A recipe - Elderberry Syrup Immune Tonic
It’s become an annual season ritual that I love - collecting elderberries from my garden the hedgerows and making them into a delicious immune tonic Elderberry Syrup. It signifies the turning of summer to autumn for me, and starts me thinking of the Autumn and Winter seasons ahead.
So I’d like to share the recipe I use with you, as it’s really simple to make your own and always for me such a satisfying thing to do. The syrup really tastes gorgeous - basically like Christmas, and my children and I absolutely love it. This recipe is from my wonderful friend Michaela who is an absolute expert on all thing herbal and hedgerow. She’s a Medical Herbalist and and has so much knowledge and expertise on herbal medicine, she provides an amazing service of tailor made personalised herbal prescriptions. Her website will tell you more, and she also has lots more recipes amazing that you make yourself at home too - please do take a look here, she is really someone you should know about: www.bespokebotanicals.co.uk
How to make Elderberry Syrup, a Recipe:
Ingredients you’ll need (quantities depend on amount of elderberries - see step 8 in recipe):
Elderberries
Sugar
20 cloves
Stick (s) of cinnamon,
Star anise
Fresh ginger.
Pick your Elderberries - always do leave some for the birds too though, never take all of them from a tree.
Wash your berries in cold water to remove ad insects and dirt.
Remove them from the stalks - this is the trickiest bit! But the stalk would make the syrup taste bitter. I use a fork for this, or you can simply pull them off with your fingers.
Then put the elderberries into a pan and add just enough cold water to cover them.
Bring them slowly to the boil, then simmer for around 20 minutes until they have released their juice (have the lid on the pan).
:Leave to oool
Pour the cooled juice and berries through a fine sieve into a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to squeeze the rest of the juice from the berries.
Measure how much juice you have and for every 500ml of juice, add 500g of sugar, 20 cloves, 1 stick of cinnamon, 2 star anise and 1 inch cube of chopped fresh ginger.
Heat gently while the sugar dissolves then bring to the boil and simmer hard for 5 minutes.
Strain through a sieve and allow to cool a bit before putting into sterilised bottles or jars (I do this simply by filling them with boiling water and then letting air dry).
Give the bottles/jars a gentle shake every 10 minutes as the syrup cools, and don’t forget to label your bottles.
If refrigerated the syrup will keep for six months
All of the ingredients add up to make an amazing immune tonic, they have brilliant plant based medicinal properties. For example Cinnamon is a warming antimicrobial, antiviral and antibacterial. It is also a useful expectorant (i.e. it supports the body in the removal of excess amounts of mucus from the respiratory system). The Cloves are a powerful antiseptic and mild anaesthetic. Ginger is great for complaints during an upper respiratory system infection and it’s antimicrobial too. Star anise is used as a stimulant and expectorant. Elderberries themselves contain lots of Vitamin C. They have been the subject of a lot of research which is showing that they are also active against flu viruses; they are able to stop the virus from infecting your cells as well as stopping it spreading. Hence if you take Elderberries from the start of your cold or flu you can reduce the severity and length of your illness. This is great example of how modern research is confirming what we already know from our traditional knowledge.
You’l find out so much more about these herbs, herbal medicine and more herbal remedies on Michaela Scotts website Bespoke Botanicals and blog so do take a look here - www.bespokebotanicals.co.uk Herbal Medicine treats the whole person, not the disease, and works towards identifying and treating the underlying cause not merely the symptoms.
Enjoy the syrup, and the transition to Autumn everyone
Susan x
Disclaimer: All information given above is for educational purposes and is not intended to replace advice from a health care professional. If you have any health problems or are taking any other medication, herbs or supplements always seek the advice of a qualified medical herbalist or other healthcare practitioner prior to starting any new treatments