I love foraging and one of my favourite things to do at this time of year is to make elderberry syrup with foraged elderberries. I am really lucky that I live very close to some local hedgerows, which are like a supermarket for foragers! And this year I managed to gather two really large batches of elderberries which should hopefully see us through the cold and flu season. I love to use this syrup as a natural way to support the health of my family in this season.

About elderberries

They are the fruit of the elder tree, very common in fields and hedgerows in the UK, and form after the elderflower (which everyone has heard of but for some reason people don’t seem to have heard of elderberries??).

You can pick the elderberries and freeze them to make a batch of syrup later in the year if you wish.

Health benefits of elderberries

Elderberries are absolutely packed full of vitamin c and anti-oxidants, and research has shown that they have amazing immune boosting effects.

According to BBC Good Food, an 80g portion of elderberries contains:

28 kcals / 119KJ

• 0.6g Protein

• 0.4g Fat

• 5.9g Carbohydrate

• 232mg Potassium

• 22mg Vitamin C

Because of their immune boosting properties, making a syrup from elderberries can provide you with a natural medicine to use to prevent or fight off colds, flu, and winter bugs.

Take a couple of teaspoons of the syrup as and when you feel a cold coming on, and throughout the illness to support your immune system.

I also like to make mine into a warming tea by adding a couple of teaspoons of the syrup into a mug and filling with boiling water.

*note* you should always check with your doctor about taking anything if you are taking immune suppressing medication.

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

You will need:

• Elderberries - to make a decent batch you’ll need quite a few, probably at least 10-15 big bunches. I think I gather about 20-30 to make a bumper batch.

• Lemon Juice

• Sugar

• Ginger (optional)

• large pan

• sieve to strain

• measuring jug

Method:

1. Rinse your berries and remove them from the stems with a fork, like in the photos below (this can be a bit tricky and time consuming but I find it quite therapeutic, and well worth it ;). Remove any green ones from the bowl. 

NOTE: make sure to remove the stems and leaves as these are toxic. 

2. Put the berries into a pan and add just enough water to cover them. 

3. At this point you can add a little fresh ginger into the pan if you choose to use it. 

4. Bring to boiling temperature (but don't let them boil) and simmer for about 20 minutes until soft. Your syrup will have significantly reduced.

5. Remove from the heat and give the berries a mash to get as much of the juice as possible. 

6. Strain the berries into a measuring jug if you have one. Take note of how many ml of liquid you have. 

7. Pour the berry juice back into the pan. For each 100ml of liquid, add 50g sugar. 

8. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice for each 100ml of liquid, and simmer for a further 10 mins until the sugar dissolves fully. 

9. Pour into clean sterile bottles and keep in the fridge for up to 3 months. 

(You can find other recipes online that use honey as an alternative sweetener to sugar, but I haven't tried this so thought I'd share the one that I’ve tried and tested ;). 

I hope you find this recipe useful! Lauren x