Elderberry, a Wonder Herb

My brother called on New Year's and said, "Health is the new wealth," and man, did that hit home. After the last couple of years, I think we all feel that way. It's like everything just shifted, you know? I found myself really looking for things I could do at home to keep my family healthy, really getting back to basics. And it seems like I’m not the only one.

I'd heard about elderberry before, of course, but I never paid it much attention. Now, it's a staple in our house. I’ll take a spoonful of the syrup, and my kids love their little immunity gummies. It just feels like one of those old-school remedies that our grandmothers probably knew about, good for everything from sniffles and allergies to just giving your system a little boost.

So I got curious, what is this stuff, anyway? Turns out it’s from a flowering plant, the Sambucus tree. The kind you hear about most is the European elderberry, or Sambucus nigra. And it’s not some new health fad; I mean, people have been using it forever. I read somewhere that Native Americans used it to handle infections, and the ancient Egyptians even used it for things like healing burns and making their skin look better. It's pretty wild to think about something being used for that long.

The science-y part is actually pretty cool, too. From what I’ve gathered, these little berries are just loaded with what they call "bioactive compounds." They're also full of antioxidants, which I know is a word we hear all the time. But my understanding is that they’re basically little bodyguards for your cells, protecting them from damage that can make you sick down the road. It just seems like nature packed them full of good stuff that helps your body do what it's supposed to do.

This is the breakdown of what I've learned is inside these little berries. It’s kind of impressive.

• High in vitamin C. There are 6-35mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit, which is up to 60% of what you're supposed to get in a day!

• High dietary fiber. Elderberries contain 7 grams of fiber per 100 grams of berries.

• A good source of phenolic acids. These are just more of those antioxidant things that help reduce damage in your body.

• A good source of flavonols. Elderberry contains the antioxidant flavonols quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin.

• Rich in anthocyanins. These are the compounds that give the fruit that really dark purple-black color, and they’re supposed to be great for fighting inflammation.

Okay, but one really, really important thing I learned: you have to cook them. You can't just go picking them and eating them raw. The raw ones have a substance in them that can make you pretty sick—nausea, vomiting, you know, all that fun stuff. So yeah, always cooked. Only the ripe, cooked berries are edible.

You can totally buy elderberry syrup at the pharmacy, and I have, but I’m always a little wary of extra sugars and weird additives. I just like knowing exactly what's in the stuff I give my family. That’s actually how our lollipops got started. I was just messing around in the kitchen during lockdown, trying to make a sucker recipe for the kids, and that little experiment ended up being the first version of our Elderberry and honey lollipop.

So, I wanted to share a syrup recipe I found and really love. It's from a website I trust, MountainRoseHerbs.com. It's a good one. Enjoy…

Classic Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Makes about 3 cups of syrup without alcohol, 4 cups with alcohol. Active Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried organic elderberries

• 4 cups cold water (distilled, purified, or spring water works best)

• 2-3 tsp. organic dried ginger root

• 1 organic sweet cinnamon stick

• 1 cup raw, local honey (or organic maple syrup or agave for a vegan/infant-friendly recipe); double the amount of sweetener to increase shelf life

• 1 cup vodka or brandy (optional to increase shelf life)

Directions

1. Combine berries and herbs with cold water in pot and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat and allow herbs to simmer 30 to 40 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let steep 1 hour.

4. Strain berries and herbs using a funnel overlaid with doubled cheesecloth or undyed cotton muslin bag and squeeze out liquid (careful, liquid will likely still be hot!). Discard used herbs in compost.

5. Once liquid has cooled to just above room temperature, add honey and stir to incorporate.

6. If using vodka or brandy, add here and stir until well combined.

7. Bottle in sterilized glass.

Pro tip: This recipe is easy to multiply if you’d like to make a big batch to store or give as gifts (glass pantry jars and amber bottles are great choices!).

Source: https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/elderberry-syrup-recipe

It’s funny, you start looking into one little thing to keep your family healthy, and it opens up this whole world of stuff that people have known about for centuries. It makes me wonder what other simple things are out there that we've just... forgotten. I don't know, it's just a thought.