Properties: Buckthorn berry
The rowan berry or mountain ash berry hangs on shrubs or trees. The fruits are rich in vitamin C and vitamin A.
Origin: Buckthorn berry
The buckthorn fruit grows in Northern and Central Europe, but also in Western Asia.
Uses: Buckthorn berry
The elderberry or bird cherry should not be consumed raw as it contains parasorbic acid. However, there are now also cultivars that are free of this and can therefore be eaten fresh. Cooked, the fruits are suitable for jam or jelly.
Storage: Buckthorn berry
The rowan berries can be stored well for a week when cooled, but should then be quickly processed into jam or jelly. Freezing is also possible. Rowan berries can also be dried.
Health: Buckthorn berry
The sea-buckthorn fruit contains a lot of vitamin C. However, there is no vitamin C left in jam.
Season of Buckthorn berry: September to October
Buckthorn berry taste: sweet-bitter
Description of the Elderberry
The elderberry grows either on a tree or a shrub, with two different varieties of elderberries existing. Either the berries are bitter and tart in taste or milder and somewhat more palatable. The latter variety, the Bohemian elderberry, is not as common. The shrubs or trees can be found throughout Europe in parks or forests. The leaves have 11 to 19 leaflets and the white flowers turn into red berries, namely the elderberries, during summer. The flowers develop from April until May.
The Elderberry and its Processing
Only after the elderberry has experienced its first frost is it harvested and processed. It is excellently suited for processing into jam or marmalade.
Components of the Elderberry
The elderberry contains numerous beneficial active ingredients as well as a lot of vitamin C, tannins, organic acids, bitter substances, essential oil, and sorbitol.
How does the Elderberry affect the Organism?
Although the fruits are hardly relevant medicinally, they still help with stomach upsets or loss of appetite. For this purpose, a teaspoon of jam is administered several times daily, as it stimulates gastric juice production. Side effects of elderberries are largely unknown, especially when cooked. However, excessive consumption of raw berries should be avoided due to the parasorbic acid contained in them. Perhaps nature has also provided the raw fruit with a bitter taste for this reason; at any rate, there is no concern with jam or marmalade, as cooking neutralizes the acid. To prepare a tasty jam from the fruits, they are simmered soft with sugar and a splash of white wine. The jam can naturally still be adjusted according to individual taste, e.g., with a vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, or a little honey.