
Ingredients
- 2 quarts fresh ripe elderberries
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 ounce freshly grated ginger root
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- Honey
Directions
- Combine elderberries with water in a large soup pot and simmer until soft. Strain out pulp, reserving liquid. Discard solids and return liquid to pot.
- Add ginger and cloves, and simmer uncovered until liquid reduces by about half. Pour juice into a measuring cup and note its volume, then return to pot. Add the same amount of honey as you have juice, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Let cool, then bottle. Store in the refrigerator and use within 12 weeks. Take 1 to 2 tablespoons several times a day.
This may be one of the better elderberry syrup recipes on the planet, according to herbalist Rosemary Gladstar. It’s delicious enough to use for its flavor alone, but it’s also helpful for warding off or speeding recovery from colds and flu, as elderberry has antiviral properties.
Note: Be sure to cook elderberries thoroughly. Raw elderberry fruit, flowers and leaves contain a chemical that produces cyanide, which can cause nausea and vomiting at high doses.
Discover some the best natural remedies for wintertime health in The Best Herbal Remedies for Winter.
Recipe excerpted from Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide; used with permission of Storey Publishing.