Seeing Casper stand up to leave the table, Mom suggested, “If you’re going to walk down to the woods this afternoon, check the elderberry bushes for blossoms. They always blossom by the end of June. If they are, pick enough for me to fry for our supper tonight.”

I had already planned on spending that Saturday afternoon tagging after my big brother, but now I certainly didn’t want to miss the chance to help him pick elderberry blossoms! I jumped to my feet and announced, “I’m coming with you.”

Casper gruffly instructed, “Be sure to keep up with me.” As I followed him out the back door of our farmhouse, Mom handed me a brown paper bag to put the blossoms in. I had to run to keep up with Casper’s longer legs. We crossed the cow yard and started down the cow lane towards the woodlot and the small creek that ran through the back forty acres on our farm. I rested whenever Casper stopped to check who was using the birdhouses that were nailed to some of the cow lane fence posts.

Our hurried pace slowed as we came closer to the cow pasture near the creek. Birds I never saw near the house sat on reeds bobbing in the breeze. Butterflies flitted around wildflowers. Casper examined paw tracks in the mud. “Racoon,” he muttered for my benefit.

Mom was right. The elderberries were in full bloom. As we approached the bushes, a slight breeze made the delicate flowers flutter, reminding me of lacy handkerchiefs waved by a flirtatious, medieval damsel. We spent an enjoyable hour or more checking bird houses by the trees, seeing squirrel tracks while we walked through the woods, watching minnows and frogs in the creek. We returned to the elderberry bushes to pick the flowers on our way back home.

That night Mom made a runny Rosetta cookie batter with two eggs, one tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and one cup of sifted flour and more than the usual one cup of milk and one teaspoon of vanilla. When a kettle of oil on the stove was hot enough, Mom took a blossom and dipped it in the batter. When she lifted the flower cluster out, the flowers clung together and drooped, but the minute they were placed in the hot oil, the coated flowers spread out and made a great, joyful sizzling sound as they fried. When the flowers on the stem were brown and crisp, they were placed on a plate and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Everyone in my family loved our yearly, late June elderberry blossom suppers. We ate until we were full, because after all, we wouldn’t have the chance to eat them again for another full year.

I treasure the memories of my family’s fried elderberry blossom suppers. Each year at the end of June, I search the countryside for their telltale lacy blossoms on my way to and from Marshfield. I like to treat my children and grandchildren to this unique dish from my childhood.

Delicious fried blossoms aren’t the only gift that elderberry bushes give for us to enjoy. When most people think about how to use ripe elderberries, they think of homemade wine. I preferred using the juice from elderberries to make jelly. From the mid 1970’s right through 2015, I made at least seven batches of elderberry jelly each fall and gave eight-ounce jars of the precious sweet to coworkers as Christmas gifts. I also entered a jar of it at the Central Wisconsin Fair each year and never failed to win a blue ribbon. My secret was using half elderberry juice and half apple juice.

The gifts from an elderberry bush keep coming. The berries contain potassium, iron, vitamins C and A, and are immune boosters that can reduce the duration of a cold or flu. Studies show they contain antioxidants, are anti-inflammatory and anti-viral. Some studies even suggest elderberry juice can reduce cholesterol levels and blood sugar. It’s no wonder that health food stores sell elderberry products. The name on the product often has the word, Sambucol or sambucus on it, since this is the taxonomic genus that elderberry bushes belong to.

I make my own medicinal elderberry tincture and freeze it in small jars. When someone in the family feels that they are coming down with a cold or flu, I have them take a teaspoon of the frozen tincture every few hours. It is very soothing on a sore throat.

To make the tincture, I put one and a half cups of elderberry juice, one half cup honey, and one fourth teaspoons of both cinnamon and cloves in a kettle. When all the ingredients are mixed and hot, I pour it into small jars and freeze them. The honey keeps the mixture soft enough to dig out a spoonful whenever you need some.

I don’t think my brother Casper really wanted me to tag along after him that long ago June day when we picked elderberry blossoms for supper. He didn’t seem to realize I was a big kid and no longer needed to be carried home from a trip to the woods like I did when I was five or six. However, he shared the day with me by allowing me to catch up when he stopped to check the contents of the bird houses in the cow lane and helping me notice all the wonderful things to see on our outing. I consider the happy time that we spent together as yet another gift from the mighty elderberry bush.