Homemade Elderberry Syrup – cold and cough remedy

Cold and cough season is definitely a mom’s nightmare. 

• Traditional medicines are too strong for little ones to be used if not in severe situations.
• Cough, running nose and sore throat effect eating and sleeping.
• Blowing your nose is definitely not a kids talent.
• Looking at your child feeling miserable makes you feel miserable too.

Through the years I’ve been testing many natural homemade remedies to help my little ones boosting their immune system and recovering faster from the cold or cough. I really believe in treating my kids with food and natural remedies for prevention and if the situation is not severe. In that case I look for my pediatrician’s advice.

My #1 natural remedy I would like to share with you is Elderberry syrup, one of the most effective remedies for viral and bacterial infections (aka cold/cough/flu). 

I’m happy to say that there are interesting medical scientific researches on the effectiveness of elderberry syrup. It’s not only a very popular remedy, it’s a scientific proven one. Check out the links at the end of the post for more informations.

Elderberry syrup helps boosting the immune system and shorten the duration of the illness.

I’ve been buying Elderberry syrup for few years now and starting giving one teaspoon a day to my kids as soon as the flu season starts and up to 4 teaspoons a day in case of sickness. For adults switch form teaspoon to tablespoons.

It works, it really works.

Still, good quality organic Elderberry syrup can be pricey, mainly if you give it as a daily supplement for few months and you have two kids + two adults in the house (yes, I take it too!).

So I decided to make my own elderberry syrup with prime natural ingredients. The final homemade syrup ended up costing at least half of the price of the cheapest organic syrup on the market and 1/4 of the price of the most expensive one.

The recipe is so simple that you will be surprised. Also, being homemade you can decide the kind of sweetener to use and the quantity. I would suggest local honey for toddlers and older kids (+12 months) and maple syrup for babies (under 12 months).

An extra bonus is that the flavor is sweet and delicious, super kid friendly. My kids line up easily and fast in the morning when I say “syrup time!!”

HOW TO MAKE IT

Place the dried elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and water in a medium-sized saucepan on the heat.

Bring to boil, reduce the heat to simmer, cover with a lid and cook on medium for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until thick and reduced by half. Remove from heat and cool down completely.

Using a ladle or a big spoon mash the berries to release the max juice.

Pour the mix through a strainer in order to separate the syrup from the berries skins and other ingredients that you are going to discard.

When the syrup reached room temperature add the honey and the lemon juice (optional).

Stir well and store the syrup in mason jars. With the suggested ingredients I made 16oz total of syrup, 2 full jars.

HOW TO STORE IT?

Store in the refrigerator and offer to your kids or take yourself daily as immune system booster.

How long does it last in the refrigerator? I use a mason jar with a new lid and close it tight every time that I use it. The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month or you can freeze it too in small ice cubes.

WHAT ABOUT THE DOSAGE?

Treatment Dosing. I really suggest to offer elderberry syrup at the very first sneeze. The sooner, the better.

• 6 months to 1 year: 1/2 tsp every 4 hours. Remember not to use honey for babies under 12 months, substitute it with maple syrup. Also, if it’s the first time you offer elderberry, consider it as a “new food” and wait 3-5 days before offering other new foods. In this way you will be able to observe any possible reaction. 
• over 1 year: 1 tsp every 4 hours
• older kids: 1 Tbsp every 4 hours

Prevention Dosing: same amounts as above but once a day or every other day.

DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ELDERBERRY?

If you want to know more about the scientific researches conducted on the topic of elderberry syrup effectiveness, you might be interested in the following links:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9395631

https://www.israel21c.org/study-shows-israeli-elderberry-extract-effective-against-avian-flu/