Elderberry syrup always helped me feel better as a child, as a natural cough syrup and to provide some much-needed energy when I was sick. It’s comforting on the throat, and I’d begin to feel better almost immediately.
As an adult, I went to find a bottle and I was pretty shocked at the price tag. On average, it was about $3 per ounce. I was used to taking an ounce at a time in a shot glass, 2-3 times per day. That’s a pretty expensive habit if you’re sick for more than a day or two.
A quick check of the ingredients list and you’ll find that it’s actually just 3 ingredients: elderberry juice, honey and cider vinegar.
In truth then, the “elderberry syrup” I always drank for a natural immune boost wasn’t technically a syrup at all. It’s an oxymel.
Oxymels are an ancient remedy, dating back literally thousands of years. Raw vinegar, herbs and a bit of honey to sweeten it make for a tasty way to take your medicine and get a probiotic boost at the same time.
Ratios vary widely according to your own tastes. Some are heavy on the vinegar, and others are heavier on honey.
For my own elderberry oxymel, I like to stick with a 1:1:1 ratio. One part elderberry, one part raw cider vinegar and one part raw honey. I generally use local honey whenever possible, both to support local bees and to get the added benefit of the anti-allergen properties of locally produced honey.
Start by juicing fresh elderberries. The most basic way to juice elderberries is by cooking them for about 10 minutes in a pot with a 1/2 cup of water. The heat causes them to pop, and then a quick stir helps to break them up and release the juice.
For this batch, I tried out juicing them in my instant pot. The pressure cooker just squeezed every last drop of juice out of them and I was pretty impressed.
While it may be tempting to use a home juicer to extract raw elderberry juice, the raw juice is thought to be toxic. There’s not a lot of science behind why, but there have been a number of reports of hospitalizations after people drank raw elderberry juice.
Before I knew this I drank it a number of times without any ill effects, so clearly it doesn’t affect everyone. Nonetheless, better safe than sorry.
Allow the elderberry juice to cool to just slightly warm and then mix thoroughly with cider vinegar and raw local honey. Adjust to taste. If you find it too sweet, go ahead and add in a bit more cider vinegar, or if too tart, plop in a bit more honey.
Elderberry oxymel will keep at room temperature for months, but since it’s a live food with vinegar culture present it may change in flavor and become a bit stronger over time. Some people keep it in the refrigerator to keep it more stable.
When you’re sick or you feel a cold coming on, take a tablespoon or two (or drink it by the shot glass like I do).
Enjoy!
Normajean
Hi thanks for the recipe. I am one of those that can not drink the elder juice raw. I even knew this from my reading. But somewhere along my journey forgot about it and while juicing a large raw batch I chugged a good amount 2 or 3 cups being so pleased to have my own wild harvested berries. While I didn’t end up hospitalized I did become violently sick throwing up and diarrhea both for a couple of days. It was as though I had given my self the flu. It didn’t take me long to remember that I had read the dangers of drinking the raw juice. Wont do that again!
Kim
Could I use dried elderberries in this recipe? Same directions or something different?
Ashley Adamant
Yes, you can use dried. A couple options…infuse them into the vinegar, or make a very strong tea of them and use that in place of the elderberry juice. The tea version will result in more elderberry flavor.
Mayra
I do elderberry syrup at home, this seems to be simpler with the same effect.
Kathy
There is no mention of straining the juice before adding the honey and vinegar, I make jelly all the time and want to make this and I strain the skins and little seeds out, do you strain it for the oxemel?
Ashley Adamant
Yes, strain it like you would for jelly. I’ll have to go back in and correct that, thanks!
ru ritter
The seeds, stems, leaves and roots of the Black Elder are all poisonous to humans. … Cooking the berries destroys the glycosides present in the seeds, making the berries with their seeds safe to eat. As such, the fruit of the Black Elderberry should always be cooked before consumption.
Admin
Thank you. That’s why I mentioned it in the post.
Lynn K
HI..I have been an elderberry. user since 1999, and occasionally have eaten a handful or 2 of the raw berries. SO far, no ill effects. I make tinctures , and when I have an abundance of fresh berries, a wine! It once went from brewing wine straight to a delicious vinegar. made really good salad dressing!
Lynn
NH
Michael Bee
Thank you for this article. I am very fond of oxymels!
I’m curious if it matters how many cups of elderberries you have to the 1/2 cup of water when you were making the juice?
Administrator
It doesn’t matter how many elderberries you use in relation to the water. The water is really just there to be sure that the berries don’t burn in the pot.
Thea Schunk
Are you using APPLE cider vineager or is cider vineager different?
Admin
Yep, apple cider vinegar.
Nausi
Thank you for the lovely article! I just wanted to add- it’s not just that it’s *thought* to be poisonous! The science isn’t a mystery. As another commenter said, the leaves, bark, roots, and uncooked seeds contain a cyanide-inducing glycoside which, when ingested in large quantities or over a long period of time, can indeed make you very ill. I think it’s important when sharing this sort of information to not mince words about preparing your product properly! In this case, if you eat too much of these glycosides, you can experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, of even be put in a coma.
All easily avoidable by cooking your berries!
Hillary
Hi Ashley, do you consider this shelf-stable? Feeling conflicted if I should put it in the fridge!
Thanks, Hillary
Administrator
You can safely keep it at room temperature for several months but if you feel more comfortable keeping it in the fridge and have the space then by all means do so. It will just extend the life if you don’t use it up right away.
Darrin
Thanks for sharing this great recipe. You mentioned cooking the elderberries with a 1/2C water. What volume of elderberries would you use, then? Thanks!
Administrator
It’s not super important how much elderberries you use. The small amount of water is really just a vehicle to get the berries to pop in order to juice them.
K8
Did you use the same amount of water and berries when you juiced them in the insta pot?
Administrator
Yes, you can use the same amounts.
Alyssa
How long did you put I pressure cooker for?
Administrator
You can use the same amount of time as the stovetop method, about 10 minutes.
Sarah Vandenberg
Hi, I just wanted to share that I made an oxymel with the fresh black elderberries once – just honey and the fresh, uncooked elderberries. Here’s a link to the recipe I tried. https://www.growforagecookferment.com/fermented-elderberry-honey/
This recipe says that the fermentation process can be used instead of heat to “remove the toxicity”, but they also recommend straining out the berries. When I mixed the berries with honey, I let it ferment on my counter until I liked the sour sweet taste, then I refrigerated them. I did eat the fermented seeds to no ill effect. I enjoyed this fermented food and wonder about how it compares to the elderberries, honey vinegar recipe shared here.
Administrator
I would think that it would have very similar nutritional value as the oxymel.
Val
What are the best straining methods to seperate the seed?
Administrator
Once the juices have been extracted from the berries, you can just strain the entire mixture through a fine mesh strainer.