That chill in the air feels amazing, but it also means it’s elderberry syrup season again! I add it to my tea in the mornings and I have been experimenting with a jam version that is more palatable to my kids. (The gummies are a little too palatable!!) I use a different proportion of honey to elderberry than what I most often see floating around the internet, roughly half raw local honey to half of my herbal concoction. Most recipes I see say 4:1 tea to honey and I suspect that this is in an effort to reduce sugar content, but the honey in this case is both adding benefit (especially for us allergy sufferers) and serving as the preservative in which case reducing it is unwise.
One of the things I love about making my own elderberry brew is that I can customize it. I add cinnamon, cloves, marshmallow root, ginger, astragalus root, self heal, rose hips and echinacea.
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