Simple Elderberry Syrup recipe for flu

[bbkaren]

If stored in a cool, dark place, about how long would we expect this to stay "good"?

Also, I ran a cup short on the elderberry juice re-hydration. I had a cup of tincture left over and added that; is it okay like it is, or should I reduce the vodka by a cup and add a cup of water?

Or doesn't it matter (I think I recall the vodka is just for preservation anyway...)?

Thanks so much for this - we have several people in our social circle with H1N1 (one whose cousin died of H1N1), so I want to make sure we've got our forcefield up!

Tastes SO much better than trying to disguise the tincture in juice! :)

[hunybee]

i make the sugar recipe and put in 3 cups of vodka with it to make sure it is not going to spoil and be shelf stable. that is probably why mine never crystalizes. i have had that happen once when i didn't have enough juice. i just added the needed amount of water to the juice and proceeded. the next time i made the juice from the fried berries, i made sure to add extra water when rehydrating.

not sure if that was ok to do, but it did it. should i not have done that summerthyme?

[Summerthyme]

I think it's fine, huny... The "juice" I get when rehydrating dried berries is quite a bit more "intense" than that I get squeezing fresh ones... I suspect I could increase the water quite a bit and still have effective medicine.

As far as shelf life, we've used some syrup that was 4 years old (stored in dark amber bottles in a cool place) and it was perfectly effective. I'd probably prefer using it before then, or using fresher stuff for a really virulent flu, but it does seem to store very well.

Summerthyme

[goatlady]

i make the sugar recipe and put in 3 cups of vodka with it to make sure it is not going to spoil and be shelf stable. that is probably why mine never crystalizes. i have had that happen once when i didn't have enough juice. i just added the needed amount of water to the juice and proceeded. the next time i made the juice from the fried berries, i made sure to add extra water when rehydrating.

not sure if that was ok to do, but it did it. should i not have done that summerthyme?

WOW! hunybee, I never tried this with fried berries! (long day gal?) LOL. THe way you describe should be just fine re" juice plus the necessary water. It is best to use the needed water when rehydrating as you found out.

[hunybee]

WOW! hunybee, I never tried this with fried berries! (long day gal?) LOL. THe way you describe should be just fine re" juice plus the necessary water. It is best to use the needed water when rehydrating as you found out.

LOL

yah, long day

LOL

[Forest Beekeeper]

We grow elderberries.

I juice them and it all goes into our flu-tonic.

2 parts elderberry juice,
2 parts cranberry juice,
1 part ethanol [97%],
1 part honey.

Folks seem to love it.

:)

[jimmythebee]

i'll be looking into this elderberry syrup, my daughter just got very sick this week while traveling and a friend had a similar illness while visiting Florida---vomiting was the major symptom

[grower]

Here's a step-by-step video for making Elderberry Syrup using this recipe: