Heading into cold and flu season, I felt like “cooking” up something special.. you may have heard about elderberries and their amazing natural ability to fight cold and flu symptoms and stop the viruses in their tracks!
Now before you just go buy a bag and start popping them like candy… PLEASE read before you eat!!
Elderberries in their natural state or dried are incredibly toxic! It HAS to be cooked and reduced!
There are TONS of recipes out there. So I went to one of my favorite pages and tried out their recipe for elderberry syrup! Here is the link! https://wellnessmama.com/1888/elderberry-syrup/
Now just like every online DIY or Pinterest hack, it never goes completely as planned.. BUT that’s the beauty of this blog is I’m an open book, so you will get to see all of my fails, wins, disasters and successes! And of course every mess along the way! So without further ado, this is my first attempt at elderberry syrup!
Ingredients:
2/3 cup of elderberries (I got mine online at https://www.starwest-botanicals.com)
3 1/2 cups of water
2 tbsp ginger powder
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1 cup of raw honey (we got ours from a local bee keeper)
Directions:
Step 1: Put all ingredients into a medium size pot EXCLUDING the honey!
Step 2: Bring to a bowl
Step 3: Turn the heat down to low, cover and let simmer for 45mins
Step 3.5: Be prepared to clean up unexpected mess from simmering…. quite the surprises coming into the kitchen after 20 mins! I promise it cleaned up nicely afterward 😉
Step 4: Now this part I kinda fumbled on. You’re supposed to squash the berries and then strain the whole pot into a bowl. Well I strained and squashed at the same time. I would not recommend doing this. This was also the only strained I had that had small enough holes to not let any elderberries through!
Step 5: Let reduction cool to body temp or colder then add honey!
Lastly, store in a mason jar in the fridge!
How long it can stay good for is controversial and all over the map. But if you take it daily as recommended, you shouldn’t have to worry about shelf life! You’ll use it quickly 🙂 but the shelf life is around a year!
Now that I have tried one recipe, I’m eager to try others. The smell was pretty gross while I cooked it. In fact my parents opened the windows the night after I made this due to the lingering smell from my cooking! But Rowan loves the taste as does my husband.. I however would most definitely like to try a different recipe if you know what I mean! BUT I’m not huge into herbal flavors or earthy tones. This recipe definitely has these characteristics. Tastes like Christmas 😉
Enjoy making your own and let me know how yours turns out! 🙂 hopefully I will get to enjoy my next batch more along with my kids and hubby! At least they’ll be healthy for the time being! ❤️
