Cold and flu season has been intense the last couple of years and natural remedies like elderberry syrup have become increasingly popular. Many went from not having a clue what elderberry syrup was, to now, stocking their refrigerators with this goodness, all season long. Because elderberry syrup has become so popular, it’s often hard to find the berries by the time flu season comes around. Or, if you do find them, you may pay top dollar.
My favorite way to avoid both of these situations, is to batch make my elderberry syrup. I buy a few bags of dried elderberries and make a large supply to last quite a while. I store in the refrigerator what I will use for about 6 weeks-worth, and freeze the rest in freezer safe mason jars.
If cared for properly, dried elderberries have a shelf life of up to one year. I recommend not opening a bag until you plan to use it and be sure to store your bags in an area that maintains room temperature.
Benefits of Batch Making Elderberry Syrup
Aside from the supply and demand factor, there are many other benefits to batch making your elderberry syrup.
- Money Savings – We all know that making your own elderberry syrup is significantly cheaper than buying it. But, when someone in your family comes down with the flu – and you don’t have your homemade syrup on hand, you’ll pay triple the price at the store because you need it! By keeping a supply in your freezer, you are always prepared.
- Time Savings – Making elderberry syrup doesn’t take too much time (especially if you are making it in the instant pot) but it still takes time to buy all of the ingredients and actually make it. Let’s be honest, doing this every couple of weeks for a new jar of syrup, may not happen. So, making syrup 4 times a year, instead of every month or so, is much more doable.
- Consistency – We are much more consistent with elderberry syrup when I know we have a large supply of it in the freezer. If I only make one jar at a time – it’s almost like a prized possession! No one can drink the elderberry syrup unless they truly need it!!
- Supply and Demand – You’ll have a better chance getting berries at a reasonable price when the demand is down (late summer, early fall). Stock up, store properly, and make as needed.
How to Batch Your Homemade Elderberry Syrup
For the sake of this post, I am going to give you directions based on brewing 1/2 pound of dried elderberries. If you want to brew the full pound of dried elderberries, simply double the ingredients below.
Use the chart below as a reference guide when batch making your homemade elderberry syrup.
| Elderberries | Pints | Ounces | Mason Jars Needed |
| 1/2 Pound | 6.5 | 104 | 3 (32 oz jars) |
| 1 Pound | 13 | 208 | 6 (32 oz jars) |
Elderberry Syrup Ingredients
1/2 pound of dried elderberries
3 freezer safe mason jars
3 cups raw local honey (local preferred)
3 cinnamon sticks
3 tablespoons of fresh ginger
12 cups of water
3 tablespoons fresh chamomile (optional)
Elderberry Syrup: Stovetop Instructions
- Bring elderberries, water, ginger, chamomile, and cinnamon stick to a boil and let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hours
- Let cool to room temperature and then strain into large mixing bowl (be sure to press down on the berries and get all of the liquid out of the berries)
- Add 3 cups of raw honey to mixture and mix well
- Pour mixture into mason jars and store in refrigerator and freezer
Elderberry Syrup: Instant Pot Instructions
- Add elderberries, water, ginger, cinnamon sticks, and chamomile to instant pot
- Cover and put on HIGH PRESSURE for 7 minutes
- Quick release once the timer goes off
- Strain the mixture into a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature (be sure to press down on the berries and get all of the liquid out of the berries)
- Add 3 cups of honey to mixture and mix well
- Pour mixture into mason jars and store in refrigerator and freezer