Do you need a little extra help fighting off cold and flu bugs? You’re in luck!
Elderberry syrup is known to support your immune system to prevent illness, offer relief from cold, flu and allergy symptoms, and promote an overall faster recovery when you are feeling crummy. It is great for coughs and sore throats. Even gentle and very effective for little ones. Read along to learn how to make homemade elderberry syrup. It’s easy and delicious!
Elderberry syrup is a staple we keep stocked in our fridge during the winter months. In this post I will share the process we use to make elderberry syrup, so you too can feel empowered to whip up a batch at home!
The History of Elderberry
Known in the botanical world as Sambucus Nigra, elderberry has been used by herbalists, in natural medicine, and by traditional cultures for centuries, both early in Europe and later in North America. Native Americans used the plants bark and leaves to make poultices to heal bruises and sprains, and internally to rid themselves of parasites. Now, the bark and leaves are not used as commonly in modern natural medicine due to its content of cyanide. Historically, it had the reputation for being a magical plant, for much more than just its medicinal healing abilities! Elderberry has a plethora of wicked-awesome folklore stories that revolve around its powers.
Safety precautions when using fresh elderberries:
There are several types of elderberries native to North America and Europe. The blue-black varieties are used for medicinal purposes (Sambucus Nigra). The varieties with red berries are not.
Also, while there are no studies showing that elderberry is harmful during pregnancy, there is also a lack of studies to prove that it is safe. According to PubMed, “health care personnel should not advise pregnant women to use echinacea or elderberry against upper respiratory tract infection.”
Finally, please note that consuming other parts of the elderberry plant, such as the stems or leaves, or raw, uncooked, or unripe berries will likely cause an upset stomach and uncomfortable side effects. They contain cyanide. Yet ripe and properly cooked berries are safe to consume.
Why Make Elderberry Syrup?
The most obvious reason is to help you stay healthy, naturally! The University of Michigan explains that elderberry syrup has been shown to have antiviral properties and alleviate symptoms of the common cold. It strengthens your immune system, is full of antioxidants, and has antimicrobial effects. The addition of honey helps to coat your throat and soothe coughs! It’s also reported to help ease the symptoms of seasonal allergies. Using local honey also inoculates you to local pollen, reducing allergy response over time.
“Elderberry juice benefits are attributed to its nutrients, which include vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, carotenoids, amino acids, and flavonoids. Elderberry juice is also very rich in certain essential minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and several anti-oxides.
Cost?
Another benefit of making your own is that it makes using elderberry syrup much more affordable. Elderberry syrup and extract is often times ridiculously expensive if purchased in the supplements section of your local natural foods store, or even online. As little as 4 ounces can cost as much as $25, and even more if you’re looking for high quality organic stuff! The recipe I will provide you below will result in 40 ounces of finished syrup for almost the same cost, using all organic ingredients!
Let’s also not overlook that it is so stinkin’ easy to make, and fun too! Plus, you get control over the quality of all the ingredients used, which is always a bonus in my opinion.
INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES
- 8 cups of fresh, ripe, washed, organic elderberries OR 4 cup dried, organic elderberries – we like this one. One bag is plenty to make this recipe.
- Ginger powder Or Raw organic ginger root
- Cloves, whole dried or ground powder
- Honey, 16-24 ounces (honey is best for immunity though you could sub with agave or maple syrup)
- Cinnamon, ground or sticks
- Optional: star anise
- Water
- Either cheese cloth or a nut milk bag to strain the berries
- Air-tight glass storage containers for the finished elderberry syrup
Tip: Freeze your fresh berries
If you freeze your berries after picking them, they will be easier to pull or shake off of the steams.
Step 1: Combine Elderberries & Water
Fresh berry variation: If you’re fortunate enough to have fresh elderberries available, use 8 cups of berries and just 1 cup of water. The juice in the berries will make up for the little amount of water added!
Dried berry variation: In a large pot or saucepan, combine 4 cups dried elderberries with 8 cups of water. Note the height of liquid in the pan.
Step 2: Add Spices
Turn the stove on a medium-low heat, enough to simmer the mixture but not boil. Once the mixture has begun to heat up, stir in:
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder OR 2 whole cinnamon sticks
- ½ teaspoon of cloves (ground or whole)
- 2 heaping tablespoons of powdered Or freshly grated raw ginger
- Optional: 2-3 whole star anise
Step 3: Simmer
Fresh elderberry variation: Simmer the berries until they’re soft and strain out the pulp, as shown below. Return the liquid to the pan and continue to simmer until the original amount is reduced by about one-half.
During this time, stir on occasion. Using a large flat wood spoon, I like to press the elderberries against the side of the pot as I stir. This helps to squeeze out all the good juices we’re after!
Dried elderberry variation: Continue to simmer until the liquid has reduced to about half of the original volume. This could take only 30 minutes, or up to an hour or two, depending on how vigorous a simmer you set your stove to. We were not in a hurry so we went for slow-and-steady. As the berries soften and the water reduces, the elderberry juice becomes more concentrated
Step 4: Strain
Once the liquid reduces to about half of the original volume, it is time to strain! Allow the elderberry mixture to cool slightly before proceeding, but not totally. You don’t want to burn yourself here, but want to keep the liquid warm – to be able to dissolve the honey later.
To strain the elderberries, we set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl OR strainer lined with either a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, set on top of a mixing bowl.
Gently pour some of the mixture into the strainer. I say some of the mixture because I found it helpful to add a little at time, pressing the berries down into the strainer and cheese cloth with the wooden spoon as we went. This helped to extract as much of the precious juice as possible. Continue this until all you have left in the strainer is fairly dry berry pulp, with a nice bowl of elderberry juice below.
Step 6: Honey
It is time to add honey. Your juice is likely still a bit warm, so you should be able to stir in the honey without needing to heat anything further. Heating honey can destroy its beneficial properties. Using a whisk works really well for us!
Most recipes say to add an equal amount of honey to the volume you have in juice. Yes, that does seem like a ton of honey! While honey certainly has its own beneficial healing properties, it is particularly important in this recipe because the sugar content acts as a preservative for the syrup. It is called Elderberry Syrup, after all.
I am a bit sugar-shy. So we opted to use just about ¾ the amount of honey (16 oz) instead of matching the 24 ounces of juice we had. It should still be plenty to preserve it.
If you use the full amount of honey, the syrup will stay good for 3 months in the fridge! To extend the shelf-life even longer, some folks add a few glugs of liquor like vodka, whiskey, or brandy as an extra preservative. Half a cup of liquor for this size batch of elderberry syrup will do the job just fine.
Vegan options:
If you choose to not use honey, simply substitute the called-for amount with coconut sugar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or agave instead!
Step 7: Bottle and Store
Put your fabulous new syrup into some mason jars, or what ever container you want to use, and store them in the refrigerator. Use within about 12 weeks. That is, unless you added alcohol – which helps it last a bit longer. As long as your homemade elderberry syrup doesn’t develop mold, an off odor or flavor, it is likely still good and safe to consume after 12 weeks.
Step 8: Enjoy Good Health!
Take one teaspoon one to three times per day. We’ll generally sip down just one teaspoon per day as a preventative measure, for example, if we know some crud is going around our workplace. Then if we feel something coming on, we’ll up our dose to 2 or 3 times per day.
Elderberry works to inhibit viral replication, so it is best to take it as the very first symptoms of illness appear, or soon after you’re around someone who is sick.
How to Make Elderberry Syrup from Fresh Elderberries
Ingredients
- 8 cups of fresh elderberries OR 4 cups dried organic elderberries
- 2 tbsp freshly grated raw ginger OR powdered ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon OR 2 whole cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 tsp cloves ground or whole
- 1 cup water OR 8 cups water if using dried berries
- 16-24 ounces honey
Instructions
- Add 1 cups of water and 8 cups of fresh elderberries (or 4 cups fresh berries and 1 cup water) to a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat.
- Once simmering, add cinnamon, clove, and ginger and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until the liquid is reduced by half.
Once reduced by half the original volume, using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth perched over a bowl, strain the mixture, using a spoon (and hands) to press the berries to extract as much juice as possible.
Add the extracted elderberry juice back into the saucepan with the called-for honey, using a whisk to thoroughly combine. If needed, created a warm water bath to lightly heat and soften honey, but avoid microwaving or boiling honey!
Optional: Add a splash (up to half a cup) of your liquor of choice, as an extra preservative.
Pour the elderberry syrup into jars or bottles, and refrigerate. Without liquor, it should stay fresh for about 12 weeks. It is safe to use until mold develops!
Thank you for your postReally thank you! Great