I picked this little recipe up many a year ago now. I take one teaspoon every day throughout Winter and it seems to keep colds and flu away.

For a small batch, use:

• 500 g ripe elderberries, removed from the stalks
• 750 ml water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4–6 cloves
• 2–3 cm fresh ginger, sliced
• 250–350 g honey
• Optional: strip of lemon or orange peel

1. Prepare the berries
Pick only fully ripe, dark purple/black elderberries. Remove as much stalk and leaf material as possible — running a fork through the bunches makes this much quicker. Wash them.

2. Cook them thoroughly
Put the elderberries, water, cinnamon, cloves and ginger into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for around 30–40 minutes, until the berries are very soft and the liquid has reduced.

This cooking stage is important. Don’t eat raw or undercooked elderberries, and don’t use the leaves, stems or unripe green berries; they contain cyanogenic compounds that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

3. Strain
Pour through a fine sieve or muslin and press the cooked berries to extract the juice. Discard the solids.

4. Cool before adding honey
Allow the liquid to cool until it’s warm rather than piping hot, then stir in 250–350 g honey, depending on how sweet and syrupy you’d like it.

5. Bottle and refrigerate
Pour into clean, sterilised bottles or jars and keep in the fridge. I’d treat this as a fresh preparation rather than a shelf-stable preserve. You can also freeze portions — an ice-cube tray is brilliant for this.