The Wonderful Benefits of the Elderberry Teas and Syrup

Elderberries are a fantastic food with a lot of great medicinal properties. They are most well-known for being a powerful immunity booster. Elderberries are full of antioxidants (carotenoids and flavonoids,) as well as rutin, and vitamins A, B and C.

Elderberries have traditionally been used in the following ways:

• to lower cholesterol
• to improve vision
• to boost the immune system
• to improve heart health
• for coughs, colds, and flu
• for bacterial and viral infections like tonsillitis
• to treat arthritis
• as an anti-inflammatory

Not only are they really good for you, but they are just delicious. We love to gather lots of elderberries at this time of the year (September and October) to make both food, drinks, and medicine.

Just a quick safety note on foraging elderberries (sambucus nigra)… Elder trees are poisonous. The bark and leaves and the woodier parts of the stems contain cyanide, and should never be eaten. The same is true for the unripe berries (the flowers are edible and medicinal, however.)  Always look for bunches that are completely black/purple, and skip the little green berries.

To find elderberries, look for a medium sized tree or shrub with distinctive rough bark, bright green colored pinnate leaves with 5-9 leaflets. As the berries ripen, the stems often turn a beautiful bright pink/ red– but some will remain green. They are ripe between June and October, depending on where you live.

Pick the clusters by breaking off the large stem– it should snap off of the branch easily. Keep an eye out for spiders and snails on your berries, and pick them off, if possible, before bagging them. Put your collection into a bag– we like to re-use a plastic bag for this, so the juice doesn’t leak.

When you get home, you can strip the berries off of the stems with a fork right away, or freeze them. After freezing, you would also use a fork to remove them, although they will come off more easily, and some will fall just from shaking.

Once de-stemmed, fill your bowl with water and a splash of vinegar to wash them. Stir them around gently with your hand, and most of the green or dried berries and leaves will float to the top. I use a small strainer to scoop these out, and put them into the compost bin. Rinse a couple times with cold water, and remove any other debris that rises to the top, and then drain.

After washing them, you can use them right away, freeze, or dry them. I have put them in a warm, sunny spot on parchment paper to dry.

When it’s time to go out and gather, get as many of these potent, juicy anti-virals as you can. You can dry them, freeze them, or make medicine with them right away.

Making Elderberry Winter Tonic Syrup with Fresh Elderberries

Making an elderberry winter tonic for your family is really pretty simple. 

Elderberry Syrup
Use 1 to 2 teaspoons for adults and ½ to 1 teaspoon for kids.
Take once a day as a flu preventative and 4 times daily if infected.

You can use it in many delicious ways: as a pancake syrup, mixed into yogurt, over ice cream or as a drink mixer

Elderberries, water and honey

1. Place fresh elderberries, with stems removed, in a pan and add a small amount of water to cover the bottom of the
   pan. 1:1 cups water-to berry ratio for fresh, and 2:1 for dried.
2. Heat the berries gently over medium-low heat.
3. Mash the berries to release the juice or puree the berries in a blender.
4. When all the juice is released, strain the juice through muslin cloth or several layers of cheesecloth.
   Squeeze the cloth to extract all the juice
5. Measure the juice and mix in an equal amount of good quality honey. (see your local beekeeper or find one.)
6. Put the syrup in clean pint canning jars and seal.
7. Place the jars in a boiling water bath, completely covered with water and boil for 15 minutes to 20 minutes.
8. Remove the jars from the water and place on a towel to cool. Allow the jars to cool undisturbed.
9. When cool, check the jar seals. Re-process any jar that did not seal or refrigerate it for immediate use.

Immune-Boosting Elderberry Tea

1 tablespoon dried elderberries, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 1 teaspoon honey,
optional

1. Place elderberries and spices in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup water
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool to drinking temperatures
4. Strain through a fine mesh and add honey, if desired
5. This tea can be served hot or cold

How to Make Elderberry Tincture

Ingredients:

Elderberries

100-proof Vodka

Large glass jar

Strainer and cloth

Glass bottles with pipette

Fill the glass jar half way (or more) full with fresh elderberries (or 1/3 for dried). Slightly mash berries (optional). Fill jar rest of the way with alcohol. Allow to sit in a dark place for at least 6 weeks, shaking occasionally. Make sure that berries are fully covered by alcohol. When ready to use, strain out berries. into a glass jug and put liquid into dropper bottles. Stays good 1-2 years
Take one or two squeeze of the dropper each morning, which is about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.