How to Make Elderberry Syrup

One of the  things I’m doing along with our winter preps, is to prepare ourselves for “ick” season, as I like to call it.  This includes replenishing my stash of essential oils known to help with cold and flu, such as eucalyptus oil for a natural vapor rub, rosemary, lavender, tea tree, etc. I also made up a batch of Elderberry and Rosehip syrup. Elderberries are high in vitamins which help boost your immune system. It can help your body fight off the “ick”, and also shorten the length and severity of symptoms if you do end up getting sick. It has the added benefit of being safe for men, women (pregnant and nursing…or not), and even children.

I purchased my elderberries and rose hips from Bulk Herb Store (affiliate link). They had the best price I could find, and the best shipping costs for me as well. Search around, though. You may live closer to another supplier, allowing for cheaper shipping costs.

(Note: Elderberries grow rampantly across many parts of the United States. Ditto for rose hips, actually. You may be able to forage for your own. I tried and was unsuccessful, but will try again next year! Just be sure not to confuse the elderberries with pokeberry.)

Ingredients:

• 1 c. Dried Elderberries (high in Vitamins A, B, and C, and also contains tannins and flavonoids)
• 1 c. Dried Rose Hips (Added Vitamin C boost, can also be used alone as a delicious tea)
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1/2-1 cup raw honey depending on how sweet you’d like your syrup to be.
• Optionally, you may had a cinnamon stick, a 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, a few whole cloves, and/or a pinch of cayenne pepper while steeping the elderberries and rose hips. These all contain great immune boosting properties.

Directions:

• In a medium saucepan, combine elderberries, rose hips, and any of the additional optional ingredients with the water. Bring to a boil and then simmer 45 minutes.
• Remove from saucepan and mash through a sieve/fine mesh strainer into a bowl to get all liquids out.
• Allow to cool.
• Poor the honey into the container you’ll be storing your syrup in.
• ONLY once the elderberry syrup is cooled, pour it into the container with your honey. Shake to combine the syrup with the honey.

Storage: This will stay good in your fridge for 3-4 months.

Dosage: 1-3 tablespoons daily as a preventative, or as symptoms occur. I’ve been giving my children 1 teaspoon a couple of times per day when I see the sniffles start. It usually clears up within a day or so.

Update: My children have become increasingly sensitive about taking anything from a medicine dropper. So even though this syrup does not have an offensive flavor in the least, I’ve had to come up with ways to sneak it to them unless I feel up to cajoling and harassing them to take it. One of the ways that I’ve started to do this is by making fruit and yogurt smoothies, and putting the dose of elderberry syrup in there. It actually adds a very pleasant taste and sweetness, and none of us have to deal with the drama! I plan to share some specific recipes that I’ve come up with in future posts, but for now I just wanted to share this general idea of adding the syrup to a smoothie.

This is a list of some of the awesome sites that I occasionally my posts at. They’re all great blogs about anything from parenting, simple living, cooking, homesteading (backyard and large scale), gardening, Christian life, frugal living, etc. Check them out!

The Chicken Chick, The Prairie Homestead- Homestead Barn Hop, Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth- The Art of Homemaking, Homestead Bloggers Network- Tasty Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection, Growing Home- Growing Homemakers, Wildcrafting Wednesday, So Much At Home, Hope in Every Season, Green Thumb Thursday, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday, Simple Meals Friday, Better Hens and Gardens.

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