First off – what does elderberry syrup taste like? If you’ve never tried it, I’d compare to children’s Glühwein made from grape juice, or blackberry juice. This honey version is quite sweet and does have flavour notes from the honey, lemon, ginger, and cinnamon. It tastes like autumn and it’s delicious.
Elderberries are bitter and just a touch poisonous raw, but delicious cooked! Don’t eat them before cooking and try to keep the stems out of your mix. As always with any gathered foods, don’t pick and consume them unless you’re completely sure what they are, that they’re not exposed to anything dangerous in the area around, and that you’re not allergic.
This elderberry syrup makes good use of vitamin rich elderberries alongside ginger, honey, and lemon, for a sweet tonic for the colder months. Use it like cough syrup if you’re under the weather (1-2 tablespoons every few hours), take a tablespoon once daily (for adults) if not, or try mixing with sparkling water for a refreshing drink.
This is a partner recipe to my honey elderflower cordial, using berries from the same trees.
Table of Contents hide
Ingredients
Step by Step
Recipe Notes
Storing Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry For Colds
More Gathered Food Recipes
Honey Elderberry Syrup
Ingredients
![Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (1) Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (1)](https://i0.wp.com/www.occasionallyeggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Elderberry-syrup-ingredients.jpg)
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Fresh elderberries: I haven’t tried this with dried elderberries, but it should work. Use about half the amount of dried fruit and follow the other directions as written. Frozen can be used in the same quantity as fresh.
- Spices: be sure to use fresh ginger and a whole cinnamon stick. additional spices can be very nice – cloves, star anise, cardamom – to make a mulled wine flavour. If that’s what you’re going for, try adding some orange peels or zest to the elderberry mixture when boiling as well.
- Lemon juice: preferably from fresh lemons, unless the bottled juice you have is only lemon juice and no additional preservatives, which will affect the taste.
- Honey: for sweetening and throat-soothing qualities. If you prefer, it is possible to make this with sugar or maple syrup instead of honey, for a vegan syrup. Sugar will have to be dissolved by briefly cooking it with the strained syrup but maple syrup can be used in the same way as honey.
Step by Step
![Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (2) Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (2)](https://i0.wp.com/www.occasionallyeggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Elderberry-syrup-steps-1-to-4.jpg)
Step 1: add the berries, spices, and water to a large pot.
Step 2: cook down for about two hours to reduce by half.
Step 3: strain and press the juice through a sieve.
Step 4: add the lemon juice and honey.
![Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (3) Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (3)](https://i0.wp.com/www.occasionallyeggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Elderberry-syrup-steps-5-and-6.jpg)
Step 5: whisk to combine.
Step 6: cool, bottle, and store.
Recipe Notes
Elderberries are often full of small bugs that you may not want to cook. It helps to spread the berry heads out onto a clean tea towel outdoors for about an hour before beginning on the syrup to give any insects time to move somewhere else.
The berries must be fully ripe. Most of the time this isn’t an issue because unripe berries simply won’t come off the tines, but if there are a number of green berries in your mix, pluck them out. I often have to pick before all of the berries on the tines are fully ripe as the birds pick the ripe ones off individually.
If you’d like, use raw honey for any additional benefits that come with that. The honey isn’t heated with the elderberry mixture. If you accidentally add the honey before simmering, don’t worry – the syrup is still useable, you’ve just cooked the honey and lost any of those potential benefits. It’s still good for a sore throat.
Storing Elderberry Syrup
In my experience, this syrup keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator. Make sure there’s no evidence of mould or an unpleasant smell before using. Make sure the jars are sterilised (in the dishwasher, or using the oven as you would for canning) to extend the shelf life.
I haven’t tried canning it as I don’t want to heat it after the honey is added, and I think it’d need a pressure canner to ensure food safety anyway. You could certainly can it in a water bath and then store in the refrigerator, though.
The syrup can be frozen for up to one year in a sealed container. If freezing, you should be able to get through the colder months with a good supply and simply thaw it in the refrigerator as needed.
Elderberry For Colds
Medicinal usage of elderberries stretches back millennia, and it’s often included in medicines today. I take a tablespoon each day during autumn and winter to soothe a sore throat (especially good as this version uses honey instead of sugar). Some people swear by elderberry syrup preventing colds and a number of other maladies as it’s so high in vitamin C and antioxidants.
There is some peer-reviewed evidence of elderberry being helpful in reducing the duration of cold symptoms, but it needs more research – and though I wouldn’t compare elderberry syrup to doctor-prescribed medicines or preventative shots, it also doesn’t hurt. If nothing else it is nice for a sore throat.
![Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (4) Honey Elderberry Syrup - Occasionally Eggs (4)](https://i0.wp.com/www.occasionallyeggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Honey-Elderberry-Syrup-Elder.jpg)
Newsletter
More Gathered Food Recipes
I’d had big plans to start an ongoing recipe and video series with wild and gathered foods with a friend in Germany last year. Of course, inability to travel due to the pandemic put a stop to that, and unfortunately there’s very little wild food in the Netherlands. Here are some older recipes using nuts, berries, and apples.
Elderflower LemonadeApple Hazelnut Cake
Walnut Energy Bites
Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Blackberry Jam
Crab Apple Butter
If you make thisElderberry Syrupor any othervegetarian autumn recipeson Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along onInstagram,Facebook, andPinterest, purchase theOccasionally Eggs cookbook, orsubscribefor new posts via email.
Yield: 15
Honey Elderberry Syrup
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 2 hours hours
Total Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
5 from 3 votes
Ingredients
Metric – American
- 300 grams fresh elderberries stems removed (berries only)
- 1 litre water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 thumb ginger sliced (about 5cm / 2 in.)
- Juice of a lemon ~3 tablespoons
- 150 grams honey
Instructions
Place the elderberries, water, cinnamon stick, and ginger into a large lidded pot.
300 grams fresh elderberries, 1 litre water, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 thumb ginger
Bring to a low boil over medium heat, covered.
Once the mixture has reached a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the juice down with the lid cracked slightly for one to two hours, or until the amount has reduced by about half.
Once the juice is reduced, remove from the heat. Pour the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve or cheesecloth into a large heatproof bowl.
Press the berries to extract any remaining juice, then discard.
Add the lemon juice and honey to the juice and whisk well to combine.
Juice of a lemon, 150 grams honey
Cool the syrup before bottling in sterilised containers or jars. Refrigerate for up to one month* and freeze for up to a year.
Notes
* This varies based on refrigerator temperature, etc. – if you see any hint of mould or the syrup smells off, toss it. I store one-third of the syrup in the refrigerator and have the rest in the freezer at any given time (so one small bottle in the fridge).
• With ripe elderberries, it’s easy to remove them from the stems using the tines of a fork.
• Make sure there are no stems in the berries, as this can cause bitter syrup, as well as being mildly poisonous. A tiny amount is fine. Wash carefully to remove any dust and bugs before using.
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tbsp Calories: 46kcal Carbohydrates: 12g Protein: 1g Fat: 1g Saturated Fat: 1g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 1g Sodium: 5mg Potassium: 64mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 8g Vitamin A: 121IU Vitamin C: 7mg Calcium: 13mg Iron: 1mg
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
© Alexandra Daum
Course: Autumn, Drinks, Preserves
Cuisine: European
Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian
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by Alexandra Daum
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