Submitted for your approval, The ingredients of Robitussin Adult:
Multisymptom Cold (Dextromethorphan, Guaifenesin, Phenylephrine, Anhydrous Citric Acid, FD&C Red 40 (CI 16035), Glycerin, Menthol, Natural Flavors, Artificial Flavors, Propylene Glycol, Purified Water, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Citrate, Sorbitol Solution, Sucralose)
Ouch, right?
This is not that:
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not claiming that elderberry-echinacea syrup works as well as Robitussin. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m prohibited from making a claim that it works for anything at all. (In fact, they totally raided an elderberry syrup manufacturer for saying that it was … gasp … healthy for you.)
But I can tell you my experience – that much I am allowed: This is all natural, delicious, and I use it (or I’ve used a variation of it) to keep me feeling great all winter long.
So now, in contrast to the first paragraph, would you like to know what’s in elderberry-echinacea syrup? Water, elderberries, echinacea, ginger root, cinnamon, honey.
Why are all those things in there, you might ask?
The Healthfulness Behind Elderberry-Echinacea Syrup
Quickly, let’s break it down and see what other people say about all the ingredients in elderberry-echinacea syrup.
Elderberry: A study done in 1992-1993 in Israel showed that black elderberry treated/cured flu symptoms faster than Tamiflu. Elderberry contains a litany of healthful properties (including antioxidants, tannins, vitamins A, B, and C, flavonoids … and the list goes on), which could help strengthen the immune system. But it’s best known for knocking out the flu right when it starts, so it’s important to take it immediately upon having symptoms (if you’re not taking daily supplementation). While there’s no research to back up the claims that elderberry, taken regularly, can prevent the flu, there’s research all over the place stating that it effectively helps quash it when it starts.
Echinacea: Like elderberry, the research just isn’t there yet supporting echinacea as an effective preventative supplement for the cold and flu. However, even the National Institute of Health admits that it’s shown to be quite effective when taken immediately upon experiencing symptoms of the cold or flu. They even state that it’s used effectively to treat: urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, genital herpes, bloodstream infections (septicemia), gum disease, tonsillitis, streptococcus infections, syphilis, typhoid, malaria, and diphtheria.
Honey: Favorite. Home. Remedy. Ever. Nothing beats honey for a cough (in fact, it’s been shown to be more effective at soothing coughs than cough medicine itself). It’s also, of course, wildly antibacterial. And a fun little fact? Studies show that honey is as effective of a preservative as EDTA (a questionable preservative widely used in food). When I read this today, I wept with joy.
Cinnamon: Not only does cinnamon help control your blood sugar and blood pressure, it’s been historically used to treat the cold and flu. It’s approved by the German Health Authorities approve cinnamon for treating gastrointestinal distress and stomach spasms. The inspiration for including in this syrup (not only for WILDLY delicious taste) was this blog post about cinnamon/honey syrup as a home remedy for colds.
Ginger Root: SO well known for defeating nauseousness, ginger root may not only treat your symptoms of stomach yuckiness, but it may very well help beat your other symptoms, as well. It’s, by far, one of the most popular medicinal herbs – and again, it tastes absolutely amazing in this syrup.
How to Make the Elderberry Echinacea Syrup Recipe
Okay, now that we’re done with all the smarty-pants stuff, I have to say one thing about this syrup: WOOOOO-HOOOOO! For the last two years, I’ve made an elderberry syrup using brandy to preserve it, but this year it was imperative to find an answer that used no alcohol whatsoever. Mainly because I want kids to be able to use this (and grown-ups not to worry about the negligible brandy in the first recipe).
So, taking that and inspiration from myriad elderberry-echinacea cough syrups I found for sale on the internet, I created this doozy. Right now, it may sound a little exotic, but I’m going to give you a price breakdown at the end, so prepare your faces, people.
Let’s get started.
What you need:
Elderberry-Echinacea Syrup Recipe
- 1/2 c. dried elderberries (or 1 cup fresh)
- 2 Tbsp dried echincacea (it’s perfectly fine to open an echinacea tea bag and use that)
- 1 Tbsp dried ginger root (or 2 Tbsp fresh ginger root)
- 1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
- 3 c. distilled water
- 3/4 c. raw honey
I’m making this for the swap, so I was extra-specially cautious while doing so. Extra-specially cautious = sterilizing every pot, jar, and utensil I used for 10 minutes in boiling water. As I mentioned earlier, honey is a fabulous preservative, but I didn’t want to take any chances.
That said, before you really get started, you might want to consider sterilizing, at least, the jar you’re going to keep your syrup in. Just boil it in a pot of water for 10 minutes, and you should be good.
After you’re done with that, start with a very clean small pot and pour in all your ingredients – except the honey. DO. NOT. ADD. THE. HONEY. YET.
It’s important to use distilled water, just so you know. Because your tap water (and even most filtered water) already contains small bits of bacteria, heavy metals, and other untoward things that may “taint” your syrup. And you want your syrup to last at least a month – if not two to three months.
Distilled water. It’s what’s for home remedies.
Now that you have all of your ingredients (except the honey) in the pot, turn the burner to medium. Wait a while. Eventually you’ll start to see a simmer.
Now turn the burner as low as you can, while still maintaining a small simmer, and leave the whole thing alone for 45 minutes (or until the liquid has reduced by half).
Stir occasionally, and smush the elderberries around with the back of your spoon to release their healthy goodness.
Once your liquid is at about half as much as you started with, you need to strain all of the ingredients from your almost-done syrup. For this, I used my French press. But you could also use a cheese cloth, or a very fine-mesh sieve.
Either way, take care not to burn yourself, but push all the liquid out that your little hands can muster.
Now you should have pretty clean, non-leafy, dark brownish-red liquid. It will smell good, but it’s not quite done yet. If you tried to drink it at this point, you’d probably look like a duck for a few minutes.
Tartness.
Let your liquid cool for about 10-15 minutes. It needs to be cool enough not to harm the honey’s delicate healthful properties, but still warm enough to dissolve all the honey within. Again, 10 minutes should be just fine. While you wait, rearrange your spice cabinet.
Once you have your warmish-coolish liquid, add it in your desired jar with your honey and stir. Stir it up, baby. Revel in these last moments, because now you’re done.
This is what happens next:
Keep this in your fridge, tightly covered, for up to two months, and take it when you feel like you need it. Remember, I’m no medical professional. But if it were me, I’d take 2-3 teaspoons a day (or maybe even a bit more) at the first sign of a cough, cold, or icky feeling.
Before you take or make this, though, please make sure you’re not allergic to one of the ingredients. That may be the only potential downside here. Know your allergies.
Elderberry-Echinacea Syrup: The Wrap Up
If you’re not sure where to buy elderberries or echinacea, try your local natural food store. Elderberries may be a little harder to find (echinacea tea is all over the place), but they’re very well priced at Mountain Rose Herbs. It never fails to surprise me how much less their supplies cost than my natural foods store – and elderberries are no different.
However, I’m going to use the cost breakdown based on how much MY approximate costs were (using ingredients that were all from local stores):
1/2 c. elderberrries = $2.50
2 Tbsp echinacea = $1.15
1 stick cinnamon (free, from a friend, but let’s say it was) = $0.10
1/2 tbsp ginger root = $0.05
3/4 c. honey = $1.50
3 c. distilled water = $0.25
Total = $5.55
Each recipe should yield about 60 tsp, probably more. As a comparison, you can buy Original Sambucol (black elderberry syrup) for around $15.00 and it has 24 tsp in it.
So the savings is … a lot. Somewhere in the order of $25 if you were to buy as much Sambucol as you make at home.
AND you get the added bonus of echinacea, cinnamon, and ginger root. BUT, to let you in on a little secret, those are all completely optional ingredients. If you don’t want to spend the money on them, just make this with elderberries, water, and honey. And you’ll be doing just fine.
Ahhhh … how am I ever going to use this to swap with? I want all the elderberry-echinacea syrup for myself now!
(Oh, one more time with the reminder: I’m not a health professional, and this blog post does not constitute medical advice. If you have questions, talk to your doctor … who is hopefully a naturopath.)
Crunchy Gift Ideas: Love ALL the Lavender!
How do you know when it has gone bad?
How can I share these recipes to Facebook ??
lookie here
What echinacea do you use? Purpea? Augustifolia? The root? Herb?
Just made the syrup and the house smells wonderful. I was wondering whether I can make a second less concentrated batch of elderberry syrup from the strained elderberries. I am sure there is still a lot of goodness in them. Don’t feel like tossing them out. Please advise. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for the French Press idea! I’ve had great success with Sambucol. I can’t wait to make my own
Making this for my brother who has the flu. Have made it before without the echinacea and he loved it. Hopefully he won’t taste the echinacea in it. My house smells amazing with this simmering. Wish I could have it, but I am somewhat allergic to dark berries 🙁
Can i simply use fresh picked Elder Berries? Thank’s.
Hi, thanks for the tips. but can i use the same method to prepare a Ganoderma extract or liquid?
Good Morning!
I just came across this site and am planning on making some elderberry syrup. Could you please tell me if it is the dried/fresh Echinacea flowers, petals or roots that is being used? It appears it’s the flowers. (the flowers are pretty well done in our area for the season). However, there may be a few around. Any reply is really appreciated.
Has anyone tried freezing this? I’m going to try and fob off my not very sick son with some honey and lemon ‘medicine’ tonight but this sounds way better. If I can freeze this it’ll definitely be worth my making some. Even though I’m 99.9% sure I won’t be able to get elderberries here (New Zealand) I’m going to try.
Try ordering them online, I found them very reasonably priced.
Did Freezing it work?
I have organic ginger syrup, you think in that form it would still have the properties necessary for this? a friend gave it to me during my first trimester & I haven’t found a use for it yet, other than making ginger ale.
You are a H.A. (no, not headache…Helping Angel!) Exactly what I needed, when I needed it. BTW…added some local, this season bee pollen into the mix. No more hacking for moi! Blissings from the Gold (as in pine pollen) Country.
Love love love this recipe! It’s SO sweet! I diluted it with some fizzy water and my son LOVES drinking it – which is awesome since it seems to really be taking down his cold. I highly recommend this! I am also taking it as a preventative, since my son has that cold.
I have all of the ingredients I need to make this awesome syrup, but instead of dried or fresh elderberries, I purchased some elderberry concentrate (contains 70% juice when reconstituted). It was very difficult for me to find elderberries in my area of southern NJ. I checked my local natural health store, Wegman’s, and Whole Foods…nothing. How much of the concentrate should I use for this recipe? Thanks in advance 🙂
My physician suggested elderberries and echinacea when i told her i did not want a flu shot, she says she uses it herself. (She is a Kaiser doctor and a herbalist.) Rather than buy it i would like to make it, but i am vegan so honey is out and prefer not to use any sweetener but fresh fruit or stevia, will stevia work in this recipe?
I <3 all this stuff but don't want to actually make any of it. I am always looking for the "right stuff" but can't find it at my local stores. So I resolve to make it myself, discover Crunchy Betty, and I'm thinking "finally someone gets it!" Then I read these amazing detailed descriptions and I have no desire to make it myself.
Making this as we speak! Instead, I left out the echinacea and replaced it with 1 tbsp of marshmallow root for an everyday preventative! So excited! Thanks so much for this! With 6 kids this could be my winter lifesaver!
Wendy, is the marshmallow root safe for infants?
Certified Organic Dried Elederberries; https://www.herbalcraft.ca/index.php?productID=381 😀
What about adding some acerola powder for extra vit C? Also, I have a Toddy cold brew system, I’m going to try cold brewing the teas then cooking the tea with the cinnamon and ginger afterwards. Thoughts?
Would powdered elderberries work ok?
Do you happen to know if this is safe for pregnant women?
A note to those who are interested in using this a preventative throughout the winter: leave out the echinacea. You shouldn’t take echinacea for more than 8 weeks at a time then need to take a break.
I love your Blog to bits and I think I love you even more!!! I love this stuff and it never occurred to me to make my own!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Can you tell me the difference in the recipe when you actually use brandy? Also what flavor of Brandy?
I can’t find raw honey as cheap as you did. I did get Raw organic though. It was $8.64 for a 16oz jar. Can you re-use the strained ingredients?
I just made some of this, and used filtered tap water as I didn’t have any distilled on hand. I strained, honeyed, and bottled up enough to see my husband and son through this cold they have right now, and was thinking about freezing the rest in a mason jar. Then I could thaw it out and use it the next time we need it. What do you think? Is freezing going to destroy all of my elderberry goodness, or will it be fine?
I just made some of this, and used filtered tap water as I didn’t have any distilled on hand. I strained, honeyed, and bottled up enough to see my husband and son through this cold they have right now, and was thinking about freezing the rest in a mason jar. Then I could thaw it out and use it the next time we need it. What do you think? Is freezing going to destroy all of my elderberry goodness, or will it be fine?
I made this today, although I didn’t have any distilled water so I used filtered tap water…I strained and bottled up enough to get my husband and son through this cold they have right now, and was thinking of freezing the rest in a mason jar (unstrained and without honey added), to be thawed out and used next cold…does freezing do anything bad to the elderberry goodness?
Thanks for the recipes,it’s helpfull
One thing should be noted though, certain health conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, can be be made worse by ingesting echinecea. I will be makin this without adding it, any suggestions on what I could substitute instead to make it superpowered?
I have included a photo and link to this in my list “What to do with Elderberries”.
Hope that’s ok with you?
Great post, thanks for sharing.
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe! I have tried several different brands of elderberry syrup and they range from too sweet (which is not surprising when fructose is the first ingredient) to burning my throat (ahem, alcohol as a preservative). All I want is some elderberry syrup that doesn’t cause sugar shock or taste like I’m doing shots in Tijuana. Why is that asking so much?!
I actually bought some elderberries right after you posted this back in November, but I hate to be wasteful so I made myself wait until I finished all the different elderberry syrup I’d already bought.
I finally finished my last bottle a few days ago so I busted out my bag of dried elderberries and OMG, it is SO FREAKING GOOD! Like a million times better than any of the other ones I’ve tried (which are ridiculously expensive).
The only bad thing is that when I was moving some stuff in my pantry to get to the elderberries, I discovered that there was one more bottle of store bought syrup that I’d opened once to taste and had never finished. It somehow got shoved to the back of the shelf so now I feel guilty. But of course, I must finish the homemade bottle first since it has a shorter shelf life. You know, and tastes much better. I can’t decide if I should try to give away the store bought bottle (which would make me feel a little guilty since I know the homemade stuff is so much better) or make myself down it after I finish the homemade bottle.
Daisy Dear,
Life is too short to force yourself to consume anything that you find so distasteful. Write it off as a learning experience. Free yourself. Flush the purchased syrup and your guilt down the toilet and enjoy your lovely homemade stuff.
Liz
I recently bought your book and am loving all the skin care ideas, especially the honey!! I was wondering if you have any advice for fading or removing dark spots on the skin, specifically the face??
Try organic citric acid. Mix it in tamanu nut oil so you’re also getting the healing benefits. Or just mix it in any nourishing serum you are already using. Only make a week’s worth at at a time though and keep it from light as citric acid oxidizes.
I have echinacea plants that grow at my house and I was wondering what part of it I could dry and use for this. I’m pretty sure that the whole plant can be useful but any idea on which part in particular I could dry for this?
the roots are dried in the fall. They should be from plants that are several years old
Thanks for the recipe…would this be safe to give to an 18 month old baby girl?
I love your blog! My daughter and I both have a pretty bad hacking cough that gets worse at night. I’m going to make this but am womdering if she can have it too, she’s 1 1/2 weeks shy of being 1! What are your thoughts?
I’m not blessed with elderberry trees, as so many of you are! Can anyone tell me where to buy them? BTW, a couple of people mentioned net pots, which I love, but be sure to boil your water or only use distilled! I saw a news story a few weeks ago about two people in Louisiana dying from infections acquired from neti pots. Apparently tap water can contain a type of bacteria that is not harmful if swallowed, but can be deadly if it reaches your brain. Once you develop an infection, it’s 95% fatal. Several people die every year from contracting the infection from swimming in fresh water, but now we have to worry about neti pots! I had to reheat water three times tonight!
I bought mine at the local herb store, but if you can’t find any there then you can always order some from Mountain Rose Herbs.
http://mountainroseherbs.com/
What a great, practical way to get the juice out of the berries!
I have six pounds of elderberries in the freezer, waiting for me to make a batch of syrup tomorrow. I’ve been sick since Hallowe’en with ongoing/recurring ‘flu virus, and a friend said, “Wait. Didn’t you harvest a whole feed sack of elderberries last Fall?”
Whoops.
Love your blog. 🙂
mmmm I have an elderberry tree in my garden and made an elderberry and clove syrup.. it didn’t last long as I kept drinking it as a warm tea:)mmm now I have none:(
I am making some of this right now and have some questions. Can I take it as a preventative to getting the cold/flu? Or at least take it daily to help fight off bugs? If so, how much would you recommend? How do I know when it’s gone bad?
my local honey, literally from the orchard 1/2 a mile from me does not say “raw” on the sort of home done label- figure the local pollen stuff is worth it- but will it be as beneficial?
Can you ask the people you got it from? A lot of times the local stuff from the little guy is raw, it just doesn’t say so on the packaging.
If one were to have a honey allergy, what would you suggest replacing it with?
I’d think one would do well if one used sorghum or black strap molasses to sweeten. Both have many beneficial qualities in addition to wonderful sweetening properties.
I am so happy to see this! I swear by elderberry extract at the first sign of ickiness. I had the flu last year and I swear the elderberry knocked it out in two days. I got sick early Monday morning (fever, chills, nausea, wishing I was dead, the works.) and was all but well by Wednesday. I just had minor congestion.
I keep Sambucol at work and have converted a few coworkers. I can’t wait to share this recipe with them!
I just made this and my house smells really nice. I was wondering there seems to be a lot of yummyness left. Could you add more water and make another batch reusing the stuff still in the pan?
Yay! As I recall, the last Elderberry Syrup recipe you posted was what hooked me on this blog. I mean I read it before that, but that was what hooked me. I think I will have the little one help me make it this year- she loves science experiments! And she will be relieved that mommy has an alternative to a daily cup of parsley tea (which she is getting really tired of, although it does seem to work: I haven’t been taking mine and I got a nasty cold, she’s been taking hers and, while she has little sniffles, she hasn’t gotten the cold, or flu, or whatever it’s been).
Wow! Definitely going to be making some of this – the mister and I have just picked up a lovely little cold, and here’s hoping the little guy doesn’t catch it, too.
Do you think you could add horehound to this recipe to make it suitable for cough or would it taste too horrible?
My mother-in-law just turned me on to the elderberry syrup and it works for me. My only issue was the bottle cost $20 and the manufacturer said to throw it out after 14 days! I’m trying the homemade version!
So, I had been saving the elderberries from the past two batches of the just-berries-and-raw-honey version of the syrup because I just couldn’t bring myself to throw them out… With six kiddos, we go through A LOT of Elderberry Syrup! Anyway, I found a recipe for homemade fruit leather and just made some with black grapes, strawberries and my leftover, already boiled elderberries and it is FANTASTIC! So fantastic, in fact, that I am planning to put them in a pretty jar and give them as gifts for Christmas.
Your blog is awesome and I love reading and learning! Thanks for all you do 🙂
The recipe for that fruit leather would be really really appreciated! What a great way to make our elderberries go further!
Oh my, is that the full recipe? Because I was just thinking there must be something I could do with those elderberries….
If you see this, could you post a link to that recipe?
You know, if nothing else, the ginger is so warming. It’s just what you need when you’re starting to feel under the weather.
It’s so bizarre hearing all you Northerners talking about battening down the hatches for the winter, while we’re here starting to heat right up. I’ll have to tag all these recipes and tips for use in 6 months time 🙂
Funny…I’ve just come back looking for this recipe and found my comment at the original post, saying “I’ll be back”. Here I am!
I just thought it was ironic that it’s now spring where I am, but I just got really sick..wish I had known about this site/post when you first commented so I’d be prepared..but I will be next time:) Happy fall/winter to you, and stay healthy.:)
Love it! Been makinga version of this for years now for me and my brood, but I’ve never added the cinnamon…..thanks!
xo
Crookedmoonmama, do you have a blog? I see you commenting on posts I comment on and I like your style. 🙂
Funny! Yes, it’s crookedmoonmama.com
Yours?
Maybe someone can double check me here but echinacea is a member of the ragweed family. I vaguely remember someone on my Aunt’s side of the family making his allergies worse by taking echinacea tea. Other than that I am so totally gonna make this for the kids! Sweet!
MamaLovey
Actually, I think it’s a member of the daisy family (not sure if daisies and ragweed are related, though). It has pretty purple flowers (otherwise named coneflowers … again, I think … I should really research before I answer a question, yeah?)
I did read that there are some people who are sensitive to echinacea in an allergy-type way, but it doesn’t seem to be too prevalent.
Ragweed on the other hand … whew! My eyeballs HATE that stuff.
Another great post! The pictures are so helpful. I’ve got to make this “remedy”, but I’d like a little brandy in mine (wink wink). Finally purchased some tamanu oil today. I’ve got to find your recipe Betty for the night treatment you use. I thought it included tamanu oil in it??? Also I’m now the proud parent of my first neti pot. This crunchy stuff is happening:)
I was thinking the same thing re: the brandy! 🙂
Ahh. I really should post that mixture, but it’s often kind of “kitchen sinky.” I do put tamanu in it, as well as about four other different “special” oils and about four or five essential oils. I need to make a new batch soon that’s more winterish, so when I do, I’ll post.
I can’t wait to see the kitchen sink recipe! I loooooove tamanu oil. It leaves everything so soft and it killed a huge honking ridiculous zit that popped up a few days before a performance, so I believe in the power of tamanu!
Neti pot, oh my, why did I only buy my neti pot a month ago?! I am in love with that little pot of fresh-headedness. Happy flushing! 🙂
Elderberry is my secret weapon. I’ve never thought of combining it with echinacea though!
One very important bit of information is that elderberries are poisonous if not cooked. I can’t imagine anyone just eating them fresh, but thought I would pass this on. I have 2 very prolific elderberry bushes/trees and I have been making elderberry jam and jelly the past 3 years. I’m just using up a batch of syrup from a batch that didn’t jell and I just love the stuff. I take at least a tablespoon a day to stay healthy. BTW, it’s especially good in homemade plain yogurt, too. I’m going to have to try your recipe with the last of the elderberries left from this year’s crop. Sounds wonderful!
Quick question: Aren’t there only a couple of species (not quite as common) that have berries that need to be cooked first? I could swear I read somewhere once that most of the elder berries that are prolific today don’t have berries that are irritants (though I think you’re always supposed to stay away from stems and leaves, right?)
I’m terrible at identifying plants, so just don’t eat anything that I’m not 100% sure what it is, but if you know the difference between the elder species by any chance, can you give a quick guide to the difference? Someone here mentioned last year that they have many elderberry bushes in their yard, so I know they’re around here en masse somewhere.
Do not eat any elderberries (red or black) without cooking them due to poisons. Every herbal book I have agrees….but some of them may be dated, ha!
xo
Actually, the berries and flowers are NOT poisonous – they only taste evil if not cooked with some sweetener.
The twigs and bark, however, can give you a wicked stomach ache.
You blow my mind with every single one of your posts! The time you take to research ingredients and experiment with recipes is so very much appreciated. Thank you! I have been lucky enough not to get sick yet this fall, but I’m definitely keeping this recipe on hand with the cold winter weather coming!
Okay, this needs doing today. All I need is the distilled water and the echinacea (the second of which I may just leave out). Is it okay to boil the cork-top of my bottle in the water, too?
Yep. I’d boil that a lot longer, though, because of the crevices and whatnot in cork. Although, alternatively, instead of boiling it, I’d probably just soak it in a glass full of hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol and then let it dry completely.
Now to figure out how to get a cork to stay in the bottom of a filled glass or pot. Good luck!
Right on. Thanks!
Thank you…this was perfect timing..I’m in day two of full blown head cold & hoping it doesn’t go to my chest…Now if I only felt like going to the store to get the ingredients…
Thank you Betty for all your work! Especially providing the references, I’m reading them right after I type this. I was thinking of maybe giving this for Christmas gifts but now I’m not so sure if it has to be refrigerated…
Also, do you just buy distilled water at the store?
Yeah. I usually use one of those “fill your own” stations at the grocery store. That way I know it hasn’t been sitting in plastic for months and months – and even if it has to sit in plastic for a couple of days before I either use it or transfer it, it’s not that big of a deal.
THANK YOU!!!!
Knowing I am allergic to ginger, that is the only ingredient I plan to skip. So excited!!!! <3
Yeah! An older man at church gave me a quart jar of elberberry juice. Been wondering how to use it other than jelly…Thanks!
I cant wait to try this! I want to place an order with Mountain Rose Herbs soon! I am just waiting to see if I need any ingredients for that butt butter! I just had a baby and my butt needs all the help I can get!!
Soooon sooon sooon on the Nutty Butt Butter. It was supposed to be up tomorrow, but my cocoa butter didn’t come like FedEx promised, so it’ll be up on Friday. Yay!
You are awesome!
Do you think I could use candied ginger?
Maybe? I’m not sure it would have quite the same effect, as candied ginger is so darned smushy (and I’m not sure how they get it to be like that other than pretty high heat, but it has to do something to the healthful properties of the ginger on the way).
Totally craving candied ginger now, btw. Nom.
You are ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!! I wanted to make this syrup since you first posted the recipe earlier this week but was really concerned about the brandy for the kiddies. Now I can make this and use it today since both me and one of my kids is starting to feel a little…icky. (I won’t say sick. that would be admitting defeat, lol) Thank God for you and for all the great tips you give out. I love that you give us options. It’s wonderful!
Thank you for posting this. I have used the store-bought stuff and I’m a believer. You can bet I’m making some of my own this fall!
thanks! it’s perfect timing, i’m just starting to get a bit of a cold, so i might just try this! usually i use my honey-ginger-hot-water/honey-lemon-hot-water remedies, but they only help so much and with all the tests i’ve got coming up i don’t want to be getting ill.
Have you tried using Manuka honey in your lemon/hot water remedy? Don’t heat the water too much (since you don’t want to kill all the germ killing power that’s in the honey), just enough to incorporate the honey. Manuka kills everything, even staph, so it really helps with any kind of cold you might have!
thanks! it’s perfect timing, i’m just starting to get a bit of a cold, so i might just try this! usually i use my honey-ginger-hot-water/honey-lemon-hot-water remedies, but they only help so much and with all the tests i’ve got coming up i don’t want to be getting ill.