After buying elderberry syrup for months and months, I finally made some. I’m kicking my rear end for not making it sooner. Here are my calculations as to cost:
- Elderberries – To buy dried ones, I’m paying about $25 per pound . . let’s say $30 with shipping.
- Honey – 1-1/2 cups per double batch. I try to buy it when Aldi has it but I usually end up paying about $6 for 1-1/2 cups of organic, raw honey.
- During the late summer and fall, I have the ginger that I grow but when I have to buy it, it costs about $2.00 for enough for a double batch.
- The cloves and cinnamon . . I always have those but I’ll add .50 per batch for that.
From one pound of elderberries, I can get 4 double batches of Wellness Mama’s Elderberry Syrup. So, the elderberries cost $7.50 per batch. Altogether, the cost of homemade is about $16 and that makes 3 pints. When I buy the elderberry syrup, I’m paying $15 to $20 for one pint so making it is quite a cost savings, not to mention that the homemade tastes so much better.
If I could convince someone here to have bees, I could maybe have my own home grown honey. So far, I haven’t had much luck convincing him.
Elderberry Syrup
Vince rumbles about drinking the storebought syrup. I like it. The first time I handed him the homemade syrup, he said “I love this stuff!” Yay . . something healthy he will drink without a fuss. I’m hoping my elderberry plants have survived this winter and hoping the new ones I’ve ordered will grow and produce quickly.
Ruth says
Perhaps there is someone in your local area that has beehives, and thus you would support local growers.
Sherrill Pecere says
Is what you make concentrate so you mix it with water to make a glass full? I’d looked at the berries on Amazon but thought no way for the price!! And Ruth mentioned local bees..when my son was little and had horrible allergies, I’d read about local honey helping build up resistance to what he was allergic to so I found a guy just down the street and bought honey from him, giving my son a tsp a day. Seems to have worked!!
Judy Laquidara says
Local honey is great for almost all allergies but unfortunately, doesn’t do much for cedar fever. According to this article, allergy sufferers benefit from local honey when their allergies are caused by plants/weeds that need bees for pollination but cedar is airborne and the pollen is not spread by bees. I’ve also read that bees will not utilize cedar pollen but I’ve also read that if they have no other options, they may gather it.
Of course, the only allergy that’s about to get the best of me is cedar fever, the one probably not helped by local honey.
As far as the elderberry concentrate, you can research online about the dosage. I’m not really qualified to give that advice but I do take about 1 tablespoon twice a day. I like it enough that I will eat it straight but Vince prefers to mix it with water.
Tee says
Will you kick me in my rear and force me to harvest from the thousands of plants that grow wild in my grove? I always come up with some excuse for not harvesting them. Mostly, it is because the time between when they are ripe and before they get eaten by the birds is so short. They are a pain to harvest too, lots of little flower pieces and stems get in the bucket that you have to clean out. Anyway, enough excuses, I will harvest them this year and dry them for you and me!
Inka says
My mother used to make the syrup from the fresh berries without drying them first. You have to extract the juce and then add sugar and heat it and fill it in bottles while still hot. It lasts for years.
Heather Sedlacek says
I am at an herb seminar today and the last speaker was just talking about elder and it’s many uses. I hope I can get it to grow in my area!
Susan says
I was reading about the berries because of your interest in them. In one place, it said that the uncooked fruits are poisonous, but in another, it says birds, butterflies and beetles eat them, so I thought that was odd! I guess I’d always be sure to cook them! You are an unending fountain of interesting information, Judy!
DonnainKS says
We have an elderberry winery near here. Have you seen any in your area? If we come your way again, we’ll bring some for you.
Judy Laquidara says
I haven’t seen it but I haven’t been looking for it. I’ll start looking to see if I can see it here. I’m guessing elderberries (like most berries and fruit) grow better in your area than around here.
Nelle Coursey says
Sounds like a great deal to me! Someone told us several days ago they were going to get bees or already had them. For the life of me, I can’t remember who or when! Shame on me!!
Dar in MO says
Judy, We have dried elderberries at our Fresh Thyme store here in O’Fallon. I bought a cup of them for about $3.50. Did you use your Instant Pot to make your syrup? The last sentence says how to do it but says put everything in and set it for 9 mins. I assume you would put the honey after all the cooking like the earlier instructions. I’m going to try making it in the IP.