Homemade Elderberry Cough Syrup

So, today I made homemade cough syrup with dried elderberries. Elderberry syrup is a potent cold and flu remedy without all the extra chemicals. I've done a lot of research before settling on this recipe.

Don't get me wrong, there is certainly a time and a place for conventional medicine and doctor visits. Unfortunately, there isn’t much conventional medicine can do for the common cold or even a mild case of the flu. Thankfully, nature provides us with remedies that may help us avoid minor illnesses. And help shorten the duration if we do get them.

Elderberries naturally have vitamins A, B, and C and stimulate the immune system. Elderberry syrup provides the concentrated immune-supporting benefits of elderberries. The recipe I settled on uses elderberries with herbs like cinnamon and ginger....plus raw honey for an extra immune boost.

Ingredients include:

• 3 cups water

• 1 1/2 cups elderberries

• 1 tbsp ginger (grated) (optional)

• 3 cinnamon sticks (6 if they are short sticks)

• ½ tbsp cloves (optional)

• 1/2 cup raw honey

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

• Combine in a pot all ingredients except for the lemon juice and honey.

• Bring to a boil and then uncover and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes; stirring frequently.

• Remove from heat and let cool until it's lukewarm.

• Remove the cinnamon sticks.

• Strain the elderberries, make sure you squeeze all that fine juice from them.

• Discard the elderberries.

• When the liquid is no longer hot, whisk in the honey and lemon juice.

• When the honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a  mason jar or glass bottle of some kind.

Store in the fridge and take when you feel a cold or flu starting.

Standard dose is ½ – 1 teaspoon for kids and ½ – 1 tablespoon for adults until symptoms disappear.

Below are a few pictures of my process. Enjoy!

Gathering of all of the ingredients.

This is the pot of elderberries and cinnamon simmering.

The final bottled product.