One of my favorite products to have on hand during the winter in New England is elderberry syrup. Taken daily, this syrup works as a preventative from getting the cold and flu. It contains anti-viral and anti-microbial properties as well as high amounts of vitamin C. This syrup is a little pricey to continue buying small bottles from the market, but it only costs about $10 in supplies to make a quart from scratch.
Elderberry syrup can be taken alone, a few tablespoons per day, or by adding it to a recipe. This tastes wonderful on top of pancakes and waffles, splashed into soda water, or steeped with hot water and made into tea.
I know some vegans are opposed to eating honey and that it can be replaced with agave syrup in this recipe, but I wanted to be sure to include all of the medicinal properties possible in making this syrup.
YIELDS
about 1 quart
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1/4 cup dried elderberries
- 1/4 cup dried rosehips
- 2 small cinnamon sticks
- 1 inch knob fresh ginger
- 1/3 cup raw honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil.
2. Add the elderberries, rosehips, cinnamon sticks, and ginger.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot, stirring occasionally for about 25 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and remove the solid contents from the pot. I just used a slotted spoon but you could also use a cheesecloth and strain the syrup into another pot.
5. Stir in the ground clove, lemon juice, and honey.
6. Let cool and store in air tight containers in the refrigerator.
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Photo: Lauren Sacerdote
