Elderberry Syrup

Written by Ang

The seasons are changing, and with it comes the one thing we would rather not have to deal with:  sickness.  Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try to maintain your health, eventually, you will get sick.  But I'm here today to share with you the tried and true recipe for elderberry syrup.  You can buy it at the store or online, but last I checked, it was running $15 or so for a small bottle.  It's way more economical to just make your own.

Elderberries and flowers have great healing properties.  (I'm not a doctor.  Don't trust me...ask your doctor.  For general reading enjoyment, though, read on.)  A simple Google search will bring up the number one reason people use elderberry syrup--to fight off colds and flu.  It's a simple, safe (in my opinion only) way to boost your immune system to help fight off those pesky wintertime bugs.  According to my copy of the book Grow It, Heal It, elderberries contain the same antioxidants as found in grapes and blueberries.  They are antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and help with many other issues that you may encounter.  You can use them as a tea, which is very yummy, a tincture, jelly, and more.  But today I will share the recipe for the syrup.  When we have colds in this house, we take the syrup throughout the day, in one of those children's medicine cups.  *Please note, this syrup is NOT intended for children under the age of 2, because of the honey content.  Please don't take my word on any of this.  Ask your doctor.*

You can purchase elderberries through a trustworthy site like Mountain Rose Herbs if you're not lucky enough to have your own elderberry bushes.  Please note that if you are harvesting your own in the wild to ONLY use the blue or black berries.  The red berries are POISON!  You should also try to only use raw, local honey.  Using local honey has benefits that other raw honey won't have, simply because of your body's immunity to the allergens in your area, etc.

Now that you realize I'm not a doctor and you should never trust someone online, let's get to the recipe, shall we?

Elderberry Syrup

* 1 cup of fresh or 1/2 cup of dried elderberries

*3 cups of water

*1 cup of raw, local honey

*1 organic cinnamon stick, cloves, or a pinch of organic ginger root

 Begin by placing your water, berries and spices in a saucepan. I didn't have any ginger this time, so I didn't use any.  Ginger has it's own added benefits, so it's good to use it if you can.  Also, I always double my batch, so I have six cups of water here, 1 cup of berries, etc.

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Leave your heat LOW or you will end up with hardly any syrup.

After 30 minutes, you will need to strain your mixture.  As you strain it, use a potato masher, or something similar, to smash the berries and get all of the juice out of them.  I always compost the berries OR give them to the chickens.

Once you have all of your juice in one place, you will need to let it cool.  It's very important that you don't add your honey while it's still hot, or you will kill off all the good stuff in your honey.  It'll still be sweet, but won't have any medicinal properties left.  (Don't mind where I dripped down the side of my bowl.)

Once it's cooled, you can add your honey.  Now, the recipe calls for 1 cup per batch.  You can try that if you wish.  However, I learned very quickly that 1 cup of honey to a batch of juice is WAY too sweet for my family.  (It IS syrup, but still...)  I have now cut back to half of that amount.  So for a double batch, I used just a little over a cup of honey.

The final step is then to stir it up and pour it into whatever bottles, jars, etc. you'll be storing it in.  This time I used several smaller containers and a quart sized jar.  You will want to strain it as you pour, just to get out any bits of berry that were left behind.

And then you have some elderberry syrup to enjoy for the coming weeks!  They say it will last 2-3 months in the fridge.  Again, don't take my word for it.  Watch it and don't make yourselves sick.  You can use this on pancakes, ice cream, etc., or take a teaspoon here and there as needed.  Happy syrup making!