Everything Elderberry: How to Forage, Cultivate, and Cook with this Amazing Natural Remedy

by Susannah Shmurak

Overview

This book is for everyone from novices to advanced herbalists and contains everything you need to know to source elderberries and make the most potent and delicious natural remedies and treats.

Used for centuries to fight illness, elderberries’ reputation as an effective home remedy for colds and flu has been borne out by numerous scientific studies.

While elderberry syrup is perhaps this amazing berry’s best-known form, there is so much more we can make from flavorful elderberries! In addition to its flu-fighting superpowers, elderberry contains potent antioxidants that support long-term health. Elderberries make nutritious and tasty additions to baked goods, drinks, and all manner of treats. Once you get started making your own elderberry gummies and homemade beverages, you won’t want to stop! 

Everything Elderberry will introduce readers to the science behind elderberries, their traditional uses, what to know about growing and foraging elderberries, and how to prepare numerous mouthwatering elderberry and elderflower recipes. From simple teas, syrups, and tinctures, to jams, desserts, and wine, Everything Elderberry will have you hooked on these gorgeous gifts from Mother Nature! The recipes featured here include:
 

• Elderberry hard candies and cough drops
• Jams made with foraged elderberries, strawberries, and chia seeds
• Elderflower soda & kombucha
• Foraged berry oat muffins
• Elderberrry and elderflower tea & tinctures

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510754003
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	09/08/2020
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Susannah Shmurak is a green-living enthusiast who researches endlessly about ways we can support our health naturally. As a freelance writer, she has written hundreds of articles on gardening, natural remedies, eco-conscious living, nutrition, and food preservation. She shares practical shortcuts to healthier, more sustainable living on her blog, HealthyGreenSavvy. Susannah resides in Minnesota. 

Read an Excerpt

While modern medicine has in many cases eclipsed tried-and-true herbal remedies, another modern invention, the internet, has helped revive these fading ways to treat illness and support everyday good health. You probably picked up this book because you read about elderberry syrup on a blog and were curious to know more. That’s how I first learned about elderberries, too.

Reading about elderberry syrup online immediately piqued my interest. A simple berry-based concoction that could help me fight off colds and flu was very appealing in a region of the country where winter (and cold season!) lasts five to six long months.

But buying tiny, expensive bottles of elderberry syrup did not appeal to this frugal do-it-yourselfer, and I quickly schooled myself in ways to tap the benefits of elderberries without breaking the bank. As I learned to make my own elderberry preparations, I developed an insatiable curiosity about other herbal remedies. Exploring the fascinating world of plant medicine, I discovered hundreds of common plants—some masquerading as weeds in our gardens, some staples of the spice cabinet—that we can use to address common ailments. Many of these simple herbs and spices show up in the recipes included here.

This book also contains information on how to source elderberries and use them safely, as well as what scientific evidence we have for their storied health benefits. In my effort to understand this intriguing plant better, I sought out scientists, growers, herbalists, and makers of jams and spirits. I combed through historical herbal texts, centuries’ worth of cookbooks, and piles of modern herbalist books. I experimented with using the flowers and berries in baking, teas, and condiments, and plied family and friends with the results. It’s all here for you, along with loads of information about how to find or grow elderflowers and elderberries and how you can use these ages-old remedies in your wellness routine.

Elderberry has served for many as a gateway to the not-quite lost—and, thanks to the internet and ever-growing popular interest, quickly rebounding—art of home remedies. Since elderberry has been widely studied, is readily available, and tastes so good, it’s a perfect place to start if you’re curious about supporting health naturally.

Editorial Reviews

Elderberries have become wildly popular, and Everything Elderberry provides you with over sixty creative recipes for flowers, berries, and leaves. From peppermint elderberry cough drops, to elderflower sangria, to elderberry leaf salve, this book is a treasure trove of all things elderberry.”
—Laurie Neverman, Common Sense Home

"Everything Elderberry is incredibly well researched and thorough, packed with everything you could possibly want to know about elderberries. You won't find a more authoritative book on the subject, and the recipes at the end are especially scrumptious."
—Ashley Adamant, Practical Self Reliance 

"Everything Elderberry truly lives up to its name! This book is your one-stop guide to sourcing and using elderberries, flowers, and leaves. Highly recommended!"
—Jan Berry, The Nerdy Farm Wife

"Susannah's book on everything elderberry couldn't have come at a better time. It is full of well researched information about growing, harvesting, and using elderberries and elder flowers in the kitchen and in the home apothecary. It goes deeper than simple elderberry cough syrup, with creative desserts, from pie to candy and fruit leather. There are apothecary staples too, like immune boosting elderberry tincture, elder flower lip balm, and elder leaf salve. This book is a collection of elder wisdom that draws on experts in the fields of herbalism, homesteading, and gardening. What I found most helpful was the information about propagation. Having stuck elder sticks in the ground to multiply my bushes, with more failure than success, I appreciated the cultivation and propagation chapter the most. With health threats affecting every country in the world, every garden should have an elder to watch over it. Thanks, Susannah, for making this beneficial plant more accessible through your book." 
—Christine Dalziel, Joybilee Farm, author of The Beeswax Workshop

From the Publisher