The black elderberry is a shrub with hollow wood, which can be used to make flutes, whistles or magic wands. Before turning into small black berries, elderflowers, white and yellowish, appear in spring and are very fragrant.
In cooking, the fruits and flowers are used to make jams or drinks, syrup or lemonade.
However, it is strongly advised not to eat the fruits raw because they are toxic and could cause vomiting and/or diarrhoea; cooking them removes this toxicity.
Charlie Braesch, ethnobotanist, specialist in edible wild plants, teaches us to recognize them without being mistaken, and makes delicious pancakes from his flowers! But not only…