ELDERberry embodies wisdom. From an Ayurvedic perspective, its role is to dry and cool.. so it also serves as a mild expectorant. But perhaps elderberry’s better known attribute is its antiviral properties. My understanding is that it disables an enzyme in the flu virus, so basically it stops viral replication. It’s contains certain compounds that give it the ability to inhibit coronaviruses.
A while back on my Edible & Medicinal Plants of New Mexico Facebook Group, I asked members to share their elderberry syrup recipes. I hadn’t made elderberry syrup in almost 10 years. I usually make a tincture with wild harvested elderberries. But this year my two bushes, which I planted in spring 2022, produced enough berries for a harvest. Instead of tincture, I wanted to make syrup, so I was open to ideas/inspiration.
Ultimately, I decided on a simple concoction of just 4 New Mexico ingredients. I wanted my recipe to be 100% local. I didn’t want anything store bought (other than the glass jar that stores the syrup). I won’t bother adding my instructions because there’s no shortage of elderberry recipes online. But I will share my ingredients list:
- elderberry syrup (made with homegrown elderberries)
- rose hips syrup (made with wild harvested rose hips)
- oshá decoction (using wild harvested oshá)
- local honey (generously gifted by my neighbors who keep bees)
Take as a prophylactic; or you can take tincture (hourly) at the onset of symptoms. If you want to make your own syrup or tincture from fresh berries keep in mind that much of the plant is toxic, so it’s important to process it correctly (remove stems, seeds, etc.)