How to make your own homemade instant pot elderberry syrup

This recipe for elderberry syrup calls for the magic of the Instant Pot.  In just a few short minutes and some yummy ingredients you will have a super tasty immune boosting mixture that is perfect for these awful flu filled months! 

I am not a health professional, nor am I giving medical advice. But after talking with several doctors and naturopaths, I decided to do some research on the health benefits of elderberry syrup, and then share my findings with you.

Cold and Flu season is coming. Be ready for it in about 10 minutes with this simple Instant Pot Elderberry Syrup Recipe!

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF ELDERBERRY HEALTH BENEFITS

• During a flu epidemic in Norway, 60 people experiencing flu symptoms for 48 hours or less were tested in this study. “Patients received 15 ml of elderberry or placebo syrup four times a day for 5 days, and recorded their symptoms using a visual analogue scale. Symptoms were relieved on average 4 days earlier and use of rescue medication was significantly less in those receiving elderberry extract compared with placebo. Elderberry extract seems to offer an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger study.”
• This 2010 studied looked at the effects of a variety of botanicals in stimulating an immunoresponse in genes. “We conclude from this study that, in addition to its antiviral properties, Sambucol Elderberry Extract and its formulations activate the healthy immune system by increasing inflammatory cytokine production. Sambucol might therefore be beneficial to the immune system activation and in the inflammatory process in healthy individuals or in patients with various diseases.”

Health benefits

There are so many possible health benefits of elderberries, including these noted by Dr. Axe:

Tell me more…..

The technique

It is easy to make! order supplies, gather all equipment and it will take you less then 30 mins to make your very own healthy homemade elderberry syrup!

Elderberries

I like to order my elderberries online. I have bought from a few different vendors but have found that I really like the organic berries from Frontier co-op

Flavor

There are so many variations of the syrup. You can make it your own! I have found that some like just the elderberry and honey, or maybe they like to add citrus to theirs or other ingredient like goji berries or echinacea. There are many choices out there!

Cooking process

Super easy to make! Place all ingredients in the IP, turn on. Cool after cooking, add sweetener. Cool and then bottle!

Straining

I like to smush my berries. It releases all the juice and nutrients.

Sweetener

Using local raw honey is a great way to add to the power of this syrup. Local honey contains local pollen to your area which will help you with seasonal allergies and just be more healthful in general.

Honey is not recommend for children under the age of one and it is not vegan!

You can also use agave nectar. Please read labels one looking for a NATURAL sweetener. Some can be misleading.

Consistency

If you have ever purchased this syrup from the stores, you will notice it does have a rather thick syrup consistency.  This particular one does not.  It is all natural and therefore does not have enough sugar in there to be as thick as the store bought ones.  Perhaps if you reduce it, the mixture will certainly get more concentrated and thickened. I personally like mine more like this recipe, the consistency is more like a tea or juice.

Storing

You can store the syrup in the refrigerate for 2-3 months. The honey does help act as a preservative. Make sure to stir before using.

Elderberry syrup to the rescue-

I have been making elderberry syrup for awhile now. I was tired of spending the dollar amount that they wanted for store bought. It also tasted “Not so fresh”.

Here are a few recipes that I have tried and enjoy!

Here are a few recipes to try-

HOW TO MAKE ELDERBERRY SYRUP IN THE INSTANT POT

This is one of my favorite recipes-

Print

Elderberry Syrup Instant pot

How to make your very own healthy and homemade instant pot elderberry syrup

Prep Time10 mins

Active Time35 mins

Course: Drinks

Author: admin

Equipment

• instant pot
• measuring cups
• strainer
• spoon
• bowl
• mason jars

Materials

• 2/3 cup dried elderberries I use organic
• 4 cups filtered or distilled water
• 1 tsp cinnamon or 4 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tbsp ginger fresh or dried
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves or 4-6 pieces of clove
• 4-6 pieces dried rose hips (optional) I like to use rose hips for added antioxidants
• 1/2 cup local honey or agave syrup sweetened as desired. I use very little sweetener on my family batch. Honey is great for a preservative as well as healing properites. (Not good for children under 1 year & not vegan)

Instructions

• Place you elderberries, water, ginger, cinnamon, and clove in your instant pot. Close the lid securely and manually set your instant pot to 7-9 minutes.
  
• Once the Instant pot has finished releasing the pressure, slowly remove the lid. Let the mixture sit and cool.
  
• Once cool,strain the liquid into a bowl through a mesh strainer, gently pushing on the berries to release all the juice and nutrients.
  
• Once it reaches cooling temp, add in the honey or agave syrup. You want to make sure the liquid is cool before adding.
  
• Once fully mixed, poor the elderberry mixture into glass jar or mason jars. I like to use the 16 oz jars.
• Syrup can be kept be refrigerated for up to 2 months. You can also use to make gummies, popsicles and more.
• Take the syrup a few times a week for overall wellness. Once ill, use syrup every day until you feel better.
• Adults 1 tbsp a week- unless sick, then 1tbsp evey 2 hours

  Children 1 tsp a week-unless sick, 1 tsp every few hours until symptoms are better.

Notes

how to make your own elderberry syrup

Another IP recipe to share-

This recipe for elderberry syrup calls for the magic of the Instant Pot.  In just a few short minutes and some yummy ingredients you will have a super tasty immune boosting mixture that is perfect for those awful flu filled months!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups elderberries
• 6 cups water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tbsp vanilla paste
• 1 inch piece of ginger 
• 1/2 cup Raw honey

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place elderberries, water, cinnamon sticks, ginger and vanilla into an Instant Pot. 
• Zest the orange and the lemon.  Juice the lemon and orange.  Throw the remaining orange and lemon into the pot after juicing.  As it cooks, it will melt down and all the parts of the fruit will flavor the syrup.
• Seal the Instant Pot and set it to “MANUAL” on “HIGH PRESSURE” for 7 minutes.
• Once the timer goes off, set the valve to “VENT” and strain the mixture into a sieve over a bowl.  Squeeze the mixture through the sieve with the back of the spoon until no more liquid comes out.  Discard the remaining berries and citrus.
• Once the syrup has cooled to room temperature add in your honey.  Feel free to add in more if you require more sweetness.
• Pour into a refrigerator safe container.  Drink each morning to boost your immunity! 

ELDERBERRY SYRUP RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices ginger root
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 cloves
• 1 cup dried elderberries
• 4 cups filtered or bottled water
• 1 cup raw honey

• Put dried elderberries, cinnamon sticks, fresh ginger, whole cloves and half a lemon in the Instant Pot.
• Add 4 cups filtered or bottled water.
• Close the Instant Pot with the valve in the “SEALING” position, then cook on manual pressure for 10 minutes.
• Do a quick pressure release, remove the lid, and set to “SAUTE”
• Let it boil for about 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half.
• Pour through a strainer, mashing on the berries with a spatula until all the liquid is released.
• Let cool to 115 degrees F or less (to keep from overheating the honey) and stir in 1 cup of raw honey.
• Keep in a jar or bottle in the fridge.

TIPS FOR MAKING ELDERBERRY SYRUP

• Make sure to let your syrup cool a bit before adding honey. The reason for using raw honey in this syrup is that raw honey has its own healing properties. But the medicinal properties can be rendered ineffective at high temperatures. I try to never make our honey hotter than 115 degrees F.
• Adjust the flavors to suit your family. While there are definitely a variety of studies on health benefits of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and lemon, I mostly include those in the syrup for flavor. We like the added tartness from the lemon, but you may want to leave it out if you prefer your elderberry syrup to just be sweet.

HOW TO MAKE ELDERBERRY SYRUP ON THE STOVE

Don’t have an Instant Pot? No problem! Just follow the recipe directions but simmer on the stove for 45 minutes to one hour until reduced by half. Then let cool and stir in your honey.

ELDERBERRY SYRUP DOSAGE GUIDE

Here’s the elderberry syrup dosage we use:

CHILDREN AGES 2-12
1 teaspoon a day during cold and flu season
1 teaspoon every 3 hours when sick

AGE 13-ADULT
2 teaspoons a day during cold and flu season
1 tablespoon every 3 hours when sick

As adults, we up our dose to a full tablespoon when sick because it seems like it takes longer for us bounce back than it does for the kids.

There are recipes for elderberry-based medications in the records dating as far back as Ancient Egypt. Historians, however, generally trace the tradition of the elderberry’s healing power back to Hippocrates, the ancient Greek known as the “father of medicine,” who described this plant as his “medicine chest” for the wide variety of ailments it seemed to cure.

Elderberries are:

• High in vitamin C: There are 6–35 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit, which accounts for up to 60% of the recommended daily intake.
• High in dietary fiber: Elderberries contain 7 grams of fiber per 100 grams of fresh berries, which is over one-quarter of the recommended daily intake.
• A good source of phenolic acids: These compounds are powerful antioxidants that can help reduce damage from oxidative stress in the body.
• A good source of flavonols: Elderberry contains the antioxidant flavonols quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin. The flowers contain up to 10 times more flavonols than the berries.
• Rich in anthocyanins: These compounds give the fruit its characteristic dark black-purple color and are a strong antioxidant with anti-inflammatory effects.

All of these wonderful benefits are the exact reason why you should try making this Elderberry Syrup.

ARE ELDERBERRIES SAFE?

There have been whispers that elderberries aren’t safe to eat. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There are some fruits out there that have toxic elements.

DO NOT EAT raw elderberries! You can become very ill!!!

With Elderberries the leaves, stems, and roots of the plants, as well as the seeds in the berries, have chemicals which metabolize into cyanide. Eating the raw seeds can cause a build-up of cyanide in the body and make you ill.

The fun fact about elderberries is this toxicity goes away when the berries are cooked. So since they are boiled and strained out in this Instant Pot Elderberry Syrup Recipe you are good to go! They are also safe to eat in pies, baked goods, jams; anything where they are cooked.

Please seek medical advice from your Physician. Also note- that autoimmune warriors should research supplements prior to using.

I hope you enjoy these easy to make elderberry recipes! Please share the love and also check out my other blog stories!

Happy healing vibes sent!!! xo Christy

https://www.chasingthesunshineblog.com/back-to-school-germs-elderberry-to-the-rescue/

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