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How to make elderberry syrup safely: cook the berries, skip the stems

Cooked, strained elderberry juice boiled with sugar. The one rule that matters is cooking: raw berries and the stems and leaves carry compounds that release cyanide. The cold and flu evidence is limited and mixed.

By the editors of Alimentotherapy Last reviewed 6 min read Not medical advice

Makes
About 4 half-pints
Hands-on
45 minutes
Total time
About 1 1/2 hours

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The short answer

Strip ripe elderberries from their stems, simmer them until soft, strain out the juice and boil it briefly with sugar, following Oregon State University Extension’s method; syrup from American or European elderberries must be kept in the refrigerator or freezer, not canned Oregonstate. NCCIH warns that raw or unripe berries, leaves and stems can cause nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea, and that cooking eliminates the toxinNCCIH. The evidence for colds and flu is limited: an early trial was positive and a later, larger flu trial found no benefit Zakay 2004; Macknin 2020, as graded on our elderberry page.

Ingredients and method

Ingredients

  • About 3 to 3 1/2 cups ripe, dark elderberries (Sambucus nigra or canadensis), fresh or frozen, stems removed, for about 2 1/2 cups of strained juice
  • 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar for each 2 1/2 cups of strained juice
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or lemon zest
  • Optional alternative for a refrigerated honey syrup: replace some or all of the sugar with honey after cooking, to taste (never for babies under 12 months)

Equipment

  • Wire cooling rack and baking pan (for stripping berries)
  • Large stainless steel saucepan
  • Potato masher
  • Colander, plus a jelly bag or double layer of cheesecloth
  • Measuring cups
  • Clean glass jars or freezer containers with lids

  1. Pick only ripe, dark berries

    Use fully ripe, deep purple or dusky blue berries. Never use red elderberries (Sambucus racemosa), unripe green berries, or any plant you have not identified with certainty.

  2. Remove every stem and leaf

    Stems and leaves carry more of the toxic compounds. Rub the clusters gently over a wire rack set on a baking pan so the berries drop through; freezing the clusters first makes this easier. Pick out leftover stems, then rinse the berries.

  3. Cook the berries

    Crush the berries with a potato masher, put them in the saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer until soft, about 5 to 10 minutes.

  4. Strain the juice

    Pour the hot pulp through a colander and let it drain until cool enough to handle, then strain the juice through a double layer of cheesecloth or a jelly bag without squeezing. Discard the pulp and seeds.

  5. Make the syrup

    Measure the juice. For each 2 1/2 cups, stir in 3 1/2 cups sugar (and the ginger or zest if using) in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Take off the heat and skim off the foam.

  6. Store cold

    Pour into clean jars, cool, cap and refrigerate, or freeze in containers with 1 inch of headspace. Do not can syrup made from American or European elderberries using this recipe. Once thawed, keep it in the refrigerator and use it within a few weeks.

If you need the equipment

Why cooking is not optional

Elderberries are safe to eat cooked, as pies, jams and syrups. Raw is a different matter. NCCIH says raw or unripe elderberries and other parts of the elder tree, such as the leaves and stems, contain cyanide-producing substances that can cause nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea, and that cooking eliminates the toxin NCCIH.

The CDC recorded what happens when the rule is broken. In August 1983, eight people from a gathering in Monterey County, California, were flown by helicopter to hospital with nausea, vomiting, cramps, weakness and in some cases dizziness and numbness. Staff had pressed wild elderberries together with their leaves and branches and served the juice uncooked; illness was worse the more people drank, and the one person admitted overnight had drunk five glasses. All recovered. The CDC’s advice was that elderberries may be safe, particularly if cooked, but leaves and stems should not be crushed into juice CDC 1984.

Safety

Oregon State University Extension adds that red elderberries may have a higher toxin concentration, especially in the seeds, and should not be used for food products. Dried elderberries must be rehydrated and cooked before eatingOregonstate.

Why this syrup lives in the fridge

Oregon State tested elderberries from its own region and Missouri and found that American elderberries vary in acid and are not consistently below pH 4.6, so they count as a low-acid food. Its blue elderberry syrup recipe (2 1/2 cups juice to 3 1/2 cups sugar) can be canned only when made from blue elderberries, a western species; made from American or European berries, the same syrup must be refrigerated or frozen Oregonstate. When you are unsure of the type, Oregon State’s advice is to use only its high-sugar canning recipe or to freeze, so the safe default for syrup is cold storage.

For juice extraction, this page follows Oregon State’s berry syrup guide: crush 6 to 7 cups of fruit, simmer until soft (5 to 10 minutes), drain and strain without squeezing, for about 4 1/2 to 5 cups of juiceOregonstate. Halve that for one batch of syrup. Penn State Extension says cooked elderberry products can be refrigerated short term or frozen, and once thawed should be kept in the refrigerator and used within a few weeks Pennstate.

What the evidence says about elderberry

The trials tested commercial elderberry products, not homemade syrup. In a Norwegian trial of 60 adults with flu-like symptoms, 15 ml of elderberry syrup four times a day for 5 days relieved symptoms about 4 days earlier than placeboZakay 2004. A later trial in emergency department patients with confirmed influenza found no benefit for duration or severity, and the authors note their results contradict earlier studiesMacknin 2020. With small, conflicting trials, our elderberry page grades flu and cold symptoms as limited.

Homemade syrup has an unknown strength and is mostly sugar. If you take it, think of it as a pleasant spoonful in hot water and keep the usual cold care going. For a side-by-side look, see elderberry vs echinacea for colds and the colds page.

If you would rather buy a cooked commercial syrup, iHerb lists elderberry syrups; check the label for added ingredients and avoid honey-based versions for babies.

Food safety

  • Never eat or drink raw elderberries, elderberry juice made without cooking, or any part of the leaves, stems, bark or roots.
  • Avoid red elderberries (Sambucus racemosa) entirely; they may be more toxic.
  • Rehydrate and cook dried elderberries before using them; drying does not remove the toxin.
  • Syrup from American or European elderberries is not safe to can with standard recipes because these berries can be low in acid. Refrigerate or freeze it.
  • Honey-sweetened syrup must not be given to babies under 12 months old (infant botulism).
  • If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or take regular medicines, check with your clinician: little is known about elderberry for health purposes in these groups.

Common questions

Are raw elderberries poisonous?

They can make you ill. NCCIH says raw or unripe elderberries, and the leaves and stems, contain cyanide-producing substances that can cause nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea, and that cooking eliminates the toxin. In a 1983 California outbreak reported by CDC, eight people needed hospital care after drinking juice pressed with leaves and stems.

How long does homemade elderberry syrup last?

Keep it in the refrigerator, or freeze it with 1 inch of headspace. Penn State Extension says cooked elderberry products can be refrigerated short term, and once thawed should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks. Syrup from American or European elderberries should not be canned with standard recipes.

Does elderberry syrup work for colds and flu?

The evidence is limited and mixed. A small 2004 trial of a commercial syrup found flu symptoms eased about 4 days sooner, but a 2020 trial in emergency room patients with confirmed flu found no benefit for duration or severity.

Sources

Primary research and government sources, each checked on the date this page was reviewed.

  1. GuidelineOehler N, Waite-Cusic J, Hibbard-Swanson J. Play It Safe When Preserving Elderberries (EM 9446). Oregon State University Extension Service. 2024.
  2. GuidelineOehler N. Making Berry Syrups at Home (SP 50-632). Oregon State University Extension Service. Revised 2025.
  3. GuidelineSmith M, Marquesen S. Elderberry in the Garden and the Kitchen. Penn State Extension. Updated 2025.
  4. NCCIHNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Elderberry: Usefulness and Safety.
  5. SourceCenters for Disease Control. Poisoning from elderberry juice, California. MMWR. 1984;33(13):173-4.
  6. PubMedZakay-Rones Z, Thom E, Wollan T, Wadstein J. Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections. J Int Med Res. 2004. PMID 15080016.
  7. PubMedMacknin M, et al. Elderberry extract outpatient influenza treatment for emergency room patients ages 5 and above: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Gen Intern Med. 2020. PMID 32929634.

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