Elderberry juice - cold or warm, but definitely healthy

Holundersaft – kalt oder warm, aber auf jeden Fall gesund (Foto: CCO / Pixabay / alsterkoralle)

Photo: CCO / Pixabay / alsterkoralle

Elderberry juice tastes good, is healthy and easy to make yourself. Find out more about the nutrients and effects of elderberry juice and how you can make it yourself.

Elderberry juice is healthy – cold and warm

Elderberries contain important trace elements such as folic acid, iron and potassium. They are best known for the large amount of vitamin C. That is why elderberry is a tried and tested home remedy for colds and cold. It should be prepared as gently as possible and fresh so that the ingredients can develop their full effect.

In naturopathy, reference is also made to the anthocyanins it contains. This substance has an anti-inflammatory effect and binds viruses. Because of that it works particularly well against flu viruses, provided it is used after the first signs of a cold.

Both the cold juice and a warm tea can help. If you want warm elderberry juice, heat it up only slightly – in no case boil. Excessive heat destroys the valuable ingredients.

Concentrates and powders made from elderberries should help even better, because some anthocyanins are destroyed during the production of juice by heating and pressing.

So elderberry juice is a good addition to that Strengthen the immune system. In the case of long-lasting symptoms and severe colds, however, it should not prevent you from visiting the doctor.

Collect elderberries for juice

The berries of the black elder
(Photo: CCO / Pixabay / Anemone123)

You can make elderberry juice yourself. To do this, you first need the berries. Elder bushes grow mainly in hedges and on the edges of forests. The berries are ripe when they are jet black, you can pick them from September to November.

There are different types of elderberry:

Black elder berries are healthy and edible.
The des Little elder are poisonous.
A distinguishing feature: the umbels of the black elder hang downwards as in the photo, while the poisonous ones are pointed upwards as a warning.
In addition, the dwarf elder berries have a small dent and smell unpleasant.

It is best to pick the whole umbels and collect the sensitive berries in a basket or an old cloth bag, because the berries stain strongly. Since the berries are very delicate, you should process them quickly.

Do not pick elderberries from bushes that are close to the road, as they can come with you particulate matter be burdened. Animals such as birds also live from the berries. So make sure you pick fewer berries from several bushes. In this way you avoid that bushes are completely empty and that an important part of the food for forest animals is missing.

Very important: As great as the temptation is when you pick it, eat it Berries never raw! Eating them can cause nausea and vomiting because they contain the Toxin sambunigrin. However, this decomposes from a temperature of 76.3 ° C.

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Make elderberry juice yourself

Elderberry juice is also a good gift
(Photo: CCO / Pixabay / RitaE)

How to make your own elderberry juice:

Wash the elderberries thoroughly.
Remove the berries from the stems with a fork or your hands. You sort out unripe berries and leftover stems.
Put the berries in a saucepan and add about an inch of water.
Let the berries cook for about 15 minutes. They should be soft and wrinkled and easy to squeeze out. Don’t cook them too long or the important vitamins will break down.
Filter the berries through an old kitchen towel. The best way to do this is to tie the corners of a second pot and then pour the berries and the liquid onto them so that the juice can drip into the second pot.
Squeeze the berry mixture well and let it drain overnight. If you don’t mind pieces of fruit, you can also use a liquor Lotte (kitchen utensil).

Preserving elderberry juice:

Fill the elderberry juice into bottles or Screw jars.
Put the glasses in a saucepan with water. They must be 2/3 covered and must not come into direct contact with the bottom of the pan (a tea towel or a grid will help).
Let everything simmer gently for about 30 minutes (it should be about 70 degrees Celsius).
After cooling, you can take the glasses or bottles out of the pot. It is best to store the elderberry juice in a dark, cool place.

If that is too time-consuming for you, you can also buy elderberry juice ready-made. Recommended manufacturers:

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