Here we have 2 very old recipes for Chutney made with Elderberries:

• 2 lb. Elderberries,
• 1 large Onion,
• 1 pint Vinegar,
• 1 teaspoonful Salt,
• 1 teaspoonful ground Ginger,
• 2 tablespoonful Sugar,
• 1 salt spoonful Cayenne and mixed spices,
• 1 teaspoonful Mustard seed.

Stalk, weigh and wash the berries; put them into a pan and bruise with a wooden spoon; chop the onion and add with the rest of the ingredients and vinegar. Bring to the boil and simmer till it becomes thick. Stir well, being careful not to let it burn as it thickens. Put into jars and cover.

Second Recipe: 

• 1 1/2 lb. of Elderberries
• 1 Onion
• 6 Cloves
• 1/4 oz. ground Ginger
• 2 oz. Demerara Sugar
• 3 oz. Raisins
• a dust of Cayenne and Mace
• 1 teaspoonful Salt
• 1 pint Vinegar.

Rub the berries through a wire sieve. Then pound the onion with the spices, raisins and salt. Add the vinegar and put all in an enameled saucepan and boil with the pulp of the berries for 10 minutes. Take the pan from the fire and let it stand till cold. Put the chutney into jars and cork securely.

From: A Modern Herbal

Note: Most species of Elderberry are edible when picked ripe and then cooked. Both the skin and pulp can be eaten. However, it is important to note that most uncooked berries and other parts of plants from this genus are poisonous. European Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is the variety that is most often used for health benefits as it is the only variety considered to be non-toxic even when not cooked.

One seldom has the chance of now tasting the old country pickle made from the tender young shoots and flowers of the European Elder. John Evelyn, writing in 1664, recommends Elder flowers infused in vinegar as an ingredient of a salad. The pickled blossoms are said by those who have tried them to be a welcome relish with boiled mutton, as a substitute for capers.

Clusters of the flowers are gathered in their unripened green state, put into a stone jar and covered with boiling vinegar. Spices are unnecessary. The jar is tied down directly the pickle is cold. This pickle is very good and has the advantage of costing next to nothing.

The pickle made from the tender young shoots – sometimes known as ‘English Bamboo’ – is more elaborate. During May, in the middle of the Elder bushes in the hedges, large young green shoots may be observed. Cut these, selecting the greenest, peel off every vestige of the outer skin and lay them in salt and water overnight.

Each individual length must be carefully chosen, for while they must not be too immature, if the shoots are at all woody, they will not be worth eating, The following morning, prepare the pickle for the Mock Bamboo.

To a quart of vinegar, add an ounce of white pepper, an ounce of ginger, half a saltspoonful of mace and boil all well together. Remove the Elder shoots from the salt and water, dry in a cloth and slice up into suitable pieces, laying them in a stone jar. Pour the boiling mixture over them and either place them in an oven for 2 hours, or in a pan of boiling water on the stove. When cold, the pickle should be green in colour. If not, strain the liquor, boil it up again, pour over the shoots and repeat the process.

The great art of obtaining and retaining the essence of the plant lies in excluding air from the tied-down jar as much as possible.