When the elder bush is adorned with numerous white blossoms from May onwards, don't hesitate to grab it. A few fresh blossoms for the punch and a few dried for winter tea. With its healthy ingredients, it is much easier to get over a cold.

Elderflowers should be harvested on a dry day

This has to be taken into account when harvesting

In order for you to get dried elderflowers of the best quality, everything has to run optimally right from the harvest.

  • collect on a dry day
  • there must be no more morning dew on the blossoms
  • harvest only fully bloomed flowers
  • cut off whole inflorescences

The ideal place for gentle drying

Elderflowers need a warm place to dry, which, however, must not be exposed to direct sunlight. Likewise, the room where they lose their moisture should be dry. In the kitchen, close to the steaming saucepan, drying doesn't work so well.

Drying the flowers step by step

  1. Cut off the main stem of the flowers, just below the top branch of the flower.
  2. Spread the flowers out on a sheet of kitchen paper or a wire rack to dry. Individual umbels must not lie on top of each other.
  3. Turn the flowers daily until they are completely dry.

tips

Special drying frame makes drying easier and is a useful purchase if drying buds is not a one-time affair.

Storing dry elderflowers

When the stems are dry, the more delicate buds tend to be too. If the buds also rustle with movement, you can be sure that the drying process is complete. Now the aroma of the flowers must be safely preserved until use.

  • pluck individual flower umbels
  • store away from light
  • absolutely dry
  • in a tightly closed container
  • use up within a year

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Vegetable garden