Eric & the American Elderberries
Bree’s dad, Mike Breckel, harvesting American Elderflower
Eric spent a few days this June at the American Elderberry Conference in Mt. Vernon, MO, talking good food with growers who care about family-scale farming as much as we do. One takeaway reinforced throughout the week: the future for small farms isn't growing bigger, it's growing smarter — developing efficient, value-added processes & products that allow farmers to connect directly with the people eating their food, creating economic opportunity for the folks in the dirt. It's the opposite of the "get big or get out" mantra which has pushed small farms further and further into the margins. Instead, the gathering was where big-picture ideals & enthusiasm met dirty, purple-stained-hands pragmatism.
Value-Added Agriculture is the future of small farms
Most folks are probably aware of elderberries, but may not realize an important distinction. American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) and European Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) are the same genus but different species — and this is significant. European elderberries carry natural compounds found in the stems, leaves, and unripe berries that have to be painstakingly removed via high heat to make them safe to eat, a thermal process that degrades antioxidants. American Elderberry, by comparison, packs additional antioxidants and can be eaten fresh due to much lower levels of these compounds. Thus, American elderberries can be processed without extended high heat, preserving antioxidants, and allowing for the crafting of unique, healthy products that showcase their exceptional flavor and health benefits.
Eric and college engineering friend Keith Bourne helped bring to market an elderberry destemmer built on a design from Bree's dad, Mike Breckel of Ocooch Mountain Elderberries. The Rotary Destemmer is a small-scale piece of equipment with a big impact: it helps build the opportunity for a family farm to efficiently value-add elderberries (and elderflowers!) into healthy finished products, without massive capital investments. Furthermore, our production facility is in the Food Enterprise Center, a community hub of food and wellness businesses collaborating on ideas and sharing resources to make small-scale value-added agriculture financially viable. Embark seeks to empower communities — celebrating connection from farm, to pouch, to finish line, at a scale that keeps small farmers in the picture. You support this paradigm with every purchase, helping strengthen the systems that connect us all together.
Celebrate everyday adventures with the new 1.5L Embark Everyday – this trail ready “bag-in-a-box” of Embark has plenty of Good Energy for your daily runs or rides AND enough to share with your pals on the next adventure!
The tartness of elderberries is balanced by our salted maple for a bold wild fruit flavor. This is our go-to for mixing in our water bottles, and packs a punch of caffeine free energy straight from the pouch.
80g carbs - 320 calories - 250mg Sodium