Homemade Elderberry Syrup

Last year in Blog Land I stumbled upon a recipe that would change my life and the life of my family. Homemade Elderberry Syrup. I had just discovered Elderberry syrup and experienced its great benefits during cold and flu season when I also discovered its high cost. O.O At $11-$14 a bottle depending on brand and where you buy it, that can and will add up for a family as large as mine. I knew we couldn't keep buying it so I began researching online to see if I could make it and voila, thanks to Wellness Mama's Post Here I could.

My girls had such good memories of taking it last year that my house was filled with ooo's and aaahhh's this year as the elderberry syrup was cooking. They all told me that it was the smell of Christmas coming. LOL

 

Each day my kids beg for this syrup. When I tell them its time to take it they line up like they're in line for some new toy. It's adorable!

 

Thank you http://wellnessmama.com/!

 

2/3 cup black elderberries

3.5 cups of water

2 T fresh or dried ginger root

1 tsp. cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp cloves or clove powder

1 cup raw honey (you can also replace with all natural strawberry or raspberry syrup but it won't have the healing qualities as it would with honey. I've been out of honey and in need of elderberry syrup so I made a batch replacing honey with one of the above syrups and it still worked great!)

1.Pour water into a medium pot. Add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Do not add honey yet.

2.Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the liquid has reduced by almost half. When it's ready remove it from the heat and let it cool until it is cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl. I use cheesecloth and pour it into a large bowl. I squeeze the cheesecloth as to get as much of the juices as possible.

3. Throw away the elderberries. Or if you like you could always compost them. :)  Now it's time to allow the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well.

4. When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a pint sized mason jar or 16 ounce glass bottle of some kind.

Standard dose is 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for kids and 1/2 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.