After you have picked your berries, remove any unripe ones. One way of doing this is to put berries into a bowl of water. Any green ones will rise to the top and can be picked out. Elderberries are not eaten unripe or in their raw form as their seed can cause digestive upset. Strip berries from stems using a fork. Add half the volume of water and allow to simmer, stirring for 20 minutes or so. Allow to cool then squeeze the juice through muslin or a fruit press. Measure this juice, and for every 500 ml of juice, add 250g of muscovado sugar, a stick of cinnamon, some cloves and some grated fresh ginger root. Boil this mixture for another 10 minutes. Have your sterilised glass bottles ready and when the liquid has cooled, bottle up and cap tightly, preferably with a plastic seal. This syrup should keep for a couple of years, it’s unlikely you will have it that long. Use 1 teaspoon (with hot water) each eay throughout the winter months to help prevent colds and flu. If you do catch something, take a teaspoon 3 – 4 times daily.
