Wild anti-viral

Descended as I am, surely, from a long line of squirrels, come September I can't resist raiding the wild larder. My jam and jelly laden shelves are a sight for sore eyes as well as a remedy for sore throats. Someone asked me recently which was the oldest  jar and I had to admit it was Apricot Jam 1985. (It tastes perfectly fine, just a bit solid. I keep it now for sentimental reasons rather that for eating.)

2020 being what it is I decided to make some elderberry rob, a very traditional  cordial reputed to be the best medicine for coughs and cold, sore throats and flu. (The word 'rob derives from the Arabic for a fruit syrup.) Recent research has confirmed that elderberries are indeed effective against influenza in both its early and its established stages. See
http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/elderberries-influenza-virus-07145.html

Elderberries are not abundant on the coast hereabouts so I boosted what I could find with blackberries and wild apples, cooking them all together until soft. Then I poured it all  into a jelly bag which hangs like a purple udder in the corner of the kitchen to strain off the juice (extra) Boiled again with sugar it will be bottled up to provide an extra winter safety net along  with the face masks and hand sanitizers. 

 (All the foragers are at it this year just as children were sent out to collect rosehips for Vitamin C in World War 2.  Wildlife may be feeling the pinch.)