DIY Elderberry Syrup [Recipe]

You Will Need:

• ½ cup elderberries, dried
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• 1 TBSP freshly grated ginger
• 2 cups clean water
• 1 cup RAW, unfiltered honey

Directions:

1. Put all in a saucepan EXCEPT honey.
2. Bring to a boil, then turn it down to simmer.
3. Simmer, covered, until liquid reduces by one-half (about 20-30 minutes).
4. Strain liquid into a glass bowl.
5. Squish all the good juice out of berries through sieve/strainer.
6. Gently whisk in your honey.

You can make this with fresh or frozen berries, but use a full cup of berries, rather than the half cup dried. Store in a closed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. This only keeps for a couple of weeks, so make a small batch at a time from your stored ingredients.

Elderberries have been a folk remedy for centuries in North America, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, hence the medicinal benefits of elderberries are being investigated and rediscovered. Bioflavonoids and other proteins in the juice destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell.

Used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, improve vision, boost the immune system, improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995.

People with the flu who took elderberry juice reported less severe symptoms and felt better much faster than those who did not.

Elderberries contain organic pigments, tannin, amino acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, sugar, rutin, viburnic acid, vitamin A and B and a large amount of vitamin C. They are also mildly laxative, a diuretic, and diaphoretic. Flavonoids, including quercetin, are believed to account for the therapeutic actions of the elderberry flowers and berries.