My relative has a beautiful bush in her yard, adorned with bright red berries, but she never eats them. The reason is the red elderberry. Unlike the black elderberry, which is more common in our country, it is known to be inedible. That's why it is grown purely for ornamental purposes.
But not everyone knows this—many people who come to visit them try to immediately pick the berries and pop them in their mouths, not realizing that this can be poisonous. Fortunately, the branches don't hang down very low, keeping them out of reach of children.
That's why I decided to write about this beautiful tree - so that people know that not everything beautiful is edible.
This is what these attractive berries look like:
Now, here are some facts you should know:
- During flowering, the flowers emit a rather unpleasant smell;
- the fruits are drupes that ripen in July-August, depending on climatic conditions;
- the berries also smell unpleasant and taste disgusting (and that's great - a person will immediately spit out the berry);
- Toxicity is most pronounced before the fruits are fully ripe.
Red elderberries contain a toxic substance called sambunigrin (a poisonous glycoside), which can break down into... (attention!!!) hydrocyanic acid and benzaldehyde. While the latter merely irritates the mucous membranes and respiratory tract, the former is a dangerous poison.
Despite this, the berries, flowers, roots and leaves of red elderberry are used in folk medicine (although personally I wouldn't risk doing it). The remedies are said to relieve spasms and fever, remove phlegm when coughing, improve the condition of women during menopause, eliminate migraines, treat the kidneys and liver, and relieve allergies.
But what's interesting is that the branches and leaves are actively used in the home. It turns out they can repel rats, mice, and other pests, so they are laid along garden beds and in outbuildings and barns. In Europe, the berries are used to make industrial alcohol and oil, as well as green dye.
My grandmother used to make red elderberry jelly as a laxative. Red elderberries, of course, have a terrible smell. But she said it was okay to eat cooked. Just don't eat it raw... when the neighbor boy ate some red elderberries, he felt sooo nauseous! How could anyone eat those berries? They smell so bad. 🤷♀️
I'll definitely try making jelly. What did grandma add to it to kill the unpleasant smell?
I didn't add anything )) My grandmother is an omnivore 😁 She held her breath, swallowed, and washed it down with juice. I wouldn't risk it ))