A practical guide from our little farm on Vancouver Island
Every August the gnarled branches of our old tree droop down to the ground, heavy with dark, rich, juice filled berries. Some clusters weigh in at over a pound! I am mezmerized by the intricate pattern of nervous system like stems on the underside of the clusters. How fitting that something which has been shown to reduce stress on the brain*, looks like the brain’s neural pathways.
It’s a harvest that feels a little magical, and terrifying, if you’re afraid of heights like me. There isn’t a machine involved. Just a big wash bin, a pair of hands (or two), and a reminder that very useful(and delicious) things are often growing quietly around us.
This year I decided to try making something a little different. Last year’s syrup was made with organuc cane sugar, and it was ‘supposed’ to be shelf stable.. alas, it was not. So I wanted to see if just making the concentrate would be a wiser decision rather than wasting so much expensive sugar again.
Not an overly sweet syrup laden with processed sugar or adding expensive honey folks often have a favorite of in their own kitchen anyway; and definitely not a tincture (this author avoids alcohol in all forms).
I wanted a deeply flavoured elderberry concentrate that folks could finish at home with their own local honey. That way the honey stays raw, people can choose how sweet they like it, and every bottle becomes a little collaboration between our farm and another local beekeeper.
After a few batches (and plenty of purple dishes), here’s the method I’ve settled on.
What is Elderberry Elixir?
People use the words elixir, syrup, cordial, and tincture almost interchangeably, but they’re actually different things.
Elderberry Concentrate (what I’m making)
A strong, cooked reduction of elderberries with warming spices such as cinnamon, clove and ginger.
No sugar.
No honey.
Just concentrated flavor & antioxidants.
Think of it as the base ingredient.
Elderberry Syrup
100% delicious.
Concentrate mixed with honey (or another sweetener).
This is what most traditional recipes call elderberry syrup.
Elderberry Cordial
Usually sweetened with sugar and intended as a beverage additive.
Often thinner and designed to be mixed into sparkling water or cocktails.
Elderberry Tincture
Made by soaking berries in alcohol. Completely different process.
Developing the Recipe
Like most things that come from a home kitchen, this recipe was made through trial and error.
I used what I had left from filling stand orders (about five cups, or 2lb) of freshly picked elderberries, added double that much of boiled, triple filtered well water, then threw in some spices that levels it up from ‘concentrate’ to ‘elixir’ (in my humble opinion).
- cinnamon sticks
- fresh ginger
- whole cloves
The spices aren’t there to hide the flavour of the elderberries—they’re there to support it. Bonus, they also have antioxidant properties.
Ginger adds brightness and gentle warmth. Cinnamon rounds everything out with a familiar sweetness, even though there’s no sugar in the pot. Cloves add just enough depth that the finished concentrate tastes cozy rather than medicinal.
The berries simmered gently until they softened and burst, about an hour. The gently part is important, if you hard boil them in the name of speediness.. it may turn bitter on you!
Cast iron – feels wickedly fun to make elixir in…
…but it is a bad idea boiling these berries.
Unless you enjoy a syrup with slightly metallic after taste, and having to re-season your beloved pot.
Just stick with stainless steel. Trust me.
If you want your elixir truly potent you want the liquid to cover the back of a spoon with vivid, rich purple(see first photo above). Be patient here, or you will have to add more reduction time later. Which, by the way, is totally fine, sometimes it’s only until I’ve strained it a few times can I really tell if its the right consistency…
The whole house smells somewhere between berry pie and chai.
Side note: you may want to add pie ingredients to your shopping list. Everyone will be asking for one while this pot is doing it’s thing.
Then came the part that has me wanting to charge a lot more per bottle… Getting every last drop out.
After softly pressing the berries through my grandma’s old colander, straining again through a fine sieve, and letting gravity do some work, I ended up with about 1.5 litres of beautifully dark elderberry liquid… but it was more of a tea consistency, not good enough to call a concentrate.
So back on the stove it went to further reduce until it coated the back of one of my other grandmother’s heirlooms. I wonder if using real silver to stir it will have any anti-microbial effects…
My Tested Elderberry Elixir Recipe
Tools / Gadgets
- Stainless steel pot – at least twice the size of how many elderberries you’re working with
- Colander with mashing tool – a spoon, spatula or potato masher works just fine
- Fine metal sieve
- Funnel
- Cheesecloth, muslin cotton coffee filters, or paper towel if in a pinch
- Sterilized bottles, preferably brown, clear is okay too if being stored in a dark place like the fridge
Ingredients
4 cups (about 2lb) fresh elderberries rinsed with most of the stems and green berries removed
8 cups (2 litres) water
4 cinnamon sticks
1 large thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, sliced
8–10 whole cloves
Method
- Place everything into a large pot
- Bring to a boil
- Reduce immediately to a gentle simmer
- Cook for about an hour until:
- the berries have burst, or pop softly/easily when pressed to the side of the pot
- the liquid has turned a deep purple-black and coats a spoon easily
- Remove from heat
- Strain through a colander, pressing the berries gently with a spoon or potato masher
- Strain again through a fine mesh sieve – the clearer your reduction, the longer it will last! Any fruit parts left are at risk of spoiling it.
- Return it to the pot. Continue simmering gently until reduced by about half again, finishing with roughly 750 mL. You’ll know when you’re there because the back of your spoon will be coated in a gorgeous purple.
Turning the Concentrate Into Elderberry Syrup
One of my favourite parts of this recipe is that the honey never gets cooked. Heating honey changes its flavour and destroys some of the enzymes that many people buy elderberries for in the first place.
Instead:
- Pour one part Elixir into a clean jar or bottle at least twice the size of your concentrate. Of if you’ve already got room in the container you can use a ruler and marker to see how much honey to add.(see photo above)
- Add the same amount of good local honey. Equal parts will make it VERY sweet – but also shelf stable. I always keep mine in the fridge, but technically you don’t have to.
- Stir or shake until combined.
A Quick Note About Safety
Elderberries have been used in traditional cooking for generations, but a few simple precautions make all the difference.
Use fully ripe berries
Dark purple to almost black berries are what you’re looking for.
Green or very under-ripe berries contain higher levels of naturally occurring cyanogenic glycosides, compounds that can cause nausea or stomach upset if eaten raw. If a few sneak in a big batch I don’t worry, but if I notice quite a few when it’s heating up (they float) I usually take the time to scoop them out before they cook in.
The stems contain much higher concentrations of these compounds than the berries themselves.
Remove as many stems as practical. A few tiny stem fragments that sneak through during destemming are unlikely to be a problem in a cooked batch, but it’s worth taking a little extra time while harvesting. We do our best to get most of them out, but some will likely still be in our washed/frozen bags.
What if a couple of stems or green berries slipped in?
Don’t panic.
A few accidentally mixed into an entire pot of ripe berries are generally not considered a safety concern once everything has been thoroughly cooked.
Why cook them?
Cooking breaks down many of the naturally occurring compounds that can cause digestive upset in raw elderberries and also softens the fruit so more flavour can be extracted.
Storage
Because this concentrate contains no sugar or preservatives, keep it refrigerated and use within about 1 week, or freeze it for longer storage.
Once mixed with honey, store the finished syrup in the refrigerator. In theory that much sugar should make it shelf stable, but I don’t trust my kids to not stick a licked spoon in the jar on the counter myself.
Its exact shelf life depends on the honey-to-concentrate ratio and handling, so use clean utensils and discard it if it develops off odours, mould, or signs of fermentation.
Honey and babies
Honey should never be given to children under one year of age because of the risk of infant botulism.
What Does Science Actually Say?
Elderberries contain anthocyanins and other polyphenols, compounds that act as antioxidants in foods.
Some small studies have explored elderberry products for cold and flu symptoms, but the evidence produced by western science is limited and mixed. More ‘high-quality’ ‘traditional research’ is needed before making claims that elderberry can prevent, treat, or cure illness.
For me, I trust that consuming hand crafted medicine is healing for my body and mind. For centuries, people have gathered elderberries at the end of summer and turned them into syrups, wines, cordials, and preserves to enjoy through the colder months. Many cultures use it medically for a number of reasons. The main one is preventing cold and flu season from taking over the house for weeks at a time.