Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe

Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe

Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe by Annie B Kay - anniebkay.com
My boon of elderberry enabled me to, in addition to making tons of elderberry syrup, make elderberry ginger cider – a variation on fire cider. For this one, I rely on ginger and honey as a base and kept it simple yet strong. It’s delicious and I’ll use it the way you would fire cider – take a shot during cold and flu season to warm up and keep the creeping crud away.

If you are looking for an Elderberry Syrup recipe, I have one for you!  Click HERE!

Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe

Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe

My elderberry ginger cider is a variation on fire cider. Use it the way you would fire cider – take a shot during cold and flu season to warm up and keep the creeping crud away.
Course Drinks
Keyword Elderberry, Elderberry Ginger Cide
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Equipment

  • Medium Saucepan

Ingredients

  • 4 cups fresh elderberries clean and free of stems
  • 2 slivers of fresh peeled ginger about 1 Tsp
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp local honey

Instructions

  • Warm elderberries in a medium saucepan for 15-20 minutes over medium-low heat. Let cool.
  • Place ingredients in a clean bottle.
  • Place top on the bottle, and mix by inverting the bottle several times. Make sure the liquid covers the berries
  • Leave in a cool dry place for six weeks, inverting the bottle to mix every 3 or 4 days.
  • Remove elderberries from the cider.

Notes

The cider is the elixir, but you might use the elderberries in a pickle also.

Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe by Annie B Kay - anniebkay.com

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Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Elderberry Syrup Recipe by Annie B Kay - anniebkay.com

Deep purple elderberry beauty

Deep purple elder-beauty

I’ve been a smidgen obsessed with elderberry this year and it has heard my prayer. Not only did my husband gift me a beautiful elderberry bush for our yard, but a neighbor with a gorgeous mature bush gave us the green light to enjoy some of his bounty. So, I’ve been up to my elbows in elderberry.

Give yourself time to rinse and remove stems

Give yourself time to rinse & remove stems

Elderberry is a folk medicine immune supporter, and even today you can find it in commercial cough syrup and lozenges. Clinical trials suggest that it reduces the duration of the flu, and it may have antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. From a plant-spirit energetic perspective, elder aids with journey work (such as shamanic visioning) and is, simply, an elder filled with primordial wisdom.
Most elderberry syrup recipes call for about 2/3 cup of berries for a season’s supply of syrup. Well, because I had a bucketful, mine is a little stronger! It’s delicious and rich. In the literature there are warnings about elderberry irritating the gut if taken raw and/or in excess, so you can overdo it! I intend to take 1 tsp daily for 3-5 days at the first sign of cold or flu.
Give yourself a couple hours to make this start to finish. This recipe made about 6 cups of syrup.

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Equipment

In addition to a large pot for cooking and processing, you will need a strainer or jelly bag, and containers for your syrup – I used jelly jars and processed them as if I were making jelly to give nicely sealed jars for gifts, and also kept a batch in a larger unsealed jar in the fridge to be used over the next 3 months by my family and me.
Jelly jars come with the glass jars, a flat sealing lid, and a ring that twists over the sealing lid to keep it on the jar.

Ingredients

  • 8 cups elderberry, washed and stems removed
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1-2 tsp pectin

Directions

Full bedlam making elderberry syrup

Full bedlam making elderberry syrup

Place berries, spices, ginger and honey in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil.  Stirring, add pectin and boil for another minute. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 15-17 minutes.
Strain through jelly bag, and place into jars. As I mentioned I used jelly jars and processed them like jelly, which entails boiling the jars (pouring hot liquid into a cold jar can make it crack) and sealing the lids. After filling the jars with syrup and topping with sealing lids, I tightened the lid rings, and placed jars upside down for about 5 minutes. This helped them seal. Once that’s done, I check to see if the jar sealed by pressing the center of the lid. If I can push the lid down and it pops up, no seal. If the lid is concave and pressing it doesn’t move it, it’s sealed. Often, lids will seal throughout the day – I can hear “pop” from the next room when a lid seals. Jars that don’t seal need to be refrigerated, and the syrup used within 3 months. I keep those that seal all season.
Making your own jelly and syrup can be a sticky mess, but I am always amazed by the wonderful smell, color, and flavor of home-made preserves. It’s a fun thing to do with family or friends who are into it. Little jars of your handcrafted goods make terrific gifts. Make sure not to give away unsealed items or you may be gifting a nice jar of something not-so-healing.
Elderberry Syrup Recipe by Annie B Kay - anniebkay.com

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