Harness the antioxidant-rich properties of elderberries in this homemade honey-sweetened elderberry syrup recipe. It’s great with soda, added to your favorite cocktail, or drizzled over pancakes.
Seeing as we’re in the midst of winter, I figured it was perfect time to break out the pound of frozen elderberries I had stashed in the freezer (leftover from my foraging and jelly-making adventure back in August… thank you past self for having the foresight to freeze all this beautiful fruit for later!) and turn it into a delicious homemade syrup.
What to do with it? First of all, try stirring it into soda or use as a flavor mixer in your favorite cocktail (I mean, a splash of this in a gin and tonic would be superb!)
Also? Try drizzling it over pancakes. It’s much more tart than your standard maple, but it’s downright delicious!
Elderberries are packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that can help strengthen your immune system, lower blood sugar, moderate digestion, and even reduce wrinkles. Those are some big benefits from a little berry. (You can read more about the health benefits and risks of elderberries here here).
That said, this recipe was written as a syrup for culinary use ONLY. It is not meant to be consumed as a health supplement. Additionally, this recipe was written to be canned in a boiling water bath for shelf-stable storage. Without this heat processing it is not shelf-stable, and the syrup MUST be refrigerated or frozen.
Elderberry jelly has many of the same delicious benefits, although it does have more sugar too. Syrup is just another way to prepare elderberries, since snacking on raw elderberries is not an option (the stems, leaves, and uncooked seeds are toxic and should not be eaten. Cooking the berries makes the seeds safe for consumption).
(Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom to download the free printable labels too!)
I sweetened my syrup with honey, but you could use organic sugar or evaporated cane juice as well. Use a mild flavored honey since the flavor will come through strongly in the reduced syrup: if you don’t like the taste of the honey on its own, you probably won’t like the final product.
The sugar also helps with preservation of the syrup. You can certainly increase the sugar if you prefer a thicker and sweeter syrup, but do not leave it out if you want to water-bath can the final product (same for the lemon juice, elderberries on their own are not acidic enough to be safely canned on their own). Leaving out the sweetener entirely would result in a shockingly tart syrup… like sipping a sweet tart.
I canned the syrup in these adorable little 1.5oz jars, which each hold about 3 tablespoons of syrup.
If you’d like to freeze your syrup, I recommend dividing the syrup into ice cube trays that hold approximately 1 tablespoon per cube, which will let you easily thaw out one serving at a time. Once frozen, you can transfer the cubes to an air-tight container or bag and they’ll keep for up to 6 months.
While I used frozen elderberries here (and if you search around, you can find sources for frozen berries online), you can also use dried elderberries… simply use 1/2 pound of dried berries per pound of fresh berries called for in the recipe. Elderberry juice is another alternative, simply measure out the quantity called for in the recipe and reduce with the honey and lemon juice to make a thick syrup (and you get to skip the tedious process of straining out the pulp).
I’ll be honest that elderberries on their own don’t have much flavor; like a mild, alkaline blueberry sort of. The sugar, lemon juice, and hint of ginger brighten the flavor and make it palatable and, while tart, certainly enjoyable. You could also substitute the ginger with a cinnamon stick, perhaps, or maybe some cloves? Flavor as you please!
Homemade Elderberry Syrup
Harness the antioxidant-rich properties of elderberries in this homemade honey-sweetened elderberry syrup recipe. It’s great with soda, added to your favorite cocktail, or drizzled over pancakes.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound (4 cups) fresh or frozen elderberries, or 1/2 pound dried elderberries, picked over and all stems removed.
- 3 cups filtered water
- 1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup sugar (can increase quantity to taste)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 small piece fresh ginger, peeled (optional)
Directions:
- To make juice, place berries in a large, heavy saucepan along with water. Cover and bring to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, mashing berries with a potato masher until they soften and release their juices.
- Press berries through a food mill or fine mesh sieve. Discard solids. Strain juice a second time through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth to remove any remaining solids. You should have about 2 2/3 cups of juice.
- Pour 2 1/2 cups prepared juice into a saucepan along with honey, lemon juice, and ginger. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until syrup has thickened slightly and reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard ginger. Once cooled, syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months (pour syrup into ice cube trays to make for easy dosing).
- If you will be canning the syrup, while the berries are cooking, fill a large stock pot or canning pot 2/3 full with water; place a rack of some sort in the bottom and place over medium-high heat. Wash/sterilize your jars and submerge in water bath as it heats. The pot should be just about boiling by the time the syrup is reduced and ready to go. Keep jars in hot (not boiling) water until ready to use.
- Ladle hot syrup into sterilized jars, leaving 1/8-inch of head space. Wipe jar rims and screw on lids. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes (7 if using smaller jars), then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 2 weeks.
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Bonus Printable Labels
What good is a vibrant purple syrup like this if you don’t have a pretty label to go with it?
I designed these rectangle labels for these 1.5oz hex jars, but they’d also work on larger jars or lids. The decorative bands can go around the middle of the jar as shown in the photos, or also used as a ‘seal’ over the lid. Date labels included as well for the bottoms of the jars.
You can get the editable version of this label template for just $4 by clicking the buy button below:
If you don’t need the editable version, you can still download a FREE non-editable PDF file, just enter your email address below. The downloadable PDF file contains 12 labels per page. To use, simply download the printable file by completing the form below. Print your labels onto full-sheet sticker paper, cut out shapes, and apply directly to the (canned and cooled) jars.
Free PDF Download
Editable Canva Template
Want to customize these labels to suit your exact needs? Buy the editable Canva template and you can do just that!