Do you often buy strawberries, gooseberries, blackberries, and raspberries in the grocery store? We all love to have a bowl full of berries, and the burst of flavor is what we enjoy. However, few people buy elderberries because you can’t eat them raw.
However, there are quite a few elderberry recipes you can try. The best part is elderberry has many health benefits you can undoubtedly benefit from. If you don’t grab elderberries from the aisle, it’s your sign to stock up on them. Here are a few elderberry recipes you should try. Dive in!
Easy Elderberry Recipes You Must Try!
Elderberry has the most health benefits amongst all the berries, yet people don’t have it that much. The best elderberry with vitamin C and zinc can make your immunity stronger. If you don’t bring elderberries home often, you must start buying them. Here are some elderberry recipes you will love and appreciate. Let’s begin:
1. Elderberry Soda
You can make elderberry soda at home very easily. It has quite a lot of benefits for digestion and also helps in improving gut health. The process of making it can be a week-long, but you can make it in large batches and enjoy it for many days. Here are the ingredients you need:
- Two cups of elderberry
- Four cups of water
- Ginger root
- Cinnamon stick
- One cup of sugar/ honey/ maple syrup
Combine elderberries, ginger, cinnamon stick, and water in a saucepan. Heat everything together and bring it to a boil. Let the mixture boil for at least 15 minutes until the elderberries are soft. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, and then add the sweetener of your choice.
Use a cheesecloth to strain the mixture and press gently to get all the liquid out. Throw the pulp away and cover the lid with a muslin cloth and a rubber band. Keep the glass jar in the dark place and leave it to ferment. Let the liquid ferment and bubble for three to four days.
You can stir the liquid three to four times a day while it ferments. Transfer the liquid into a glass jar and put a lid on. You can refrigerate the drink for at least three weeks and enjoy it. It is a healthy fizzy drink you can enjoy now and then.
2. Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry syrup tastes delicious, but most people have it to boost their immunity. We all know about benefits of elderberry, but its syrup can also helps improve your health. The syrup comes in handy when winter is approaching and you are about to have a cough attack. After a viral infection, people have at least four teaspoons of elderberry syrup daily. If you are interested in the recipe, you need the following ingredients:
- 2 parts elderberry
- 4 parts water
- 1 part maple syrup
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Quarter crushed ginger
- Half teaspoon salt
The process of making the syrup is pretty straightforward. You have to take a saucepan and add all the ingredients to it except for the maple syrup. Make sure to boil the ingredients for 10 minutes and let it simmer until half of the water is left.
Let the liquid cool down for a few minutes before straining it. You can either use a strainer or a cheesecloth to strain the liquid. Use a wooden spoon to strain out the liquid properly. Store the syrup in a glass jar; ensure the lid is airtight. You can use the syrup for over a month and sometimes more.
3. Elderberry Icing
Plain vanilla cream icing can get boring sometimes. If you like to try different flavors, you can try elderberry filling. It is easy to make elderberry icing; you need only four to five ingredients. If you have cream puff lying around the house, you can make the icing using the following ingredients:
- One cup elderberry
- One cup of vanilla sugar
- Half cup whipped cream
- Half teaspoon cornstarch
The process of making the elderberry icing is quite simple. You must add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix everything. Fold everything together until every ingredient is merged in properly and transferred into a piping bag. You can either ice a cake with it or fill cream puffs. It tastes very delicious and different from regular icing.
Final Verdict
Elderberry in its raw form is not enjoyable, but you can undoubtedly make the best recipes using it. You can make syrup, jam, icing, drink, etc. The recipes we shared above are quite easy to make and taste delicious. Do try them out!
