Elderberry Cough Syrup

Submitted by Chef Joey Z.

"I got this recipe from my friend Bethan in Wales. She's a vegetarian and always attends these wonderful meetings that involve very health conscious people. She often shares things with me and I was delighted when she sent me this little brochure with 3 very interesting Herbal Recipes that were put out by the West Wales Herb Group. I thought I'd share them with everyone on Recipezaar. I haven't made any of these as of yet, but if I do, I'll use agave nectar in it instead of sugar."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Yields: 2 cups

ingredients

• 2 cups filtered water
• 4 ounces fresh elderberries (or 2 oz. dried)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar

directions

1. Simmer the three above ingredients in 1 pint (2 cups of water) for 20 minutes.
2. Let stand for 1/2 hour.
3. Strain through a sieve pressing well.
4. Then, add enough water to the simmered ingredients to bring the volume back up to 1 pint of liquid.
5. Add the sugar and gently heat to dissolve the sugar in the hot liquid.
6. Allow to cool and then pour into dark bottles and keep somewhere cool.
7. Dosage: 2 teaspoons in a little water 3 times a day.

Reviews

[IMED400]

Based on all my research, if you heat the elderberries you destroy the anti-viral compound. My suggestion is to put the clean elderberries in the freezer for a week, which also helps with the flavor. Then thaw the berries in the amount of warm water called for in the recipe without simmering. I would smash them in the water and then drain through a seive.<br/><br/>When I make an elderberry tincture I do a straight alcohol extraction with 190 proof grain alcohol. However, this is not kid friendly so I would try the above suggestion. Hope this helps!

 

[WI Cheesehead]

I was looking for an elderberry tincture that my kids would take. They've tried the glycerin one and hate it. I tried this with 3/4 honey instead of sugar and dried elderberries, and it tastes great! It's easier to take for the kids in a hot tea. But at least I don't have to argue as much to get them to take it. I decided to keep it in the fridge. Will update as to the medicinal quality after this batch of colds. I started it a little late for one child, but the other one just started it. Thanks Chef Joey! UPDATE: This does seem to help with the colds, as long as it's started right away. My kids now take it straight, 2-3 tsp at a time. UPDATE: This made it into my Top Fav's of 2009 cookbook (as probably my absolute favorite recipe of this year! We've made many batches.) Original Review 05-05-09.

 

[Grand-Mere]

This Stuff Works!!!! I make this every fall and put it in clean scalded jars. I replace part of the sugar with honey and add lemon juice then heat it to boiling. All of the grandchildren take it without trouble, they even ask for it! I also freeze berries and make new batches when needed. It helps my husbands smokers cough. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing !!!

 

[MartinMama]

This was a pretty good recipe. I made it this fall, and it works pretty well. I did, however, dropped the sugar and added about a cup of raw honey.

 

[Chief cook and bott]

I have elderberries in my yard so I picked them last summer and froze them hoping to try elderberry pie. I didn't get to that but when my kids got sick I decided to try this recipe. One kid didn't like the clove flavor but the other one liked it. I tried it and could feel a sensation (from the cloves I think) in my chest. I don't really know how effective it is but I liked the flavor myself much better than the stuff from the store. I only gave four stars because of the negative reaction to clove flavor. As the previous reviewer said I would like to add a note later as to its effectiveness.