How to Make Your Own Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry syrup is one of the tastiest viral prevention products. Elderberries have a strong antiviral and antimicrobial effect, and it is easy and fun to make your own syrup!
SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED
Ceramic or stainless steel pot
Ceramic or glass bowl (I like to use my 8-cup measuring cup)
Metal strainer
Nut milk bag or two layers of cheesecloth
Large glass jar or a few smaller jars
INGREDIENTS (ORGANIC IF AT ALL POSSIBLE)
4 cups filtered water
2 cups dried elderberries
1 thumb sized piece of ginger root, cut into coin-sized pieces*
Zest from 1 lemon*
1 cinnamon stick*
1 tablespoons rosehips*
6 cloves*
1-2 cups raw unfiltered honey
*Optional, but these ingredients improve the medicinal value of your elderberry syrup!
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring water to a boil in your pot.
Add all ingredients except honey and reduce heat.
Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Turn off heat and let steep for 1 hour.
Strain mixture into a bowl through a strainer overlaid with your nut milk bag or cheesecloth. (The edges of my nut milk back perfectly stretch over the top of my 8-cup measuring cup, so I don’t need the strainer to stabilize the bag.)
Taking care in case your herbs are still hot, gather the edges of the cheesecloth or nut milk bag and squeeze out the remaining liquid from the berries and herbs. Then discard or compost the strained herbs.
Add honey to your elderberry decoction liquid and stir to combine. Honey will stabilize your syrup’s shelf life, and requires a 1:1 ratio of liquid to honey to keep well outside of the refrigerator. That’s quite a lot of honey! If you can refrigerate your syrup, I recommend a 2:1 herb decoction liquid to honey ratio, but you can go as low as 3:1. For this recipe, you will probably have about 3 cups of decocted liquid, in which case you can add 1.5 cups of honey (or even just 1 cup).
Pour into a glass jar and label with name and date before storing in your refrigerator.
Enjoy! Take 1-2 tsp per day for general immune-boosting benefits. When sick, increase dosage to 2-3 tsp every 2-3 hours.
I personally like to combine my daily elderberry syrup dose in a small cup with the juice of 1/2 a lemon for an added kick of vitamin C and a bit of hot water to warm it up.
