Elderberry pie is one of my summertime favorites.
Do you make an elixir of berries, or of the leaves ?
Does baking affect the medicinal properties ?
Around here, harvest is in mid-late August, and you have to fight the birds off !
Personally, I use a recipe that calls for berries, leaves, and small stems. But using just the berries works fine. I usually don’t have enough berries for a full batch, which is why I use the rest of the plant.
It’s important to cook elderberry preparations. Baking won’t lower the medicinal properties, it will actually improve them. There’s another compound in the raw elderberry plant that is mildly toxic, but the toxin isn’t heat-stable. Cooking renders it harmless, while not affecting the medicinal compound.