DIY Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry syrup is having a moment (at least, in the Facebook moms groups here in New Jersey). Because we’re moving into a season where we need more immune support, there are more questions about immunity and elderberry syrup is this moment’s answer. For more ideas on how to improve immunity, including during pregnancy, check out this post.
And yes, I’m all about it. I make up big batches of elderberry syrup and try to use it daily for myself and my daughter, whether straight, mixed into tea, poured over oatmeal, or to flavor gummies (like these).
Elder is old European medicine. The French King Charlemagne decreed that all households should have an elder bush, to be a “medicine cabinet” for the people. It has deep history in indigenous European spirituality, folk and fairytales, and Christianity. I don’t know as much about how it was used by native peoples on Turtle Island, but they did and do use elder medicine, though the local species Sambucus canadensis instead of the European Sambucus nigra.
The whole plant has medicinal properties, but for our purposes we’re focusing on the berry. I tend to use the dried berry purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs, although it does grow across the Northeast and I did harvest elderberries at one point up in Maine two summers ago. I have also used elder flowers to flavor fermented sodas, though the classic use for the flowers is fever reduction.
The berries are wonderfully supportive for the immune system, as well as blood-building and tonifying. Elderberry preparations have been shown to reduce the duration of colds. The berries must be cooked - eating them raw can cause vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ache, etc. For the honey, I go for local and raw, and am careful not to boil it.
I follow Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe from her wonderful book for the newbie herbalist Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health. Here it is in a nutshell:
1/2 cup of dried elderberries + 3 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 30-45 minutes. During this stage you can add other herbs to the decoction. Some of my favorites are fresh grated ginger, rosehips, echinacea root, burdock root, dandelion root, cloves, orange peel… you can experiment, or just keep it super simple.
Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer, pressing the berries with a spoon to get the most of that juice.
Discard the berries and add 1 cup honey to the liquid. You may need to heat the liquid to get the honey to dissolve, but do so gently and be careful not to boil it. Cool, pour into a jar and store in the fridge.
Sources:
Rosemary Gladstar, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, 2008.
Matthew Wood, The Earthwise Herbal, 2008.
