Or elderberries in English. The are everywhere at the moment and an important source of food for the local bird life. With their a sweet-bitter taste and high levels of vitamin C and antioxidants, Europeans have been using them for centuries to fight the flu, colds and other winter ailments. I've even bought elderberry extract in the past to boost the kid's immune system in the winter.
The kids and I tasted them fresh for the first time yesterday. My little berry monster obviously ate too many.....
We walked home from daycare with some friends and stopped in their garden to play. I don't know how many he ate but he threw up at least twice as we were leaving, once in his hat on the way home and again at home. Don't imagine he's going to be too keen to taste them again!! I remembered reading on the Swedish poison site that no berries in this country are poisonous enough to have any serious effect, even on a young child - the worst that would happen is that they might throw up, so I wasn't too concerned. He didn't really appreciate Makaila and I chuckling at him although he was happy enough to lie on the couch and say "ooooh I'm siiiiick!!! I want to watch a movie". Mind you he recovered in time for dinner. Is he a boy or what??
And I just read on this site that some stomachs don't tolerate them uncooked!! Well now we know. I think we'll stick with the extract!
While looking for photos I found a breathtakingly beautiful blog which included elderberries in these gorgeous decorations.
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