Ingredients

You will need 2 1/2 cups elderberry juice, (I used a steamer to extract the juice from the elderberry’s.)

If you don’t have a steamer, place 1 pound (4 cups) fresh or frozen elderberries, or 1/2 pound dried elderberries, picked over and all stems removed. Add 3 cups filtered water.

1. To make juice, place berries in a large, heavy saucepan along with water. Cover and bring to a simmer and reduce by about one half. It takes about for 30 minutes, mashing berries with a potato masher until they soften and release their juices.
2. Press berries through a food mill or fine mesh sieve. Discard solids. Strain juice a second time through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth to remove any remaining solids. You should have about 2 2/3 cups of juice.

Recipe:

2 1/2 cups elderberry juice

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon dried ginger or one thumb sized fresh ginger sliced or 3 slices of dried ginger

4 whole cloves

3 Tbsp. bottled lemon juice

1 cup local raw honey

*Optional: 1 cup of brandy

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large pot, bring the elderberry juice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat, cover, (allow some steam to escape). Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 50-60 minutes.
3. Drain the liquid using a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth to remove cloves, cinnamon stick and ginger.
4. Allow the syrup to cool down until warm to the touch or just under 100 degrees.
5. Add the lemon juice, raw honey and *(Brandy Optional) mix well.
6. It’s best to store the syrup in amber colored jars. Sterilize jars by washing and pour boiling water in jar. Fill empty jars with syrup and store in the refrigerator for up to two months.
7. *Adding Brandy to the elderberry syrup will make it shelf-stable and no refrigeration is required. Store in dark place for up to 6 months.

Recommended Dose: Take 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of elderberry syrup daily. If you have a cold you can take it up to 4 times daily for 5 days.