If you’re in Meridies, you’re probably coughing and sneezing with the change in the season finally arriving. My house is no different, from me coughing for the last few months to the baby hacking. It’s just miserable.
I was clearing my counters before dinner last night and found my little herb collection! I had a whole container of Elderberries!
I found a recipe for elderberry (plus… there are some other goodies in here) syrup thanks to my good friend Pinterest! (Here’s the blog with the recipe I used)
I followed the recipe almost exactly (I transferred the concoction to a bowl one step too early).
First, I mixed the elderberries, water, cinnamon, and cloves in a sauce pan and put it on the heat. The recipe says bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer, covered but vented.
Then let it simmer for 45 minutes until the liquid has reduced to about half.
This is where I got ahead of myself. I poured it into a bowl to cool a bit when I should’ve just left it in the pan to cool. I’m not sure it really makes a difference, but I wanted to be totally honest, here.
Once it cooled, I strained out the elderberries, poured the syrup into a jar, and added the honey. I used locally sourced wildflower honey that I bought in Helen, GA this summer. I found Honey on the Hill’s shop right before a downpour, so my family hung out for a bit waiting on it to lighten up. It didn’t. The honey smells and tastes amazing, though! (You can order it online, if you’re not heading through there, btw. Check out this link!)
My impression, having never made this before, is that it’s really thin. The honey mixed well, but the cinnamon and cloves drop out of it and rest on the bottom of the jar. It mixes in again easily enough with a bit of a shake, but I’d like a thicker syrup, personally. Maybe if it were thicker, the other herbs wouldn’t fall out of it.
Either way, the thinner mixture is easier to drink a couple of ounces than a thicker one would be. So, there’s that.
Notes for next time:
*figure out why it’s so thin
*save the dregs for a tincture
Ideas about usage:
*add whiskey or rum for the sugar coating?
Hmm… next time I’ll try…
I don’t know! What should I do next?