Elderflower
The witch plant and its unmistakable scented umbrella flowers
Speaking of elderberry, many will remember the tale of the Pied Piper, while others will think of the wand with magical powers featured in the more modern wizard Harry Potter saga. In either case, what immediately springs to mind when talking about this plant are the powers attributed to its wood. Elderberry ( sambucus nigra) appears in many fairy tales all over the world and in Umbria it makes its way into stories handed down from generation to generation. It is said, for instance, that inside every elder tree dwells the soul of a witch. Its wood called “ stregonio” (witchy), suitable for being made into musical instruments such as flutes, is hollow on the inside and, for this reason, can make noises when the wind blows, thus fuelling the popular belief linked to witches. The elderberry is also known as a valuable ally in the kitchen, but care must be taken to avoid confusion with similar but poisonous plants such as the dwarf elder ( sambucus ebulus), called “sambuchella” (little elderberry) because of its similarity to the elderberry. To recognise its flowers, apart from their characteristic scent, one must observe their colour: those of the elderberry are white with yellow dots given by the anthers, and any other colour indicates that it is not elderberry. For the berries, on the other hand, it is sufficient to observe the habit of the infructescence, which in the elderberry hangs downwards, while in the ebbio it tilts upwards.
In spring, the flowers are harvested, which later give way to the berries that are now used in the preparation of jams and jellies, while in the past they were also used in the production of inks and fabric dyes, giving colours ranging from red-purple to black, or even to give extra colour to wine. Elder flowers can be used to flavour water or to create, with the addition of lemon and sugar, a thirst-quenching and very fragrant syrup. However, the most widespread culinary tradition in Umbria is that of using it to make delicious sweet fritters. RECIPE Preparation: 20 minutes Difficulty: Easy Serving Size: 6 people Ingredients: about 15 elderflowers flour water 1 egg 1 l sunflower oil white or brown sugar, or icing sugar to taste To make elderflower fritters, collect the whole umbels of flowers and then wash them to remove impurities and let them dry on a cloth. Create a fairly liquid batter with the water, flour and egg, then dip the whole flowers in the batter and fry them in hot oil if you want to create a more scenic effect, or have fun cutting off only the white part of the flowers from the green stalks, add them to the batter and fry about a tablespoon of batter for each fritter in the oil. With the same procedure, the white clustered flowers of the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), which blossoms at the same time as the elderberry, can be eaten. A little sugar on each pancake and you're done!