. Prairie Nursery. https://www.prairienursery.com/common-elderberry-sambucus-canadensis.html
6. Elderberries: beautiful to look at, not for canning. https://www.weld.gov/files/sharedassets/public/departments/csu-extension/documents/food-and-nutrition/univ-of-wisconsin-extension-elderberry.pdf
7. Elderberry. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/elderberry
8. Sambucus canadensis, Elderberry. Prairie Moon Nursery. https://www.prairiemoon.com/sambucus-canadensis-elderberry
9. Sambucus racemosa, Red-berried Elderberry. Prairie Moon Nursery. https://www.prairiemoon.com/sambucus-racemosa-red-berried-elderberry