It is that time of year again.
The elderberries are ripe. Blue/black berries so heavy they pull the branches down lower so you can reach them, if you can get to them before the birds…
When the Earth is giving it up with such an abundance of harvest, time to honor it with making medicine.
So today, I’d like to share a recipe for a VERY big batch of elderberry syrup!
I don’t have as much of the fresh berries to make this batch, so this recipe uses dried elderberries.
I’ve been making this recipe for a long time and here is my experience. If you wait until you already have the cold or flu, sure it will help you mop up quicker.
HOWEVER! This is the syrup that if I take 5 tablespoons a day the day that I feel the VERY first symptoms of a cold or sore throat coming on… well, it never comes.
I have dozens of this kind of experience: I was about to start catching a cold, took this syrup and wow, now I am not getting sick.
I have dozens of this kind of experience: I was about to start catching a cold, took this syrup and wow, now I am not getting sick.
Even now, it sometimes amazes me, if I feel that first sign of fatigue that is not normal, or the first tickle in my throat, and I JUMP ON IT with this syrup… it doesn’t progress. At this point, with all my students and their kids, I have heard this story hundreds of times now…
Paying attention to the subtle cues that your body gives you when it starts to not feel well. That is an art and one worth developing, because that is the place where herbs can really support you. I am really hammering this message hard around my house right now with my son, who seems to want to ignore every signal his body is giving him.
I seriously sound like a broken record, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…” Can someone please put a nice melody to these words??
You can halve or quarter this recipe, but maybe you want to make a big batch for friends or for gifts. I love having extra to give away.
This syrup contains juniper berries which are contraindicated in pregnancy. You can omit the juniper berries from this recipe if you like.
Ready to make a big batch of syrup?
Elderberries are known for their ability to keep a virus from spreading, juniper berries are incredibly anti-microbial and help keep the lymph and circulation moving. Just chewing on a few juniper berries can help prevent a cold. Echinacea adds its immune support, ginger is a great delivery herb for this formula, and we put in a little yerba santa for the added lung support. If you can’t get the yerba santa, don’t worry about it, it is optional.
Pour it all into a BIG pot.
Simmer it on low.
Once the liquid has simmered down to ½ the original volume, strain the herbs from the liquid.
Pour it into clean jars, stir in honey first.
Take it when you FIRST think you need it!
Also, if you are inspired to grow some elderberry and haven’t heard the tutorial I recorded on growing elderberry, you can listen to here.
Elderberry Juniper Syrup for the Masses
Ingredients
- 4 gallons water
- 2 cups dried elderberries
- 1 cup dried echinacea root
- 1 cup dried juniper berries
- 2 tbsp dried yerba santa (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh grated ginger
- 4 quarts honey
- 1 quart brandy
Instructions
- Put all herbs and water into a pot without a lid on.
- Bring everything to a boil then turn the stove down to the lowest setting and simmer on low.
- Keep the lid off the pot the entire time and let simmer on low heat until liquid is ½ the original volume.
- If you are using a stainless-steel pot, you can kind of eyeball things when the liquid gets to be one half of what you started with. There will be a ring of herb material residue round the inside of the pot that shows where the liquid was when you began. Develop an eye for this, or it can be a hassle to keep pouring things into a measuring cup to see when you finally get to ½ of your original liquid volume.
- Once you have simmered the liquid down to on half the original volume, strain out all the herbs. You started with 4 gallons of water, so you will be simmering it down to 2 gallons of liquid.
- Add in honey.
- Let cool.
- Add in brandy.
- Shake and mix everything together well.
- Pour into storage jars.
- Shelf life: Store in refrigerator and the shelf life is 2-3 months.
- If you don’t use the brandy, the shelf life will be much less, more like 3 weeks. It does not preserve as well without the brandy, always smell your syrup before taking it and keep it in the refrigerator.
HI Kami, what can I use instead of brandi? Can I use a glycerin, etc.?
You can leave out the brandy and see step 12. My recipes are meant to be played with.
Can I use this and make an elderberry and juniper tincture?
If you are inspired to create a tincture from elderberry and juniper, use this as a jumping off point. This recipe is for syrup, so it will obviously not be anything like a tincture as is.
Thank you Ms. Kami, I am going to try this recipe.
If one is going to can this syrup, can it be water bathed or does it have to be pressure canned? What would the processing times be? Thank you.
People do can their syrups, it is not something that I ever do though, so i am not the expert on this one…
I am gathering all my ingredients to make a batch this weekend & I’m thinking…WOW! that’s A LOT of honey…4 Quarts…is that right? Please advise.
Right, look how big this batch is.
Will this end up being a syrupy consistency, or more liquidy?
This has more of a liquid consistency than what people are probably used to purchasing in the stores. Most conventional syrups use sugar with a ration of 1:1
This syrup has less sweetener and is not as thick
You’re so amazing! Thank you!
I use the previous recipe from you with licorice root and black pepper with tart cherry juice. Do you like this recipe better?
I like lots of recipes, not really one over the other. My book The Herbal Kitchen has 250 recipes!!
sounds wonderful! must try this, though only half the recipe! I found I still have a bottle of sambuca in the fridge we never needed, garlic will do wonders to keep us pretty well free from nasty bugs 🙂
Hi Kami, my elderberries are almost ripe on my bush. Can I use fresh instead of dried for this recipe?
Yes you can use fresh elderberries. I usually add twice as much fresh herbs when a recipe calls for dried herbs.
The fresh herbs contain water and take up more space
Hi and thank you for this recipe! I have bags of frozen elderberries and want to make this. Do I need to dry the berries first or may I just use the frozen berries?
Yes, you can use your frozen berries
Can we leave the brandy out and freeze it in small jars? Will it be as potent? For how long?
Yes you can omit the brandy and freeze the syrup. I keep it for up to one year in the freezer
If a person is diabetic, is the honey necessary as an ingredient or mainly a flavor enhancer? Would a combination of honey and stevia/monkfruit work as well?
The honey is for preserving. You can omit the honey and alcohol and just preserve the liquid in the freezer
We have the same experience with making Elderberry syrup for 3 years now and I wouldn’t start the fall without it! Making some this week, but do a few small batches for the two of us (about a litre each) and yup no colds! I don’t even use juniper nor echinacea, just ginger and all the chia spices, so elderberry must be very key! I may try a litre of yours for a different flavour but won’t need the brandy for my amount 😉
Will let you know what we think!
Thank you for sharing this special recipe! I have 2 questions: how important is it to use echinacea root instead of other parts of the plant? Also, how carefully should it be strained? With fabric or a wire strainer? With deep appreciation, Heidi.
Strain it well, i always use cotton muslin to strain, metal strainers don’t strain that well
You can use echinacea root, leaf or seed
Thank you Kami for sharing your time and this marvelous recipe.
Wondering if we could just can this syrup.
Yes, you can!
Where can I buy those ingredient that except honey. I grow bushes of elder berrie for years now. I let birds eat them.
I like Mountain Rose Herbs, you can order from them online
Sounds like a really good and tasty tonic! In the past, I’ve made elderberry syrup using Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe but I’m looking forward to trying yours. Wondering if there is an organic brandy available, like in the organic wine selections. Thanks, dear Kami, for all the wonderful and healing recipes you post!
i don’t know of an organic brandy, maybe a search online will reveal something…
Are you giving this to kids with the brandy in it or do you make separate batches? Is it just as effective without it?
Brandy is for preserving. For kids i leave the brandy out, and add more honey, or store it in the freezer to preserve it
Great recipe will try it
Could this Elderberry syrup be frozen?
Yep!
Hi.
I make a similar recipe without the juniper berries (I haven’t found out the French name for them yet and they don’t grow wild around here). Once all the ingredients are added I reboil it and store in sealed bottles using the canning method to seal them. I find the syrup will last a year by this method – probably longer if it survives that long. I guess it will last as long with the juniper added.
Wonderful recipe! Thank you so much for sharing. How long does it stay good for?
Ms Kami, I have a question, Can you CAN, the Elderberry-Juniper syrup, so it could be kept in lets say, a root-seller, instead of the Frig?
Yep!
Curious if canning would effect the honey and brandy properties and make them less effective?
When using honey, canning is not the best solution, you don’t want to heat the honey that much.
This looks fabulous, Kami! And I love the huge quantity – perfect to have on hand for the season change and the winter beyond. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!