Simpler Elderberry Syrup Recipe

summerthyme

Administrator
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Guys... I know that some have had trouble figuring out my Elderberry Syrup recipe as I posted it over the years. I think this will be easier for most. If you've ever made jam or jelly, you CAN make this in well under an hour! It IS that easy. Heck, if you've ever followed a recipe of any kind, you can make this!

If you have any questions, ASK!!

Summerthyme

(if you're starting with dried berries, to get "juice", put 1 cup of berries in a quart jar and pour 2 cups of boiling water over them. If they soak it up, add a bit more. Stash in the fridge or a cool, dark place for 24-48 hours. Then strain, and squeeze every bit of liquid you can out- you can twist the berries in a muslin towel and get most of it) You'll need three "jars" of the stuff to get enough for 7 cups. )

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

7 cups elderberry juice
8 ¾ cups honey
3 cups 80 proof vodka


Warm the elderberry juice to “hot, but not boiling” temp… between 150 and 180°F should be plenty. Stir in the honey and stir until it’s completely dissolved and blended.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the vodka.

Pour into sterile jars or bottles (sterilize them by boiling for 5-10 minutes in boiling water, then let drip dry upside down until filling)

Cap and LABEL. Store in a cool DARK place (or bottle in dark brown glass)

Standard dose for adults would be:

Prophylaxis (prevention) 1 tablespoon 2x a day. If there is active flu in your office or family, double that, or take more often.

Treatment: 1-2 tablespoons every 3-4 hours

Children under 12: half the adult dose

Toddlers and infants: Talk to your doctor! But, lacking that, 1 tsp at similar intervals to the adult dose should be adequate.

There is NO way to overdose on this! Put it in juice, jello, pour it over ice cream- any way you can get the kids to take it is fine.

Alternatives:
If you do not want to use any alcohol in the syrup, use
7 cups elderberry juice
14 cups honey

Proceed as above, ignoring the reference to the vodka.

If you don’t want to use honey (probably best to NOT use it for babies under 1 year)


7 cups elderberry juice
11 ½ cups sugar
 

Deena in GA

Administrator
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Summerthyme, I have a bag of dried elderberries that I bought years ago, possibly 4-5 years ago. Are they still worth using or do I need to find some fresh ones? TIA!
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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Deena... they should be fine. If there's no sign of mold and they still smell "stinky" (LOL!), I'd use them.

Summerthyme
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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UC.... I have used canned "wine juice base" before and found it to make an effective syrup. So I don't see why you couldn't use bottled juice...

Summerthyme
 

Deemy

Veteran Member
I use my canned elderberry juice with no problem. Also, if we are drinking it in the winter no but cold or flu I mix half and half with my own canned grape juice for morning drink
 

bluefire

Senior Member
Thanks for the simplified recipe, Summerthyme. As others have said, I always appreciate your sound advice. You're a real blessing to this board.

Question: Do you have any idea what quantity or dried elderberries I'd need to get to be sufficient for your recipe? Actually, what I'd really need to know is approx. weight, for ordering purposes. I know weight can vary, depending on moisture content of the berries; however, I'm just looking for a very rough estimate.
 
Thanks for the simplified recipe, Summerthyme. As others have said, I always appreciate your sound advice. You're a real blessing to this board.

Question: Do you have any idea what quantity or dried elderberries I'd need to get to be sufficient for your recipe? Actually, what I'd really need to know is approx. weight, for ordering purposes. I know weight can vary, depending on moisture content of the berries; however, I'm just looking for a very rough estimate.

Ditto!
 

Weft and Warp

Senior Member
Summerthyme--What role does the vodka play in this syrup? Is it neccessary? Can we get by without using alcohol and still have an effective syrup?
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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OK... I weighed some berries! 1 cup averages 1/4 pound, of the dried berries I have on hand (commercial source)

The vodka is a preservative... if you want to be able to store the syrup for more than a year or two max, it's very helpful.

But, if you can't use it.. follow the amounts of honey and juice or sugar and juice at the bottom of my post above. That creates a SATURATED syrup, which will store at cool room temp (as long as it's sealed) in a dark place for up to 2 years.

If you use the recipe WITHOUT the alcohol, refrigerate it after you open a bottle (or use it up within a few days)
Summerthyme
 

Weft and Warp

Senior Member
Thanks, Summerthyme! I have several quarts of juice in my freezer. I make elderberry jelly every year, and this juice was the excess from canning season--(I had too much jelly made at the time and ran out of canning jars).

I was also wondering if elderberry jelly would work the same as this elderberry syrup? (Elderberry jelly is basically just elderberry juice, sugar, and some pectin.)
 

adgal

Veteran Member
I just went to the site that someone posted this week-end for dried elderberries. When I looked over the week-end - no problems. Today they are sold out. I went to several other sites and found that they were sold out too. I finally found one: www.mountainroseherbs.com

that still had them. So, if you are thinking about it - don't delay too much longer!
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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Thanks, Summerthyme! I have several quarts of juice in my freezer. I make elderberry jelly every year, and this juice was the excess from canning season--(I had too much jelly made at the time and ran out of canning jars).

I was also wondering if elderberry jelly would work the same as this elderberry syrup?

It might very well. My biggest concern would be the boiling time.. there seem to be conflicting opinions about how much heat affects the actives.

That's one main reason I don't say to boil the juice in my "recipe" above. Simple caution, more than anything. (but given the fact that canned juice DOES seem to work, although it's not boiled for long... obviously we don't really know)

SUmmerthyme
 

JIL3

Senior Member
Thanks Summerthyme, my family and I have benefited from your posts over the years.
I just ordered some elderberries and will make some syrup.

I have several quart mason jars of the elderberry/vodka mix that I made in 2006.
I forgot to strain out the berries and have had them stored in a dark closet.
Do you think they are still good?
 

msswv123

Veteran Member
Here's a recipe someone passed on to me that might come in handy..Our local health food store carries dried elderberries in bulk~.blessings T

Homemade Pedialyte
  • 1 quart sterile water
  • 1TBSP sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • can flavor with kool-aid granules
Keep refrigerated and use within a couple of days.
 
My local health food store sells them bulk for $0.87/oz.

I'm going to try this recipe because my family is large and I would spend a fortune buying bottles of Sambucol!
 

Tundra Gypsy

Veteran Member
I hope this thread is still around when I get my printer hooked back up in a couple of days to re-print the recipe.

Many thanks for this timely remedy.
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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Thanks Summerthyme, my family and I have benefited from your posts over the years.
I just ordered some elderberries and will make some syrup.

I have several quart mason jars of the elderberry/vodka mix that I made in 2006.
I forgot to strain out the berries and have had them stored in a dark closet.
Do you think they are still good?

They should be. If the vodka soaked the berries, and there isn't any hint of mold on top (sometimes herb material can float, but generally, the alcohol prevents any problems)... it's fine.

Going to be some interesting stuff to swallow, I suspect, though.

Summerthyme
 

Fisher

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Summerthyme,

We have 'red elderberries' growing wild all over south central Alaska. In fact I've got several bushes on my property.

Is this same kind of elderberry?

Here is a photo of an Alaska elderberry bush.

Thanks,

Fisher
 

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Amberglass

Inactive
ST.... I made the dried elderberry/vodka mix. I strained it and it has been in a dark rarely used refrigerator since about 2006.....I have 3 bottles.

Can I just add honey now? What do you suggest I do with it to sweeten it, so my teens will drink it? I am guessing add the honey at a warm temp and refrigerate again...??

I just looked at it...it looks great, almost like a full bodied wine.

It looks like a bunch of us made it at the same time.:lol:

Tia...
 

cleobc

Veteran Member
I have been reading these posts about elderberries but have never seen an elderberry bush in my life...until today. Costco had dozens of Sambucus Nigra (black elderberry) bushes for sale with the other shrubs. I bought one for the heck of it, though it probably won't bear berries until fall--if it will even live in our climate. It just seemed too coincidental so I had to get one.

Does anyone know if this is the right kind of elderberry?

If you're interested in getting a bush, check your Costco. I'm in northern Nevada and found them at the Carson City store.
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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NOW I'm getting a tinfoil feeling!!

seriously... ELDERBERRIES?? At Costco??

I've seen grapes, etc at Sam's Club. But I don't believe I've ever seen a mainstream source for elderberries!!!

And yes, it's the precisely right strain for medicine. Weird.

Summerthyme
 

mom2many

Veteran Member
ST,

The health food store here has the elderberry juice in a concentrate, if I'd rehydrate it with our well water do you think it would be okay or should I have them try to order me some elderberry juice not concentrated?
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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ST,

The health food store here has the elderberry juice in a concentrate, if I'd rehydrate it with our well water do you think it would be okay or should I have them try to order me some elderberry juice not concentrated?


Sorry,,, just saw this. I honestly don't know. I'd like to know what process they use to "concentrate" it. I doubt they boil it off... but I just don't know.

I'd probably make a small batch with it, just to have on hand, and order some regular juice or dried berries, unless you can find that they use something like reverse osmosis to concentrate it, because of the potential (no more than that) for excess heating to reduce it's effectiveness.

Sorry I can't be more specific...

Summerthyme
 

Fleataxi

Deceased
Summerthyme: Several posters asked about using dried berries - I thought you had to have fresh berries to make Elderberry juice?

Fleataxi
 

Wadi66

Inactive
Summerthyme,

How much does 1 cup of dried elderberries weigh? Or.... how much syrup does a pound make?? We have a large family (so far 12 grandchildren) so I want to have plenty on hand.

Wadi
 

baygoldbug

Inactive
In Rex Jackson's thread, Dr. Henry Niman, a flu expert states:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=331005

"....... The following substances may be best to avoid during a H5N1 pandemic

Elderberry juice (Sambucal) - AVOID
- Increases production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. This substance is very effective against the common flu but may not be desirable for the H5N1 virus. Increases in these cytokines may trigger a lethal cytokine storm. (Isr Med Journal2002 Nov;4:944-6)


**** Which is it?
Is Sambucal (Elderberry) Good or Bad for swine/avian flu? ****

- BGB

.
 

Wadi66

Inactive
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]**** Which is it?
Is Sambucal (Elderberry) Good or Bad for swine/avian flu? ****
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Yes I would like to know also. After posting my question I went on to read another thread and read where its best to avoid elderberry. Now which is it? I'd certainly hate to give my loved ones something that would be harmful to them.[/FONT]
 
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