In this season of coughs and colds, it’s useful to have a simple home-made recipe for that classic elderberry syrup. It comes out with a lovely deep wine-red colour.
Elderberry is full of anti-viral compounds. This recipe is simple to make and lasts around two weeks in the fridge. Buying it ready made can be expensive and very sugary. This recipe leaves it to you as to how much sweetener you would like. Many thanks to herbalist and aromatherapist Lea Jacobson for the recipe.
In terms of cost a cup of organic dried elderberries weighs around 50g. If you buy 100g or so, this comes to about £2.50 at companies like BuyWholeFoodsOnline.
Lea’s Elderberry “Syrup” recipe
Pediatricians recommend waiting until your baby is at least 12 months before introducing honey because it may contain spores of bacteria that can cause botulism. If giving to a child less than 12 months, omit honey. When using honey, raw honey obtained locally is best.
This recipe is safe for children, pregnancy, and breastfeeding women.
NOTE: This recipe does NOT contain essential oils – this is not the place to add them. Elderberries contain LOTS of anti-viral compounds, and vitamins, without adding potentially irritant and blood-thinning essential oils to the mix.
- Bring to a boil 2 cups of water. Add to the water:
– 1/2 cup dried elderberries
– 1 cinnamon stick
– 5 whole cloves
– 1 TBSP freshly grated ginger - Let it come back to a boil, then turn down and simmer approximately 25 minutes or . until liquid is reduced by half – this is called a “decoction.” Remove from heat.
- Using a mesh strainer, strain into a bowl. Using the back of a spoon, press down on the berries until you can squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can. Transfer berries, et all, back to your saucepan for phase two (optional).
If using honey, add 2 TBSP honey to your elderberry decoction now, while the extract is still warm, but not hot, as you want to retain the properties of the raw honey, stirring until it has melted into the elderberry liquid. Adding more honey makes it sweeter and gives a thicker consistency like syrup, but I prefer to limit sugars when sick – hence “Syrup” in the title
Optional second decoction
Back to the berries. Not one to waste, I boiled another two cups of water and went through the process again with the same berries. This time, I let it boil a few minutes, then covered my saucepan with a lid and let it sit for a couple of hours. I did not add additional honey, but poured it in my 1/2 liter Fido along with the first batch.
How much to take?
As a preventative, take a teaspoon a day. When actively sick, a teaspoon a day or a tablespoon every three hours will help reduce symptoms and the duration of your illness.
You really can’t overdo it. The worst that can happen is loose stools when you take too much, and then you know you need to back down.
Storing Your Elderberry “Syrup”
I poured mine into a 1/2 liter Fido jar and moved it to the fridge. A mason jar is also a good choice. Mine made about a cup total liquid.
This elderberry syrup will keep for a couple of weeks and up to a month before not being as potent, but since fresh is best try to consume what you have and make a fresh batch every 1-2 weeks.
To find more about Lea, see www.UsingEOsSafely.com