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Elderberries are popular for their unusual taste in pies, jellies, wine, and jams. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995. We use these dried berries to make homemade elderberry syrup due to its immune boosting properties and save LOTS of money over purchasing ready made syrups. We can the syrup via water bath method to make it more shelf stable. Open containers of the syrup should be safe for consumption for 90 days when stored properly in a refrigerator. We take anywhere from 1/2 TB to 1 TB dose daily. When ill, we take 1 T every 3 hours, up to 6 times per day. Our recipe is as follows: Homemade Elderberry Syrup Ingredients: 4 cup black elderberries (1 lb dried) 12 cups of water 4-6 cinnamon sticks cinnamon powder 1/2 - 1 Tb whole cloves 48 oz local organic honey How to Make Elderberry Syrup: Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey yet!) Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a large mixing bowl. Press the berries to extract as much liquid as possible from them. Discard the elderberries, cloves, and cinnamon sticks by composting them! Add honey to the liquid. When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, proceed to can it in 8 or 16 oz canning jars via water bath method. Store open containers in the fridge (for up to 90 days) and take daily for its immune boosting properties. (Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity) Standard dose is 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for kids and 1/2 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu or a cold does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear. *Recipe has been Modified from Wellness Mama Cost comparison for 1 TB Serving size: Homemade is $.166/ounce & Store Bought $2.625/ounce. -STORE VERSION: $21 for 16 servings (1 TB servings) $2.625 per ounce or $1.3125 per serving. -ORGANIC HOMEMADE: 93 oz, $31 for 186 servings (1 TB servings) $.33 per ounce or $.166 per serving Cost of Ingredients: Honey $11, $19 Elderberries $1.00 for spice to make 93 ounces. Each ounce is 2 servings.