How to make a nourishing elderberry syrup in just a few steps.
What you will need.
1/2 cup of elderberries (or mix of elderberry and other supporting herbs)
3 cups of water
Honey or Sugar
A pot
A stovetop
A fine mesh strainer. I like to use stainless steel strainers but you can use cheesecloth.
Alcohol to help preserve (I recommend 80 proof vodka)
Bottle or jar for storing your finished syrup
Label
How to do it
Add 1/2 cup of dried herbs and 3 cups of water to pot.
Place pot on stovetop on medium-high.
Bring just to boiling point.
Reduce heat to low.
Cover pot. This helps avoid evaporation.
Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.
Remove pot from heat. Let cool to manageable temperature.
Strain liquid from herbs. Be sure to press or squeeze down to get out all of the rich liquid.
Rinse pot.
Return liquid to pot.
Heat on medium low.
Add your sweetener. Typically you would want a 1:2 ratio with your sweetener. This means if you have 3 cups of liquid, you would want 1.5 cups of sweetener. You can adjust this to taste if you prefer a less sweet syrup.
Stir to incorporate all of the syrup into the liquid.
Turn off heat and let cool.
Bottle your syrup, adding about 1 Tablespoon of vodka per every 1 cup of liquid.
Label with ingredients and date made. (Syrups can last 1-2 months from production date if stored properly.)
Store in fridge.