Description
A proven antiviral, steam juiced elderberries are safe and effective. Gather them while they are in season and waterbath can the syrup to keep it for long term storage.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of elderberries, fresh
- 1 cup of honey
- 1 – 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and shredded
Instructions
- Remove stems from fresh elderberries.
- Place elderberries in the top part of a steam juicer. Steam for 30 minutes until the juice is running freely. Press berries lightly to release as much juice as possible.
- Draw off the hot juice into a saucepan. You should have about 4 cups of juice. Add ginger to the saucepan.
- Simmer the juice with the ginger at low temeratures for 30 minutes until the juice is reduced to 2 cups. Remove the juice from the heat. Pour the juice through a mesh strainer to remove the ginger pieces.
- Add 1 cup of honey to the strained, reduced juice and stir well to combine. Pour into prepared sanitized bottle. Label.
- Keep refrigerated. Will keep for several weeks in the fridge. For longer storage, can in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for pints (15 minutes for pints above 1000 feet).
To use:
Use 1 tablespoon of elderberry syrup every 2 hours at the first sign of a cold. Reduce the serving size to 1 teaspoon for children under 12. Children under 2 can be given 1/2 teaspoon safely. Elderberry antioxidants enter the blood stream rapidly and are excreted within 2 hours of eating, so it is safe to take elderberries often.
This syrup can be used regularly as a food.
Notes
This recipe can be multiplied keeping the ratio of 1 cup of honey to 2 cups of reduced juice.
Keywords: Elderberry syrup, Medicinal syrup,