Elderberry Syrup

It’s about that time of year where I get a hankering to make elderberry syrup. I love making it. It’s such a gorgeous color and I am always amazed by and thankful for the supportive properties it has to help us during cold and flu season. As with all herbal medicine making, for me anyway, I have to be in the right spirit to make it. I always want to have good intentions going into it. And the thing about making elderberry syrup is that it’s slightly messy so I like to approach it with a light spirit, knowing I’m going to laugh over spills and enjoy cleaning it up. Have you tried elderberry syrup? There are a lot of elderberry products out there, from gummies and cough drops, to tinctures and teas. I find making elderberry syrup myself to be so satisfying and easy!

So what’s the big deal about elderberry syrup? Elderberry is known to be a great antiviral and can provide immune support for colds. Elderberry is rich in vitamin C, bioflavonoids, beta-carotene, iron, and potassium. It is also a decongestant, anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, expectorant, and a rejuvenative tonic. I like to add ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to my elderberry syrup, for their warming properties, to balance out the cooler energetics of the elderberries. These warming culinary herbs have similar properties in that they are great circulatory stimulants, which I find to be so helpful during this season. Today I also felt called to add juniper berries to my syrup, so I put a handful of them in the pot as well. Juniper berries are anti-microbial and help to keep the lymph moving. (Herbalist Kami McBride even recommends chewing on a few berries each day to prevent colds!) And finally, I always add a handful of schisandra berries to my elderberry syrup. Have you tried them? They are known as the 5 flavor berry…salty, sweet, sour, pungent, and bitter all in one! They are a fantastic adaptogen and immune tonic.