Elderberry Syrup
Welcome to the Blazina kitchen! Tonight we made some elderberry syrup.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of elderberries
1 cup of honey
3 cups of water
Steps:
I filled a sauce pan with 3 cups of water and put 1 ½ cups of dried elderberries. I let them come to a boil, put a lid on it, and let them simmer for 20 minutes.
Once 20 minutes was up, I poured the decoction into a bowl lined with a cheesecloth. I let it cool for about 10 minutes before straining out the berries.
Now it's time to make it a syrup. I prefer the consistency of my syrups to be fairly runny still, so I put 1 cup of honey in the decoction and stirred it until it melted.
I then place the syrup in a glass mason jar and put a sealed lid on it. I will store it in the fridge so that it lasts longer. It keeps for roughly 3 months.
I love to have elderberry syrup on hand, especially when pregnant.
Elderberry is high in vitamin C, high in dietary fiber, a good source of phenolic acids, a good source of flavonols, and rich in anthocyanins. It is a fantastic way to keep your immune system operating in tip top shape. Any time anyone in my household begins feeling sick, we take elderberry syrup. I usually take 1 tbsp up to 3x a day until symptoms subside.
When sweetened, it tastes very nice and fruity. This may be surprising to some after smelling the decoction process. When boiling the berries, it takes on a very acidic, pungent odor.