I’m trying to find ways to treat ailments naturally and without the use of vaccines. Rather than waiting to medicate until the flu virus has overrun my body, I am treating the virus naturally when the symptoms first begin. I am a believer in natural medicine and the use of essential oils in medicine. I have found that elderberry syrup is a must-have for boosting my immune system and fighting off the flu.
Elderberry Benefits
- antioxidant, diaphoretic, diuretic, laxative, immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory
- Treat coughs, colds, flu, bacterial infections, viral infections, tonsillitis, lower cholesterol, improved vision, and heart health.
I found this recipe for elderberry syrup using basic ingredients that I had in my pantry and changed it up a bit to give it an immune-fighting boost. My family takes 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for kids and 1-2 tablespoons for adults each day during the flu season. It’s also a lovely accompaniment to our immune-boosting wellness tea.
Elderberry Syrup
- 2/3 cup black elderberries
- 3- 1/2 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons fresh or dried ginger root
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves or clove powder
- 2 lemon or orange slices
- 1 cup raw honey
- Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and citrus slices and bring to a boil. Then, cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half.
- Remove from heat and let mixture cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
- Discard the elderberries (or compost them!) and let the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well.
- 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.
- Ta Da! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity.
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.
Stay healthy, everyone!
Additional Links on Elderberry:
Keep Germs At Bay With Immune-Boosting Jam
How to Make Elderberry Syrups and Jellies
When I lived in Idaho, (Prepper Capital), foraging for fresh elderberries and their flowers was never a problem. Now that I am in Zoo Jersey, I have only found one wimpy bush. I have had to fall back to ordering dried elderberries. If I soak the berries first, then follow your directions, I should still be able to make the syrup, right?
Your article was excellent!
Yes, rehydrating the dried elderberries works just as well.
I also have a stash of dried elderberries and when I make the syrup, I just
throw them into the pot along with the other herbs and water – it works great!
I just purchased an elderberry bush for my garden, so I hope
to get some fresh ones next year.
Have a great night!
Tess Pennington
If I may ask….where did you buy your elderberry bush from? I’d like to do that myself!
Hi Joan,
I couldn’t find a heirloom variety so I broke down and purchased two plants from Burpee.com. http://www.burpee.com/fruit-plants/specialty-fruits/elderberry-collection-prod003243.html?omn2pd=sh&catId=
The varieties that I purchased were the York and Adams varieties, which are a little different than the popular sambuca variety. They don’t possess the high amount of medicinal values that sambuca does, but after some research I found the varieties that I purchased do possess some of the same medicinal properities. You can read about them here.
https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu07/pdfs/charlebois284-292.pdf
Hope this helps!
Tess
Elderberry jam is super good too. And great to have around in case of colds.
A question about step 5 above. It doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense to me to not take the syrup on weekends. If you’re going to build immunity it should be a total effort. It seems like taking two days off of a diet. Building immunity could take months or even years.