Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry syrup seems to be all the rage these days.  Almost every post I see on FaceBook where someone is sick comes with several comments of people recommending elderberry syrup.  But what the heck is elderberry syrup and why do you need it? Where do you get it? What do you do with it?  All great questions and I’ll tell you the answers below 😊

Why All The Rage?

When I first heard of elderberry syrup, I didn’t even know what an elderberry was. So being the curious, and often skeptical person that I am, I had to research.  Webmd states, “Some experts recommend elderberry to help prevent and ease cold and flu symptoms.” No wonder we see a dramatic increase of posts about elderberry during the wintertime, especially during this terrible flu season we are in.

Healthline.com claims elderberries are packed with antioxidants and have many nutritional benefits.  They are high in vitamin C, dietary fiber, they are a good source of phenolic acids, flavanols, and rich in anthocyanins. They also caution against eating the branches, bark and leaves, so when you get yours, make sure to pick out any before cooking. I’ve never noticed anything except little stems in mine and I always remove those.

While Dr. Axe says, “Health benefits of the elder plant include naturally improving sinus issues, nerve pain, inflammation, chronic fatigue, allergies, constipation and even cancer. When used within the first 48 hours of onset of symptoms, the extract may even help relieve and shorten the duration of cold and flu symptoms as well. For this reason, the government actually employed the use of elderberry to fight the flu during the 1995 Panama flu epidemic.”

What Even Is An Elderberry?

But what exactly is an elderberry and where do you find them?  Elderberry, also known as, Sambucus Nigra, is commonly found in Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. Medicinal use of elderberry dates back to Ancient Egypt.  I always find it interesting when a “remedy” has been around for this many years. Because of the growing popularity, you can easily access elderberries here in America as well. I’ve purchased these off Amazon.

You do have to use caution though.  Elderberries must be cooked! If you eat the berries, bark, stems, or roots raw you are more than likely going to spend a lot of time in the restroom lol. Thank goodness I was aware of this before purchasing my first bag of berries and warned my family the same. My kids will see something on the counter with the word “berry” and want to just eat it. But I had to warn them that it could cause upset stomachs, diarrhea or vomiting so they have stayed far away from my uncooked bag.

The Syrup

Now that you know a little about elderberries, here’s how to make the syrup. Remember you DO NOT want to eat them raw, so making elderberry syrup is an easy way to safely consume elderberries. For preventative maintenance or to help stay above the wellness line, I take one to two tablespoons (I don’t measure, just pour lol) a day, along with my NingXia. I feel like I’m giving my body a powerhouse full of nutrients with these two! If someone is actually sick in the house I up that to a couple times a day just to give my self some extra immune support. If I feel like I’m coming down with something I up it to three times a day lol. I don’t like taking chances!

I have to admit when I made my first batch of elderberry syrup, I didn’t really like it. It reminded me of cough syrup lol. So I found some different recipes that I like better.  I’m going to post a few different recipes for you because each one has a slight variation in the smell and taste of the syrup. Some people love it as is but my favorite way to consume it so far is to add a single drop of orange vitality essential oil to my serving right before I drink it. I also love to mix it with NingXia Red (the whole food drink from Young Living.  You can get an entire Premium Starter Kit of NingXia Red products here. Make sure you select the “other premium kits” then find the “NingXia” one).

I’ll post the different recipes first then the directions at the end because the directions are all basically the same.

Recipe 1:

2/3 cups dried organic elderberries

3 1/2 cups water

2” piece of fresh ginger, grated

3 cinnamon sticks

½ tsp whole cloves

1 orange peel

1 cup raw, organic honey, local if you can find it (and if you are giving this to a kiddo under the age of 1, substitute the honey with pure maple syrup or other natural sweetener of your choice)

Recipe 2:

2/3 cups dried organic elderberries

3 ½ cups water

2” piece of fresh ginger, grated

3 cinnamon sticks

½ tsp whole cloves

1 cup raw, organic honey, local if you can find it (and if you are giving this to a kiddo under the age of 1, substitute the honey with pure maple syrup or other natural sweetener of your choice)

*4 drops Lemon Vitality Essential Oil

*4 drops Orange Vitality Essential Oil

*4 drops Thieves Vitality Essential Oil

*These are the essential oils I tried in mine, but you can also try Frankincense vitality, Clove vitality, Cinnamon Bark vitality, Ginger vitality, Nutmeg vitality, Copaiba vitality or basically any of the vitality essential oils, they all have different health benefits. If you try a different variation, I’d love to hear what you did and how it turned out!

Recipe 3:

1/2 cups dried organic elderberries

½ cups dried organic wolfberries (Young Living)

4 cups water

2” piece of fresh ginger, grated

3 cinnamon sticks

½ tsp whole cloves

1 cup raw, organic honey, local if you can find it (and if you are giving this to a kiddo under the age of 1, substitute the honey with pure maple syrup or other natural sweetener of your choice)

Any variation of the vitality essential oils listed in the above recipe

 

For all these recipes, you want to follow the same directions.

Cook

Add everything, except the honey (and essential oils if you are following one of those recipes), to an instant pot (I have this 8qt one because I have a large family but you may prefer a smaller, which means cheaper, one) or you can cook on the stove. I love my instant pot because I throw everything in there, then set it on manual for 8 minutes. I put it on natural pressure release, because I usually have the “set it and forget it mindset”.

If you are using a pot on the stove, bring it to a boil and then reduce to medium heat and let it simmer 45ish minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.

Strain

When I’m ready, I take the lid off, grab a strainer, place the strainer over a metal or glass bowl (that’s important if you are using essential oils because you don’t ever want to add the essential oils to plastic before you ingest them). Pour the berry mixture into the strainer held over the bowl. I use a wooden spoon to press the berries to the edge of the strainer to get all the elderberry goodness out.

Adding Honey and Optional Essential Oils

I let it cool some then, I pour in the honey, and essential oils if using, and stir until it is dissolved.  And that is it friends. Elderberry syrup is done! Now, it won’t look much like syrup, it’s not really thick or sticky like syrup, but that’s what it’s called anyway lol.

Storage

I store the cooked elderberry syrup in two 16oz glass mason jars in the fridge (though it doesn’t quite fill up the second jar). I just reuse old jars I already have, but you can also buy these in bulk so you always have some on hand.  If you have any remaining uncooked berries, you can store those in the fridge as well to preserve them longer. I’ve kept mine in the fridge for months, but if you are concerned just keep an eye on it for any visible mold growth or funky smells. I’ve never had a problem with any of mine but I’m sure at some point it must go bad lol.

A Note About The Honey

 

    

A note about the honey. Raw honey contains so many good things. It’s immune boosting, anti-fungal, antioxidant, and more. If you cook the honey, you destroy some of these awesome natural benefits. So, be sure not to add the honey until the end when the elderberry syrup has cooled.

A Note About The Essential Oils

Same with the essential oils. If you are using essential oils, make sure they are added at the end. The heat can destroy or reduce the benefits that come naturally in the oils. And, as always, I only recommend ingesting Young Living Vitality oils.  Please, do not ingest other brands of oils. You can read more about why I picked Young Living here and how you can get yours.

 

I’d love to hear what you think about the different recipes after you try them. And if you have a recipe you just love, please share it with the rest of us!