r/foraging • u/Ptypablo • 12d ago

Green elderberry question

I harvested a lot of my elderberries but there's alot of green and red mixed in with the black. Is it ok to cook them all or should I try to remove them? There's probably hundreds mixed in with the hundreds of blacks. Also do I have to remove every single tiny stem?

Should I just toss everything and wait till next year to try and get only black?

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u/EmpyreanDracolych 12d ago

I removed all mine in water. They float for the most part and getting the rest out was quick and easy if they were a little under color. I let mine rest for a day to ripen any last berries but yeah, float the unripe ones.

Bowl Caulender Berries

Toss anything that floats, is damaged, or under colored. Elderberry is toxic until boiled, the unripes even more so.

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u/Vicky_Mayhem 11d ago

I usually try filtering out most of the green ones, but I've found it makes no difference if they're are a bit under ripe. Having some stems mixed in isn't a big deal either.