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Homemade Elderberry Syrup

This potent elderberry syrup tastes like Christmas and is a wonderful health-boosting tonic and an anti-inflammatory!
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Ingredients

  • 2 quarts fresh elderberries (not dried) *Make sure to pick all stems out. Stems are toxic- even when cooked.
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2- 3/4 oz. fresh ginger root chunks
  • 3 broken cinnamon sticks
  • 1 heaping tsp. cloves
  • 1 nutmeg (whole)
  • honey (amount will vary, but likely you will need at least 1 cup)

Instructions

  • Add 2 quarts of fresh elderberries to a pot with 1/4 cup of water.
  • Let berries simmer over medium-low heat until soft. Use a potato masher to smash berries and release juices.
  • When the berries are soft and have released their juices, remove from the heat and strain the juice through a sieve.
  • Measure the amount of juice you have and return it to the pot.
  • Add ginger root, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and nutmeg.
  • Simmer over medium-low heat until juice is halved.
  • Remove juice from heat and strain again. Measure juice.
  • Add the same amount of honey as you have juice and stir until combined.
  • Bottle and store in the fridge, using as needed by the teaspoonful.
  • Ideally, this should be used within 3 months; however, with the amount of honey in it, mine has kept for quite a few months. Use your best judgment.

Notes

The original recipe was originally found here on Rosemary Gladstar's site. She, in turn, received it from Nancy and Michael Phillips, the authors of The Herbalist's Way. She also provides a variation of the recipe with dried elderberries.