Syrups

I have had lots of projects going lately, as usual but I have made a couple of yummy syrups. It's getting to be cold and flu season so I made an elderberry syrup, also with echinacea, elder flowers, and coltsfoot. My daughter has been coughing a bit so I added the coltsfoot to stop her cough. The elderberries are the best defense for viruses. They interfere with the virus' ability to reproduce so they can drastically reduce the severity and duration of the flu. Echinacea boosts natural immunity. I am exposed to the public all day long so I need all the help I can get this time of year. Syrups are easy to make. You can just make a strong infusion, strain your herbs then add an equal amount of honey and heat it until the syrup dissolves. I add a shot of brandy to help preserve it longer. Allow it to cool, bottle it, and refrigerate. I reused some Ale-8 bottles for mine. For those of you not in Kentucky, Ale-8 is a ginger ale that is bottled in Winchester, Ky. They use nice green glass bottles. I just cleaned them up really good and added a cork to keep my syrup.

The other syrup I made was a rose syrup. I tastes wonderful and is a tasty treatment for "female" issues. I have never heard of anyone making this before so maybe I've invented something new.

I will probably be making more especially with nettles. It's such a wonderful herb but plain nettle tea is just well.....It doesn't taste bad but it's just not what you think of when you think of herbal tea. I usually combine it with sweeter herbs just to make it more pleasant (roses, red rooibos tea, oat tops, etc). It tastes more like a veggie but it doesn't taste bad. I use them to increase my calcium and iron. Actually my favorite with nettles is actually an herbal vinegar. I use fresh chickweed, dried nettles, yellow dock, comfrey, red raspberry leaf. This I dilute in water and drink. I can tell you, I can feel a BIG difference in my energy levels! This is just from better nutrients.

Susun Weed has great advice on how to prepare herbal remedies. Although I don't agree with her AT ALL on religion, I really seem to be on the same page as her as an herbalist.

Til next time!