Last night I taught a class at Oakhurst Community Garden about "making your own medicine".  This is one of the medicines that we tasted.  Remember, all food is medicine.

Berry Betterment Cordial (AKA Elixir)

1 C. bilberries (or blue berries)

1 C. elderberries

You can also use berry concentrate (unsweetened).  Dark cherry is really good.

2 quarts water

Put berries into a sauce pan with the water.  Bring to a boil and then simmer until the water is reduced by half.  Strain through a tightly woven sieve so that you can mash the berries, extracting the pulp without skins or seeds.  Discard the herbs…. keep the liquid.

Mix in 1/2 c.  honey while the juice is still warm.  Add any concentrated juice that you may want to use. You can do this at this point or previously when you are cooking the berries.

Brandy:  Add 1 C. per one quart of juice.  This will allow you to keep it indefinitely without refrigeration.

I added Hawthorne berries (Crataegus laevigata) to the mixture after it was completed and let it sit another 6 weeks.  You could also tincture the Hawthorne berries ahead of time and add the tincture to the juice in place of part of the brandy.  Enjoy!  This would be served after dinner… about 1/8 c. each day.  This mixture supports heart health.

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