In an effort to better understand agriculture-based economies, I recently embarked on a pilgrimage of sorts to Hardwick, Vt.—the Northeast Kingdom hamlet depicted in Ben Hewitt’s must-read book “The Town That Food Saved.” At one point during the brief and eventful visit, I found myself standing amid swarms of honeybees behind the building that houses Caledonia Spirits. I was talking to Todd Hardie, the owner of the company, about his innovative vodka and gin, which are both distilled from local Vermont honey, when I noticed carefully planted shrubs staked up and protected from the ever-present threat of marauding deer. When I asked Todd about the plants, he simultaneously cursed the deer and sang the praises of the elder. Beloved by beekeepers, the compound, pollen-rich flower heads of the elder bush are sweet and aromatic, and have been used to flavor cordials, liqueurs and even a locally brewed Smuttynose beer. 

Elder plants also play an important role in our shrinking wild ecosystem, their berries serving as food for migrating birds, honeybees and mammals alike, including marauding deer and—yes—humans. We humans have used the vitamin- and antioxidant-rich juice of the elderberry for medicine and dye over the centuries, but it is just now experiencing a renaissance as a delicious comestible.

In our area, elderberries are so abundant for a couple of weeks each year that, on the right kind of torrid late summer afternoon, you can smell their glory hanging in the air. Of course, like most wild things, this means the die-hard Yankee cook in all of us has a fairly brief window of opportunity to glean these clustered micro-berries from their bushes before the season passes us by. If you are driving on a highway in late August and see a crazy person pulled over and slogging through a brambly roadside ditch with a bucket, it might be me gathering elderberries. Or perhaps it is a winemaker, brewer, jam-maker or other brave soul plucking the dark burgundy clusters from bowed branches. My usual counsel applies here: if you choose to take matters into your own hands, be sure to forage any wild food with an experienced forager and a good guidebook.

Although riverbanks and roadside ditches in our area abound with elder bushes, rootstock can also be transplanted to backyards quite successfully. Some nurseries also sell plants that have been bred to bear profuse fruit.

Best paired with game birds (duck, squab, wild turkey and guinea fowl, for example) or venison, elderberries have an aroma and flavor that suggest a hybrid of cranberries, huckleberries and blackcurrants. The hunters and gatherers among us can certainly appreciate that the berries appear just as bird-hunting season begins. 

The recipe below is intended to capture the berries at their peak ripeness and preserve the wonderful flavor for your larder throughout the year. Canning a syrup made from the berries is another classic technique for preserving.

elderberry vinegar
2 lbs. elderberries, stems removed
1 orange, cut into 8 wedges
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 liter sherry (or balsamic) vinegar

Using the bottom of a ladle in a large stainless mixing bowl, mash the berries, sugar, orange wedges and salt into a chunky pulp. Pour the vinegar onto the berries. Cover the bowl with cheesecloth and secure the edges with twine or a large rubber band to discourage fruit flies. Store at room temperature for two or three days. Remove the cheesecloth and place it in a colander over an empty bowl. Slowly pour the vinegar into the cheesecloth. With the twine, tie up the corners of the cheesecloth to contain the berry pulp and hang the satchel for a few hours to gradually express the vinegar from the fruit.  Be patient—if you squeeze the bag, the resultant vinegar will appear cloudy and can taste more bitter.

Use this vinegar as a basis for salad dressings throughout the autumn months, or reduce with an additional cup of sugar in a stainless saucepan to make a memorable sauce paired with game.

Evan Mallett is the father of William Cormac and Eleanor Parker, husband of Denise, co-owner and chef of Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, and a long-time forager of wild edibles.