I grew up knowing that elderflower (Sambucus nigra) is something very good. My mother used to make us Elderflower syrup which is made of elderflower, sugar lemon and water. It's a sparkling soft drink, kids love it. I love it too but now I only make syrup once a year because you can drink a lot of sugar with it, which is not so healthy.
Elderflower is known to have antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. The dry flower has diuretic and laxative properties but it is mostly used for colds and flu, sinus infections, and other respiratory disturbances. It is also known to be helpful in relieving occasional constipation. It can boost the functioning of the immune system.
Now I'm mostly using the flower for tea. I have a place where I can find relatively clean flowers with minimum of pollution. It's very important where you are picking the flowers. Elderflowers are everywhere (at leas here in Romania) but there is no use of picking polluted flowers. If you can't find a clean place without pollution, you'd better buy the tea from the pharmacy of supermarket. Those should be 100% safe.
How to make an elderflower tea
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon elderflower (3g),
- 250 ml hot water (1 cup).
Pour the hot water on the elderflower, cover it and leave it for 15 min. After 15 min filter it but make sure you don't use a metal filter. metal is not good because of oxidation.
Drink it as hot as you can. It's the best for flue, fever and cough.