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5 from 22 votes

Immune-Boosting Elderberry Syrup and Gummy Bears

Activities to do at home with toddler. Make your own elderberry syrup and gummy bears with your kids.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Cooling Down Time15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • Mesh Strainer
  • Spoon
  • Gummy bear molds and dropper

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 2/3 cup organic dried elderberries
  • 1 tbsp organic ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp organic ground cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey

Instructions

  • Pour water into saucepan along with elderberries, ginger, and cinnamon
  • Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for about 1 hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half.
  • Remove the saucepan from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
  • Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a glass bowl. Make sure the bowl is wider than the strainer to catch all of the liquid coming through.
  • Take a spoon and mash the berries into the strainer. Make sure you squeeze all the juices out as much as you can.
  • Toss the elderberries in your compost.
  • Fill a jar with 3/4 of the liquid. Add honey or maple syrup if you'd like.
  • To make gummy bears. Take the remaining liquid and add two scoops of beef gelatin (find pasture-raised, grass-fed). Alternative: If you want to make this vegan, use agar agar powder instead and follow recommended amounts on the product label.
  • Add honey or maple syrup to gummy bear mixture.
  • Take your gummy bear molds and place on top of small baking sheet or flat board. You will transfer this to the fridge so use something sturdy. The molds are quite flimsy.
  • Carefully use the dropper to transfer the gummy bear mixture into the molds one by one.
  • Place syrup and molds in fridge to harden.
  • Pop out the gummies and place into a glass container for storage in the fridge.

Notes

Kid daily dose: ½ - 1 teaspoon for kids; or 1 gummy bear
Adult daily does: ½ - 1 tablespoon for adults.
 
If you are down with a cold or the flu, take the daily dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.