Elderberry Cordial and The Fun Of The Forage

After gaining some extra foraging confidence from The Thrifty Forager it was time to go out and do something I've been meaning to do for a while now. Make. Elderberry. Cordial. Aside from having fabulous flowers that get made into cordial in my kitchen every spring (take a look at this spring's), they have wonderfully purple autumn berries. Just don't eat them raw, the cyanide might make you feel a bit ill.

I've always wanted to pick them but I always forget or don't walk past the trees at the right time. And why did I want to pick them? Well you can make a cordial out of them too and I've always wanted to try it. I picked the berries about ten meters away from the office where Stephen was sat working. I'm mentioning this partly to excuse not having a cute picking picture and also to show that foraging can happen in a town centre. I did get a few looks but curious 'she's mad' way, not in a threatening 'throw things because she is mad way' so I didn't really mind.

Very goth...

Coming home I made the cordial following the instructions Grow Your Own Drugs: A Year With James Wong and, as some didn't fit in the bottle, I had a small sample. I can't say I really made my mind up about it. One mouthful was present, the next a little astringent. One mouthful too strong, the next fell a little flat. Possibly it's a taste I'm going to have to get used to. My brain is like that sometimes, if a taste isn't what it's expecting it freaks out on me and revives all my old food issues. I'll have to try it again with Stephen around...