Elderberry - flower or fruit?

[Paul_B]

I was looking at an elderberry flower cordial and I've made elderberry wine in my youth. It got me wondering which is more beneficial, the flower or the berry?

Thinking was that farms growing this cannot supply both but I reckon the flower wins out commercially but that's public taste preferring the flower based products not necessarily due to many evaluation of the berry Vs fruit.

 

[Woody girl]

Elderberry cordial has far more benefits to health. Sambucol is made from elderberry. Also makes a good port style wine.
I love elderflower cordial especially on a hot summer day. Makes a lovely posh jelly too. Added to rhubarb crumble lifts the taste to a bit different and special.
I tend to harvest flowers in one area and berries in another. I leave any flowers over head hight so the birds still get their berries.

 

[Paul_B]

The berry wine is good. Never tried flower wine myself but my dad did, mixed with crab apple once too. My berry wine was potent. I drank too much siphoning of off into bottles, by mistake as I'm useless at timing the siphon start.

 

[Toddy]

I find that every tree is slightly different in taste and scent.
The ones that smell like a cat has piddled nearby, I don't like the taste of the flowers, but the berries are really sweet on those ones. The flowers on the others though make really lovely fritters, cordial and champagne

The berries make excellent robbs and dyes.

On the whole, I take a little from several trees and let the rest get on with feeding the insects and birds.