Take some Rye Leaven, and break it small into some warm water, let it be a sowre one, for that is best; about two ounces or more.

Then take a bushel of Elder Berries, beaten small, and put them into an earthen crock; mix them very well with the Leaven, and let it stand one day near the fire (or in a warm place); then put in a little yeast, and stir it well together to make it rise.

Let it stand this way for ten days covered, and sometimes stir it; then distill it in an Alembeck. Keep the first water by itself, and so the second, and the third will be good vinegar, if afterward you color it with some of the berries.

Distill it with a slow fire, and do not fill the still too full.

This water is excellent for the stomach.

Please Read: This is an herbal concoction from an old cookbook c. 1672. Elderberries are still being used in holistic medicine today, and so this recipe is being reprinted here for reference and its historical value only and is not being recommended for actual use. It is reputed to have properties which are beneficial against influenza. Excerpted from Project Gutenberg's "The Queen-Like Closet".