Traditional nettle syrup is commonly used for blood cleansing, but when combined with mineral water and some ice, it makes a perfectly tasty and refreshing drink.
This syrup is an excellent remedy against rheumatism and arthritis, and as nettle contains a lot of iron, it is highly efficient in fighting anemia as well. Nettle syrup is even recommended to people suffering from asthma and skin problems. It is also believed to prevent respiratory and urinary problems, as well as hair loss.
You don’t always need to dilute it with water; you can simply sprinkle it on your favorite pancakes. Here, we offer you two recipes – the first one is really simple, and the second one is a combination with lemon and honey.
Plain nettle syrup
For this plain nettle syrup you need:
– 1kg young nettle leaves,
– 2.5 liters of water and sugar (500g sugar to every 500ml water).
Preparation:
- Wash and drain the nettle leaves.
- Soak them in water and cook them on medium heat for about an hour.
- Strain then add sugar and stir until completely melted.
- Put the syrup in glass bottles closing them well.
Optionally, you can add black currant leaves to the nettle leaves in a 1: 1 ratio.
Nettle syrup with honey and lemon
If you want to add your nettle syrup a few extra health benefits, you can opt for the second recipe which includes honey and lemon. You will need:
– 400g fresh young nettle leaves,
– juice of 6 lemons,
– 800 g sugar,
– 5 tablespoons honey,
– 1 liter of filtered water.
If you still don’t like the idea of using that much sugar, you can replace some of it with honey in a ratio 300g sugar – 1kg honey. Bear in mind that honey is added to cooled, not boiling syrup. Plus, the nettle syrup prepared in this way has a shorter shelf life.
Preparation:
- Wash and chop the nettle leaves.
- Pour water into a pot adding sugar (for example, 1/2 brown, 1/2 white sugar).
- Boil the mixture while stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 minutes. If foam appears on the surface, remove it with a spoon.
- Put the nettles in a ceramic bowl covering them with the syrup.
- Cover the mixture with a plate pressing it with a heavy glass or jar.
- Leave it for 10 min.
- Then add the lemon juice and honey.
- With your hands, remove the nettles squeezing out the juice.
- If there’s need, strain the syrup.
- Pour the nettle syrup into sterilized bottles, close them and store in a cool, dark place.
It’s recommended to take the nettle juice by mixing ¼ cup syrup with ¾ water. The shelf life of nettle syrup is 6 months.
