Homemade Elderberry Syrup (Elderberry Cordial)

Step 1

Start with taking elderberry off their bunches. I find a simple fork does the job well.

Step 2

Once off their stalks, wash berries really well in couple of changes of water, picking as many little leftover stalk bits as possible and discarding any green berries.

Step 3

Put clean elderberries in a saucepan and pour over some cold water (just to cover them).

Step 4

Add any extra flavourings of choice e.g. grated ginger, orange slices, star anise, cinnamon stick, allspice etc. and give it all a good mix.

Step 5

Let elderberry mixture come to boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer for approx. 20 minutes.

Step 6

As the mixture simmers, squash the berries couple of times with potato masher to help them release their juices.

Step 7

Strain the mixture into a large bowl through a fine sieve or sieve lined with a piece of muslin/cheesecloth. You might need to give it a squeeze to get as much juice as possible out of the berries. Discard the pulp.

Step 8

Measure how much juice you've got to establish how much both sugar and lemon juice to add. You will need 500g (1.1lb) sugar and juice of one lemon for every litre (4.2 cups) of elderberry juice you get after straining.

Step 9

Pour the juice into another saucepan, add sugar and lemon juice and bring to a very light simmer.

Step 10

Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes until all the sugar has dissolved, take it off the heat.

Step 11

Pour hot elderberry juice into sterilised bottles/jars, let them cool and store in a cool place, away from direct sunlight.

Step 12

Enjoy!