Elderberries have anti-viral qualities – which in many cases can help to shorten the length of colds and flu.*
Approx 500 grms of fresh elderberries cleaned from their stalks – or 250 grms of dried Elderberries (available mail order from Baldwins**)
Water just to cover dried berries – less if using fresh berries (enough so that the berries won’t catch and burn as the berries will liberate a lot of juice).
Honey
Bring Elderberries and water to the boil then turn down to a simmer. The dried berries benefit from prolonged gentle cooking say for an hour or so. The fresh need only 20-30 minutes. Stir every now and watch that they do not start to catch at the bottomof the pan, adding a little extra water if necessary. When softened turn off and let the berries cool for a while. Strain the berries and you will be left with the juice. Bring the juice back to the heat and boil gently so that the mixture reduces to a fairly concentrated juice. Turn the heat right down so it does not bubble at all and stir in honey – enough to thicken the juice slightly (it will thicken up more when cooled). Do not boil – just stir the honey until it is dissolved. Cool and bottle. Keep the bottles in the fridge. Will keep for around 3- 4 months like this, after this it will start to ferment and bottle could explode (unless you put a loose top on the bottle which allows gas to escape). If you wish to preserve the syrup for longer and not in the fridge you would need to use white sugar instead of honey at a ratio of 65% sugar to the quantity of syrup.
Dosage : Adults and children over 12 – 5mls per day preventative. Up to 20mls in divided doses during illness.
*http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/elderberry
**Baldwins tel: 020 7703 5550 www.Baldwins.co.uk
