Homemade Elderberry Syrup is one of my favorite recipes to make from home. Firstly, the health benefits are amazing. And, this time of year when everyone is sharing more than the holiday spirit, you will be so happy that you started taking this daily. Secondly, the money saved from making it yourself feels so good. You know what is in it, especially if you have your own berries to forage. Our elderberry bush is still young and we don’t have a whole lot of sunlight so we haven’t gotten fruit yet but hopefully next Fall we will have our own! Lastly, it is pretty easy to make. I throw everything in the pan (except the honey and oils) and let it simmer until the liquid reduces about halfway.
Once it cools a bit, strain the berries into a mixing bowl and smash out all the juice with a fine mesh strainer. Next, I add the raw honey and essential oils. Adding essential oils gives it an extra boost of immune support and flavor. Please don’t just use any essential oils, we use only the purest, which is why I use Young Living. Their oils are “Seed to Seal” meaning everything from the planting and harvesting, distilling, testing, all the way to bottling is in-house providing the highest quality and most potent essential oils. Oils from the store almost all have toxins, synthetics or impurities. For this reason, I recommend doing your research on the best oils to use. After the honey is dissolved, pour the juice into a ball jar or a glass container that you can tightly seal. Keep refrigerated. I usually take 1 TBSP daily on and off and my kids take a TSP. When we are feeling under the weather we take it every few hours.
Elderberry Benefits:
Elderberries are naturally high in vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, iron and potassium, among several other nutrients. They are known to have high antioxidant activity and the bioflavonoids and other proteins in the juice of the berry will destroy the ability of a cold or flu virus to infect a cell. The berries contain chemical compounds called anthocyanidins, which are known to have immunostimulant effects. The mom and bio major in me is super pumped about the properties in this powerful plant. Give it a try and enjoy!
Ingredients
4 cups of water
1 cup organic black elderberries (dried)
2 TBSP ginger (sliced) or 1 drop of Ginger Vitality
1/2 – 1 cup raw honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 drop each of Thieves, Cinnamon Bark, Lemon or Orange (or both), & Frankincense
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