Kim and my friend Dani told me how to make a healthy little elixir to give the family to get them and/or keep them well.
Find elderberries. As many as you can-or want. You kind of need a lot. By a lot I mean we picked about 5 gallons of berries-on the stem- and got 5 pints of juice.
Wash them- no soap, just water. Pluck them off their stems with a fork. This is definitely the most time consuming part for me. Wash them again.
Toss em in a pot with a little water. Cook the juice out. Squish em with a squisher- I used a potato masher. Squeeze em through cheese cloth- this part is really messy.
Add sugar to the juice to a taste to your liking. I make my family suffer the bitter taste a bit because I am not a huge fan of sugar. I have also sweetened with honey which I felt much better about.
At this point it you should have pretty hot stuff. I bring the heat back up to almost boiling just so it is ready for the jars. Your jars should clean and hot. I wash mine in the dishwasher just before using.
Fill your jars to 1/4 inch from the top. Clean rim with moist, clean washcloth. Put clean, new jar lids on. Turn jars upside down for about 10 minutes. Turn jars right side up and wait for the pinging sound of the jars sealing. Once the jars are sealed, I suggest you store them in a cool, dark place until you need them.
For information about the healing properties of Elderberries, see this (and many, many others) web site:
http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-elderberry.html
ALSO, Heidi Says-
+You can buy elderberry products at your local health food store for a lot of money! This is FREEEEEEEE!
+I have found there to be a residual smell on my hands when picking and plucking the berries. If you want to avoid this I recommend wearing rubber gloves when you are handling the berries and stems.
