Home Herbalism: Elderberry for Colds, Flus and Frightful Coughs
In this edition of Home Herbalism, Joseph discusses the magnificent medicinal properties of the beloved elderberry, a natural remedy for colds, flus and coughs. Enjoy a delicious swig of Joseph’s elderberry syrup that you can make at home.
We’ve tipped into September, Labour Day weekend is over, travellers are returning, children heading back to school, and students once again converging on college towns and campuses. The first red and yellow leaves can be seen here and there amongst the tired looking foliage; summer is clearly at an end. Personally, I say good riddance: autumn, followed closely by winter, is my favourite season. Admittedly, I’m in the minority. Lately, though, this time of year has been accompanied by anxiety about the health of certain loved ones, and before things kick off this year, it seems important to write a series on dealing with respiratory illness. Minor sniffles can be prevented from becoming rattling chest coughs, bronchitis, and pneumonia, and they should be. No one with a cupboard full of ginger, garlic, spices, and herbs should be laid low for a month by bronchitis.
So, what is it about this time of year? Fluctuations in weather and temperature weaken immunity, and the sudden movement of people, carrying strains of common ailments from the four corners of the world, brings exposure to new viruses at the worst possible time. Catching
something seems almost inevitable. For the vulnerable - and those who care about them - autumn, winter, and early spring can be worrying times, and preventing, minimising and recovering from respiratory illness can be tedious preoccupations. Bronchitis and pneumonia can easily develop, given the right conditions. However, proper prevention and early care can make an enormous difference in the number, duration, and severity of illnesses. Enter,
the herbalist.
Herbal medicine is and has always been a medicine of time and place. The best medicines are those you have on hand and with which you are most familiar: kitchen cupboard medicinals, familiar wild plants, easily available foods, and helpful tipples you have made yourself. Early intervention is the most important thing. Make sure you take proper precautions, and that you
begin treatment at the first sign of infection, before you are even sure it is coming. Do not wait until your nose and eyes are streaming to do something. Recommendations include medicinal preparations you can make in advance; medicinal herbs to have on hand, including a short description of how and when to use the herbs, with dosages; other things, such as steams, that can help when you or someone you are looking after is ill; recipes for medicinal foods to eat during illness; and some commercially available products that, if you can find them, may be extremely useful should you or someone you are looking after fall ill.
And now, without further ado,
Home Herbalism: Colds, Flus & Frightful Coughs, Article One.
While the season holds, let’s talk elderberries. Elderberry is an ancient medicine, known and used since time immemorial throughout its range, in both the Old and New Worlds. It is a delicious health giving powerhouse, full of vitamins and other compounds that bolster the immune system. Which is perfect timing, really. Elderberry is a wonderful autumn and winter tonic, fortuitously provided right now in glorious abundance throughout the northern world.
A little about elderberries and how to use them
We are talking about the fruits of the elder tree, Sambucus nigra, a small tree that seldom reaches more than 30ft/9m in height, and is often a great deal shorter. It bears flowers and then fruits on very distinctive fan or hand-like heads; the fruits are the size of ball bearings or very small peas, and are purplish black in colour. There are many species bearing fruits of various colours, but until you are familiar with your local trees, stick to the black-purple ones. As with all wild foods, the first time, go elderberry picking with someone who knows them and learn how to ID the plant with certainty. With elder, this is not difficult. Failing this, you can take detailed photos of the leaves, tree itself from a distance, and the fruiting heads, for identification at home, before using the fruits. This is bad practice with wild foods in general, but elder is distinctive enough that you can get away with it. Do your own research using botanical lists on the internet, books, and photos, and you can ask Joseph for plant ID help or check out the plant ID group on Facebook.
When harvesting elderberries, the best technique I have found for picking is to twist and snap the whole heads off the branches just at the natural join (you will see on the trees what I mean), and separate the berries later. This also gives hapless insects a chance to escape. Run the heads through the tines of a fork to quickly remove the berries, pick them over to remove any bits of stalk that you missed, and set to your recipe*. Or, buy them dried and skip the faffing.
Unless you are using the berries in small medicinal doses as professional herbalists do, you will need to cook them before consuming or they will cause considerable gastric distress. Elderberries have a strong blackcurrant-like flavour and are enjoyed best by most people when combined with other fruits, like apples, blackberries, and especially blueberries. Things into which elderberries can be put include jams and jellies, wines and meads, desserts - crisps and crumbles, baked goods - think muffins and scones, chutneys, and sauces for poultry pork and game.
Beverages can be made with them too: rich spiced mulled wine-like drinks, cordials, syrups, and infused liqueurs. The dried berries can be used for most things the fresh ones can, and they go well into dishes in place of currants or raisins (Tip: rehydrate in brandy or water first or they are a bit hard). You can even dry your own, if you have the set-up for it. And should you go berrying and find yourself with an over-abundance, de-stem the berries as described and freeze them for use later in the season. However when you use them, think of them not just as medicine and not just as a tasty somewhat novel ingredient, but as both. They are a medicinal food. Enjoy a daily glass of elderberry wine with a smug smile on your face, and have a spoonful of blue-and-elderberry jam right out of the jar if you feel sneezy. It’s ok to enjoy your medicine.
Medicinal Use of Elderberry
These berries are extraordinarily rich in vitamin C and the extremely dark pigments preserve the vitamin though cooking, so you will still get the benefit. They also contain many flavonoids and other compounds that have immune enhancing properties. The berries are expectorant and soothing to the mucus membranes, and therefore useful for coughs and sore throats. Use elderberries as a tonic to prevent infection, and with anti-infectives in the early stages of illness, as a secondary measure. During recovery, the berries can be used to aid tissue repairs where nasal and respiratory membranes have been weakened by infection, and where there is lingering mucus in the chest. They are especially helpful when the person cannot shake the effects of a cold or flu, feels rundown, catches numerous subsequent colds, or has a lingering cough. Use after bronchitis or pneumonia to rebuild respiratory tissue and to boost vitality.
Dosage: as a supplement for children 2-4 teaspoons full daily; for adults 2-4 tablespoons full daily, the higher dosage for very vulnerable people. For recovery, 3-4 spoonfuls daily for up to six weeks, depending upon the severity of the illness. A week for average colds, longer for bad ones, and for serious bronchitis and pneumonia, four to six weeks.
The recipe for Elderberry Syrup provided below is very flexible. It will produce just that - a syrup, for use both as a daily supplement through the cold months and as a medicine to use when sickness strikes. Add less honey - a half cup or so, according to taste - to make a delicious spiced beverage, best served warm, perhaps with a splash of brandy. If you are lucky enough to have enough berries, you can save this beverage for use through the winter.
Elderberry Syrup
Enjoy the amazing benefits of elderberry with this delicious syrup you can make at home.
For those with sugar sensitivities, agave syrup or another low GI liquid sweetener can be used, glycerine can be substituted (Available from American health food shops and well-stocked druggists, and well-stocked UK chemists or herbal supply companies.) or the syrup can be omitted altogether and a little liquid stevia (available in the US at Trader Joe’s, in the UK in some health food shops, and everywhere online.) added to the boiled fruit for sweetness. This recipe can easily be scaled up and the quantities of spices changed according to personal taste.
~ Makes about a quart/litre. 1 American cup (c.) is equal to about 225ml. Use a teacup. ~
Ingredients
2 c. Fresh elderberries or 1 c. Dried
4 c. Water
6 whole cloves
2 inches Ginger Root, cut into thin coins or matchsticks
2 cinnamon sticks
2 c. Honey, preferably raw
Method
If using fresh berries, strip them from the heads by running them through the tines of a fork. Combine all ingredients except the honey in a pan and simmer gently for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool to warm. Strain well, add the honey, and stir to combine. Jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to three months.
If you are using normal honey rather than raw, the honey can be added to the hot mixture, the whole brought to the boil, and then it can be canned. Simply heat the canning jars or bottles and their lids in the oven at 250F/110C for 15 minutes, pour in the boiling liquid, and seal. You can still keep it in the refrigerator if you like; it will keep a great deal longer than the first method, perhaps 6 months or more. If you keep the canned syrup in the cupboard, let it stay a month before using and discard if the top blows.
Elderberry syrup is the first item for you to stock your herbal arsenal against winter illness. It is delicious, and makes a great introduction to home herbalism. The second article will be coming along shortly, so check back often for more on Home Herbalism: Colds, Flus & Frightful Coughs.
* When picking and collecting wild foods, there are several rules to observe, especially as a novice:
Know what you are picking. If there is any doubt in your mind, keep walking. When new to an area or new to foraging, do some research before heading out, and double check when you get home.
Do not over-pick from an area. Do not strip all the berries from the trees,do not take all the flowers, and do not dig or pull up plants when you are not using the roots. There is plenty to share, leave it for wildlife and next year’s plants. If there isn’t plenty to share, take just a little or move on.
Be courteous to your benefactors: when picking from trees or shrubs, do not harm the plants; do not break branches, climb trees, tear bark, or otherwise injure the plants or creatures that live on them.
Do not gather plants that are not healthy. Anything that is looking sickly - aside from typical autumn die-back consistent with what you have seen in your region; growing within 50ft/15m of a road; or near farmland or parkland that is sprayed with pesticides or herbicides, should be left alone.
Gathering medicines and foods from wild places is your birthright. Enjoy what you are doing, it is as primal and human an activity as sitting around a campfire.