As Winter draws closer and the weather continues to get cooler, we all want a free pass from the cold and flu season, am I right? We’re cruising through Autumn over here and I’m on my second batch of Elderberry Syrup, with no symptoms of cold or flu!

As with all recipes, you may tweak the tools and ingredients to suit your needs, but all of these herbs are key to enjoy the maximum benefits this elixir has to offer.

And as always: for best results, please use quality organic and local ingredients if at all possible (IE. do not use tap water, the fake honey bear honey, or generic label spices).

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How to make Black Elderberry Syrup

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Yield: 3 cups (approximately)

Ingredients:

• 3½ cups filtered water
• 2/3 cup dried black elderberries
• 2 TBSP freshly grated ginger root
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp cloves or clove powder
• 1 cup raw local honey

Tools:

• 1 medium saucepan with lid
• 1 medium or large sized mesh strainer
• glass bottles with lids or mason jars

Instructions:

1. Pour water into medium saucepan and add black elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
2. Bring mixture to a boil.
3. Cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the liquid has reduced by almost half.
4. Remove from heat and let cool from boiling temperature (about 10 minutes).
5. Mash the berries carefully using a spoon or other flat utensil.
6. Pour half of mixture through a strainer into a Pyrex measuring cup and mash liquid out of berries, discard berries.
7. Repeat step 6 for the rest of the mixture.
8. Let the liquid cool to lukewarm.
9. Add the honey and stir well.
10. When the honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the elixir into glass bottles.

Daily Dosing:

Children: ½ tsp – 1 tsp* 

Adults: 1 TBSP*

*If a cold or flu does occur, take the above standard dose every 3 hours until symptoms disappear.

Notes:

Always use clear glass bottles. Amount varies on how long you let the mixture boil. Generally, the elixir will fill about three 12 oz bottles.  I personally find mason jars too wide and the tops are burdensome. My favorite bottle to use right now is from the Limitless Coffee&Tea line. They are a cute 12 oz size, label removes fairly easily and they store uniformly in the fridge. Just take the label off/wash/dry & add elixir simply using pour spout of Pyrex, or use a funnel.