The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowThe Field Guideby Moss & Marrow
Also called vlierbes.
In the Netherlands, elderberries are in season September to October, at their best in September. November is outside the Dutch season for elderberries.
Elderberries ripen in September on the bushes that flowered in June. They must be cooked. In the Netherlands you may pick small amounts for your own use in most forests and along most paths, about a punnet's worth, and never dig up roots or bulbs. Nature reserves, dune areas and many Natuurmonumenten and Staatsbosbeheer sites forbid it, and the sign at the entrance is the rule that counts. Commercial picking is forbidden everywhere.
Drooping clusters of fully black berries; strip them from the stalks with a fork. Raw elderberries upset the stomach, so cook them.
Vitamin C and anthocyanins in large amounts, plus fibre.
To get the most: The anthocyanins survive cooking; the vitamin C does not entirely, so keep the simmer short.
Content per NEVO, the Dutch food composition database. This describes what the food contains, not what it does for you.
Simmer and strain for syrup or jelly, or cook with apples.
Berries only, cooked; stalks and leaves are not edible.
Elderberries are picked, not bought. The Field Guide lists producers, so it has no entries for a wild food; the page is here so the season and the rules are in one place. Elsewhere on the site, the map shows the farms and shops near you.
Dates read on 2026-10-12. If a window on this page is wrong, tell us with a source.
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