Spiced Elderberry Syrup by the Untamed Alchemist

Perfect for cough, colds & flu

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried elderberries (or 2 cups fresh/frozen elderberries)
1 to 2 cups water
raw organic honey
5 whole cardamom seed pods (optional)
2-3 whole cinnamon sticks (optional)
10-15 whole cloves (optional)
5 slices of fresh, peeled ginger, about 1/4 inch thick each (optional)
Makes approximately 8 ounces of finished syrup.

Supplies:
a heavy-bottom sauce pan
a whisk or spoon for stirring
a large measuring cup
cheesecloth and/or sieve for straining
funnel for bottling
bottle(s) for storage
stickers/labels for bottle(s)

Place berries, 1 cup water, and spices in sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring and checking often. Add more water if necessary; dried berries tend to soak up quite a bit and its important the syrup does not burn!
When the mixture has reduced, thickened, and simmered down, after about 20 minutes, remove the pan from the heat.
Pour the mixture through cheesecloth and/or a sieve into your measuring cup; squeeze the cloth or press into sieve with a spoon to extract as much as possible from the berries. Discard the berries and whole spices.
The amount of elderberry juice yielded is the volume of honey you will want to add to make your syrup. So, to 2/3 cup of strained elderberry juice you would add 2/3 cup raw, organic honey. To 1/2 cup strained juice, add 1/2 cup honey–to 1 cup juice, add 1 cup honey, and so on….

Stir the honey into the warm juice to mix completely. Cool before pouring through a funnel into clean bottle(s).
Label with description, ingredients, and date created. Store in the refrigerator.
Adults can take up to 2 tablespoons per day (children age 4+, up to 2 teaspoons per day) as a preventative and immune system support during winter months; it can be taken more liberally for a day or two at earliest onset of a cold or flu to encourage faster recovery.