Newspaper Article

Living: FOOD: Wild bunch Elderflower may smell pretty awful in its raw state, says Lisa Chaney. But, when cooked, its delicate fragrance is the epitome of English summer. What's more, it's completely free. Jeremy Lee has fun with the harbinger of the sun

Chaney, Lisa

1999

Overview

Hylder, ellhorn, eldrun, pipe tree . . . all are Saxon or old English terms for Sambucus nigra, or the common elder. A small, crooked tree or shrub, it usually springs up on wasteground, and is a common woodland and hedgerow `weed' across the breadth of Europe and western Asia. Undistinguished for much of the year, for a few short weeks in May and June the elder becomes suddenly conspicuous, being swathed in countless, nodding, creamy-white flowerheads - `slices of bread' was the old country name naturally suggested by the pale, flat-topped appearance of these heralds of English summer. Later in the year, the masses of tiny, purple-black berries into which the flowers turn usher in the autumn. The association with Judas and the cross probably arose out of much earlier northern-European beliefs, maintaining that each elder was inhabited by a tree spirit, and that, unless permission was first requested of the tree, cutting it for any purpose risked haunting by the angry spirit. Yet, like many a pre-Christian god, the elder's powers were benevolent if it was treated with respect, and so the tree was widely grown as protection against evil spirits. In the Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare reflects its place in popular affections: `What says my Aesculapius? My Galen? My heart of Elder?' Pliny and numerous other ancient writers had long before recorded the medicinal uses of all parts of the tree, but belief in its virtues reached their zenith in the 17th century, when many, like the diarist John Evelyn, believed that practically every ailment known to humanity - from toothache to plague - could be subjugated by the elder's powers. Elderflower heads dipped in batter and deep-fried make fine, sweet fritters, a delicacy for which, some claim, we must thank the North American Indians. But it is usually as an occasional flavouring that we catch a fleeting glimpse of the elderflower's past range of employment. Commercial elderflower syrup is still used as a base for cooling summer drinks and sorbets. A few sensible people remember each year how quickly and easily made are sparkling, non-alcoholic elderflower `wines'.

• Publisher: Guardian News & Media Limited
• Subject: Recipes / Weeds