The entire elder tree is a treasure chest of medicinal value
we can use the leaves, the flowers, and the berries to give us valuable remedies throughout the year.
It is an untidy scraggy-looking shrub or small tree, often found on the edges of woodlands or clearings or in the shelter of a larger tree.
The young bark is often covered in what look like brown warts but, as the tree matures, the bark becomes furrowed and corky.
In the early summer, elder gives us the wonderful elderflowers
and by the autumn, these have given way to elderberries
which form dense clusters of purple-black berries.
Elderberries are traditionally held to be one of the best
cold and flu remedies
and indeed modern research has confirmed that they contain
one of the few compounds known to work against the flu virus.
They are also full of vitamin C
and so can boost your immunity in general.
In addition to these already impressive superpowers,
elderberries can also be effective in relieving arthritic joint pain
and have been found to help reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.
Elderberry syrup is a delicious and effective way
to preserve this fantastic antiviral remedy for use throughout the year.
To make elderberry syrup, gather your elderberries on a dry morning,
remembering to leave some for the birds!
You will need at least 4 or 5 good handfuls of berries
(not including stalks and leaves) to make the syrup
so it's a good idea to harvest them from several trees if possible.
Strip the elderberries from their stalks,
wash them and throw away any that are shrivelled.
Put the cleaned berries in a pot and add some water - enough to just cover the berries.
Gently mash the berries in the water to break them open
and then bring the mix to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
During this time, you can add warming spices such as cinnamon,
Strain the elderberries solids away from the hot juicy liquid,
making sure you squeeze all the juice from the solids
Once you have your elderberry juice,
measure how much you have in a calibrated jug
then add just over half as much sugar as you have elderberry juice.
So, for example, if you have 500ml of juice
add about 300g of sugar.
We're using brown sugar here but you can use white granulated
or caster sugar too, but not icing sugar!
Put this sweetened mixture in a pan and gently bring to the boil,
simmering for about 10 minutes.
Don't let this mixture boil for too long or it will start to caramelise!
Pour into clean sterilised bottles using a funnel makes this quicker and a lot less messy!
Seal your bottles and label.