Elderberry

Hello #Elderberry! Just spotted my first ripe elderberry aka Sambucus canadensis. The berries of this Eastern North American native shrub will continue to ripen into late September. Harvest them only when they are purple-black and fully ripe. These nutritious berries — high in iron and bioflavonoids — are an immune tonic. Turn these hardly sweet, slightly acid and mineral flavored berries into tasty elderberry syrup; delectable elderberry catsup; refreshing elderberry agua fresca; fermented elderberry kefir soda; alcoholic elderberry liqueur; or toss some into salad: both green salad and fruit salad. Cautionary note: All plant parts except fully ripe berries and flowers (earlier in the season) can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea; occasionally even ripe, raw berries can cause nausea (although I've never had this experience after several years of consumption.)