Make a elderberry syrup or gummies - PEP BB medicine.sand.syrup.elderberry

Nicely done! Could you add a line about dosage or how to use the elderberry syrup to your journal. That way it meets this requirement

a picture of your journal page about your recipe and dosage information for elderberry syrup.

Thanks!

I made a version of elderberry syrup and blogged about it here: https://thenourishinghearthfire.com/2018/05/16/spiced-elderberry-oxymel-a-herbal-cold-and-flu-medicine/



Here is the recipe that I used (my own):

You will need:
Elderberries
Optional spices (see step 3)
Raw apple cider vinegar
Raw honey

1. First you will need to find an elderberry tree in fruit. I found these in the first month of autumn and in the garden of an old homestead we were visiting. Sometimes trees are on the side of the road, or branches are hanging over someone’s fence. Elder trees are beautiful to look at and many people have them growing in their garden as ornamentals that don’t end up being harvested. They’re supposed to be quite easy to grow, and the leaves and branches are good goat food.

2. Carefully harvest the bunches of fruits off the trees, gather as much as you’re likely to use. I started with around 2 litres of loosely packed bunches and ended up with around 1300ml of oxymel.

3. Wash the berries and gently strip the berries from the twigs into a cooking pot, it doesn’t matter if a few small twigs get in too. Mix in a small amount of water (for around 1200ml of berries at this stage I added half a cup). Add some spices now if you wish, I added 1/2 inch of grated fresh ginger, a pinch of ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

4. Bring the berries to the boil with the lid on, then remove the lid and continue to cook, while squashing the berries with a wooden spoon to extract the juice and evaporate some of the water. Do this for 10-20 minutes, being careful to not evaporate too much of the liquid, until it looks like you’ve squashed the berries as much as they can be squashed.

5. Filter the juice through a fine mesh sieve, then continue to squash the berries into the sieve to extract the last of the juice. Pour the juice into a measuring cup or jar to see how much you have. I ended up with 400ml of juice. Allow the juice to cool down to a blood-warm temperature.

6. When you can put some of the juice on the inside of your wrist without it hurting, pour the juice into a mixing bowl and add the same volume of raw cider vinegar and raw honey, so that you have 1 part elderberry juice, 1 part cider vinegar, and 1 part honey.

7. Pour into sterilised jars and store in a fairly cold and dry place. Take 1 tablespoon at a time, either on its own or mixed with water. It’s also good mixed with boiling water as a hot drink.

I think this qualifies as my first natural medicine badge bit!

Here's my elderberry syrup!

And the rest of it

Here is my BB attempt! Of course, with the help of Perry, the Purple PEP Platypus.

Me harvesting the berries in a very dainty fashion (as per usual):


Box o' Berries:



Bowl o' Berries:



Ingredients prepped:



Cookin' berries:



Squishin' berries (and Perry?):



Adding honey:



Finished Product (3 cups hardly put a dent in the harvest!):



Journal Entry (sorry the images is rotated):




For easy reading:
- 2 cups fresh Elderberry
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 knuckle of ginger sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup honey

Simmer all ingredients (except honey) for 30 minutes
Let cool, strain, remove ginger & sticks
Mash berries through strainers
Add 1 cup of honey

BB for certification

Here is my submission for the Natural Medicine - Sand - Make an Elderberry Syrup BB.

In addition to web research, I checked out four books from my library on herbal remedies and apothecary.  I liked The Homesteaders' Herbal Companion the best!  My recipe is based on the one in the book and I added information to my elderberry attributes page from the book too!

To document the completion of the BB, I have provided the following:
- a picture of your journal page about your recipe and dosage information for elderberry syrup
- a picture of your elderberries being harvested
- a picture of your elderberries syrup being made
- a picture of your completed elderberry syrup in a labeled container
- a picture of your journal page about elderberry's attributes and harvesting

Last week I made elderberry syrup from elderberries that I foraged plus some from my garden. Last night my daughter come down with a fever and a sore throat. I was very happy to have some homemade elderberry syrup on hand. The recipe I used was inspired by Marissa Moore’s blog.

I made blue elderberry syrup.  I used 3 cups of berries since that is what I had available, and half a limes juice.

I made elderberry syrup using the recipe on mountain rose herbs website. I added 2T ginger and 1T eluthero root while boiling the berries to add flavor and extra immune boosting power. While straining the roots/berries, I slowly heated 1/2 c brandy (preservative) to 1/2 c honey to sweeten this syrupy deliciousness when mixed together with the strained juice. Viola, elderberry syrup!

Hey Skip team! I found these elderberries this spring near a lake I like to visit. I froze them, since I was about to leave for a vacation at the time. I didn't have my phone with my on that lake visit, but I snapped a pic of their flowers in the spring, and also of them when I got home. Then I pulled them out of the freezer, cooked them as per this video's instruction: https://youtu.be/4FZjoTB9TtA. I used honey as my preservative and added fresh ginger root for some spicy, medicinal kick! I'm storing it in this re-used drink bottle, in my fridge :) To be used once a day as an immune tonic, a teaspoon at a time.

Hey, please help me understand. I met the minimum requirements for this bb, which do NOT include a shot of the berries on the bush. "Harvested plant material (either being harvested or just harvested)" I took a picture of the berries, freshly harvested. Am I incorrect in my interpretation that this should be enough? Please clarify.

It's winter here now, with snow on the ground. I cannot retake the picture. How else may I satisfy this issue, if I have not already done so?

Rebekah Harmon wrote:Hey, please help me understand. I met the minimum requirements for this bb, which do NOT include a shot of the berries on the bush. "Harvested plant material (either being harvested or just harvested)" I took a picture of the berries, freshly harvested. Am I incorrect in my interpretation that this should be enough? Please clarify.
It's winter here now, with snow on the ground. I cannot retake the picture. How else may I satisfy this issue, if I have not already done so?

Hi Rebekah,
It is always a good idea to have the BB requirements listed in any BB you submit as under:
Minimum requirements:
 - Create syrup and/or gummies  ✔ so yes, this is done
 - Use elderberries ✔ so yes, this is done

To document completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pictures or a video (< 2 minutes):
- Harvested plant material (either being harvested or just harvested) ❌ No, By your own submission: "I froze them ............... I pulled them out of the freezer" does not satisfy either "being harvested" or "Just harvested".
- Making the syrup and or gummies with a description or link to the recipe you used ✔
- Finished syrup or gummies in a labeled container ✔

I looked at the pictures you submitted and noted that the elderberries have not got the usual bloom of fresh harvested berries.  The second thing is that all the pictures except that one are time and sequence stamped.  I also enlarged the screen to 500% and the berries look as thought they had been frozen or washed, neither of which are "just" harvested.  If it were me doing the certification, I would have come to the same conclusion as the Gir Bot.

It is important to follow both the minimum requirements and provide the proof stated.  The staff who have designed the BBs have done so with due regard for the purpose of the SKIP program.  While we may not exactly get it, the work that goes into each BB including development, validation and further review means that each BB fits precisely into that Badge for SKIP. BBs are designed to show proof of doing rather than knowing how to do it.  In the case of foraging or harvesting, proof is a photo showing that this was actually done.  If you want additional information, you can read about Otis.  After winter, I would suggest that you supply the missing picture or short video.  The great thing is that at least you have a nice drop of elderberry syrup. And after winter can make another
Hope this helps to answer your question, give you a bit of insight into the SKIP development and why the BBs requirements and proof are so strictly adhered to.
Best wishes for your continuing Permies journey
Paul

Scientific Name: Sambucus
Common Name: Elderberry
Location: backyard in Siloam Springs AR
Part of Plant: Fruit
Harvest Date: 9/4/2022
Soak Time: 1.5 days. should have only done 8 hours.


1 cup Elderberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey

slowly brough water/elderberries to a boil.
boiled off half of the water.
left with 1/2 cup elderberry juice after straining and pressing elderberries.
mixed in 1/2 cup honey.

I found elderberries on fish and game land. The recipe I made up is the best I've used so far, but I still think it was too sweet.

I used a decoction of the berries, cinamon sticks, oranges, and monarda. Once strained, I added honey.

I picked elderberries this morning and made syrup from the fresh berries.

I cooked the berries in a little water for 20 minutes and strained it for 1 cup of watery juice. I simmered the juice until it was concentrated to 1/3 cup and added 1/3 cup of sugar, cooking it until the sugar was fully dissolved.

Elderberry Syrup

1 1/3 c fresh berries
1TBSP ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Boil them reduce to simmer for 30- 60 minutes.

Let cool 30 minutes and mix in 1 c honey. Refrigerate.

Elderberry syrup with the last of the elderberries. Recipe from the book Forêt by Le Gal (essentially a basic recipe for a simple syrup from any fruit infusion.

- cover fruit with water
- simmer for 10-15 minutes
- strain, measure liquid content  and add sugar in desired ratio.
- reheat until sugar is dissolved

(I use a 3:4 sugar/infusion ratio for a fridge-stable syrup)

Added echinacea bloom for taste and potency.

Posology (also on label): 1 tablespoon in water as a preventative and replacement for alcoholic drinks.

With this syrup, I am now immune to everything!
Pretty sure that’s how it works :)

Recipe:
2c fresh elderberries
3-4c water
1knob ginger
1tbs cinnamon

Simmer until reduced. Cool. Then add:
1c honey
1c vodka

As preservatives