This post is my addition to Wardeh’s Tuesday Twister over at Gnowfglins! A little something different this time. I pulled out the frozen elderberries from last summer and made syrup today.
A few years ago I learned about the usefulness of elderberry syrup to fight off viruses. I learned about it while my husband was doing research for his 19th century doctor impression that he does when we reenact. I have a feeling that I got sick this winter because I had not been taking it. It is a preventative mainly, but you can take it if you get sick too, to help you get better more quickly.
Some of the scientifically documented benefits of elderberries that I have read about:
*Boosts the immune system
*Contains 3 types of flavonoids. Flavonoids help the body to fight at least 8 kinds of flu viruses.
*Stops the production of hormone-like cytokines that cause inflammation.
*Reduces excessive sinus mucus secretion.
*Some studies indicate that they reduce swelling of mucous membranes and improve sinus drainage by decreasing nasal congestion.
I’ve been making elderberry syrup ever since I first read about it. Here is how I make it and how we use it. I am not recommending that you use it. You will need to do your own research about elderberries and determine if it is something you want to use for your family. And if you are pregnant or nursing, please consult your doctor or health care provider before you use elderberries.
Elderberries grow all over the place around Tennessee back roads and the edges of fields. We find lots of it at my mother-in-law’s farm and quite a bit more along country roadsides. Elderberry blooms in May and sets fruit in June. You want to pick ripe berries to make the syrup.
Don’t bother picking individual berries. Just cut off the whole stem of berries and place each bunch into a plastic bag. If you pick first thing in the morning, you won’t need to wash them, I don’t recommend washing them anyway. You can keep them stored for months and months before using them.
When you get them home, tie up the bag and pop the whole thing into the freezer until you are ready to make your syrup. I usually have to pick at least three times to get enough berries to make syrup.
Some people dry the berries and use them for syrup. I don’t go to that trouble, I make the syrup from fresh berries. Here are the proportions of berries, water and sweetener you need and the basic instructions.
1 cup fresh berries
3 cups water
2/3 cup sucanat OR 1 cup honey
Combine berries, sweetener and water in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer about 20 minutes or until the concoction is reduced by about half.
Check to see if it is thick enough for you by taking a tiny amount of the liquid on a cold metal spoon. Blow on the liquid and then tilt the spoon to see if the liquid is thick and runs off the spoon slowly.
Strain out the berries, and press the berries as you strain, to extract all the juice. Let the syrup cool and then bottle it. I use mason jars and corked bottles. It will keep in the frig almost indefinitely, but I make it fresh every summer.
It won’t be long til the elderberries are blooming, so watch for them and mark the spot. They are hard to see once they make berries!
Its not an exact science, and you will probably get a different concentration each time you make it. Practice will tell you how long to cook it and how much to take each day. I don’t think you can over-do it dosage wise, it is very mild, but of course you will want to do your own research and find out all you can before making elderberry syrup.
All the adults in our house take 1 tablespoon per day. The children anywhere from 1/2 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons. When ill with a flu-like virus, an adult can take a tablespoon three or four times a day. This is just what we do, you will need to do research to find dosages that are right for your family.
About Sylvia
I’d share if I could
A friend gave us homemade elderberry syrup for coughs one year. It worked. I have no idea where I’d get elderberries around here. I loved your post, Sylvia – it is great. Thanks for sharing this in the Twister!
There are a couple of different elderberries out there where you live, apparently. You want the blue ones not the red ones. I would be surprised if there were not some on your property, the parts that you have not cleared. Have a look at the plants online and then this summer, see what you can find!
I would love to try this!!
I may have to make this!:)
I planned on getting Elderberry Syrup before cold season this year and didn’t do it. I’m not sure that elderberries grow around here. But according to a flyer that the University of Wyoming puts out I should be able to grow them in my yard. Provided of course the antelope don’t eat them first…
I made three + quarts of elderberry syrup to start the winter off, and had to make another quart last week since we polished off the first batch! It’s so nice to have something that the kids enjoy taking that is safe and effective.
Thanks for your pictures of the tree and berries; I used dried elderberries that I bought online, but am hoping to figure out what an elderberry tree looks like so I can pick them fresh (and free!) next time. There’s a tree a couple of blocks away that I suspect may be elderberries but I’m not sure; I’ll start looking for the flowering in May to see if I’m right!
Thank you for stopping by, Avivah! Be sure you do your research. Depending on where you live there are two varieties of elderberry and only one is used for syrup.
Elderberry are perennial shrubs, so they die back each winter and then send up new canes each spring. They are hard to find in winter or after they loose their leaves and they are hard to find once they loose their blossoms and set berries.
Best wishes for finding elderberries where you live and for making your syrup!
Thanks Sylvia! Now we have a new research project for homeschool! I’m looking forward to going hunting for elderberry trees this spring/summer. Nice Twister post!
I would LOVE to make elderberry syrup, but I don’t think they grow in South Texas. I would love to see if I could find a elderberry plant in a gardening catalog and see if I could grow one that way.
Thanks!
Deb
Hi Deborah,
You can usually find them in catalogs, sometimes on line as well. Be sure you look for the edible elderberry.
Mom used to make elderberry jelly. It is so good. Patty
Hi Sylvia,
I am an elderberry believer! This is our first year of taking the syrup daily and we skated through this flu season with barely a sniffle. I never thought about making it homemade, but will be scouting our property for elderberry bushes this May. Thanks!
Does anyone have the conversion for making elderberry syrup with dried elderberries? I’ve been wanting to make this, but doubt I could ever get my hands on fresh ones in Nebraska!
Thanks!
You can use 1/2 cup dried elderberries in place of every cup of fresh elderberries. Hope you have great success!
They are native to Nebraska and they are grown comercially for some wineries.
Wonderful! I am going to figure out how to get some and make some of this stuff! Does it taste good and do you recommend it on grains or oatmeal, etc? As a sweetner? I am trying to lay off any sugars.
Thanks
Candy
Well, its very sweet, like you’d expect a syrup to be, and I think it tastes very good… even though elderberries on the bush don’t smell good to me. I think I’d use it sparingly or as a treat on pancakes, etc.
I’ve made a batch of the syrup and wondered if anyone knew whether the rest could be frozen since we will not be able to finish it before we go away for a week. I don’t want any to go to waste!
Angela,
I have never frozen it. I tend to think that the low temperatures might not be a good thing. I’ve kept Elderberry syrup in the frig for months though. The sugar keeps it from spoiling too quickly if it is refrigerated.
I always thought that elder berries were poisonous there’s a plant growing in the boundary of my property for years. are thsere any side effects?
Hi Elaine,
There are several kinds of elderberries. Only the red elderberry has toxins that can be harmful. Here is a link where you can learn about all of them.
http://www.elderberries.com/elderberry-sambucus-info/
I am canning elderberry syrup today. I water-bath it for 10 minutes/half pints. The elderberries came out of the freezer from last summer. Here are my instructions for making it. There is a store bought elderberry medicine you may have heard of called Sambucol. Elderberry syrup works just as well and its cheapo.
That sounds so good. Where do you find your elderberries?
Big drool!!
I was wondering the same thing about finding elderberries. I’ve heard of this syrup before and forgot about it.
Fathers Eyes, they grow all along the roadsides here and are blooming in May usually. These berries were picked last year and tossed in the freezer waiting for me to make syrup. Its all canned up now and labeled. It tastes pretty good too, but we just use it medicinally.
I may look into how well they grow in CO
Apparently, quite well. I think I know what’re trees / bushes I’m asking hubby for next
I am not aware of any elderberries growing in TN but I love elderberry syrup. That would be so neat to make my own.
Fathers Eyes – I am in Tennessee, there are lots of them. Right now you can begin to look for the blossoms. Once you’ve found them, make a note where they are because the berries are hard to see. Look on roadsides, especially country roads.
Nashville area? I am near Nashville. We do get produce from a farmer in the summer so maybe he will know where they are. I am not originally from TN so I am clueless about where country roads are and all. I could easily get lost. I am going to keep this in mind though when we go back to see this farmer. Thank you!
Yes, I am north west of Nashville.
there will probably be someone there who knows. There are pictures in that post of the plants, blossoms and berries that may help too.
I got 11 half pint jars canned. Tomorrow its beans !
I am north east of Nashville! LOL! We must not be too far from each other! Isn’t that something?
I think its wonderful!
I’ve lived here all my life with a few years here and there in other places, that is. And I really like the Nashville Farmer’s Market. We like to go to the Centennial Mall and then to the Market.