Onion skin, saffron, or chamomile will make a yellow color; hibiscus tea, elderberry and blueberry a blueish purple; nettles, spinach, and parsley a deep green.
Make a red-brown dye using elderberries, red onion skin, pomegranates, beets, bamboo, and dried hibiscus flowers.
The next time you put on a bit of mascara, take a second to think about the ladies of yore (the Victorian era, specifically) who used to whip up a scary-sounding blend of lamp ash and elderberry juice to make a DIY lash darkener of sorts.
Either dry them or make a simple syrup of sugar and elderberries boiled up gently.
I suggest you mix the berries with apples if you are going to make a crumble or pie - one third elderberries to two thirds apple.
I like to use at least two of them: often blackberries plus elderberries or haws (though rowanberries make a classic jelly on their own).
This process makes three pints of syrup.[21] If you wish to make your own elderberry juice for the syrup, you can boil dried or fresh elderberries in one quart of water for about 45 minutes, then strain the berries out and follow the recipe above.
It is now legal to make elderberry wine at home.
Made with elderberry tea and Angostura bitters, it is wonderful for a crowd: refreshing, tangy and celebratory.
One way to make sure that it is not an elderberry plant is to break off a piece of the stem.
