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–+ servings
Ebonie Garnica

Homemade Honey Elderberry Syrup For Full GAPS

A pourable Full GAPS elderberry syrup with raw honey, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, rose hips and vanilla. Simmer the berries first, strain warm, then add honey.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 32 servings
Course: Condiment, Full GAPS
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup plain dried black elderberries Food-use berries without sugar, starch, sulphites or other additives. For the 1x batch, two cups cleaned ripe fresh berries may replace the dried berries.
  • 2 tbsp plain rose hips Optional flavor addition; no added sweetener or flavoring.
  • 2 cinnamon sticks Optional flavor addition.
  • 5 whole cloves Optional flavor addition.
  • 1 tsp plain dried ginger For the 1x batch, a one-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger may replace dried ginger. Choose one form.
  • 1/4 vanilla bean Optional flavor addition; use the plain bean.
  • 4 cups water Measured before the reduction.
  • 2 cups raw honey Add after the berry liquid is reduced and strained.

Equipment

  • Saucepan or small stockpot
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Stirring spoon
  • Fine-mesh sieve
  • Stable heat-safe collecting bowl
  • Covered glass jar or storage container
  • Heat-safe pan support

Method
 

  1. Measure the elderberries, rose hips, cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger, vanilla bean and water into a saucepan with room for gentle bubbling. Keep the honey aside. Set a fine-mesh sieve securely over a heat-safe collecting bowl.
  2. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes, until the liquid is more concentrated and reduced by roughly half. Look for steady small bubbles, stir as needed and watch the starting liquid level. Keep the mixture pourable; do not reduce the pan nearly dry.
  3. Remove from the heat and strain the mixture through the supported sieve while warm. Collect the liquid in the bowl and keep the berry skins, seeds, rose hips and spices in the sieve. Discard the strained solids.
  4. Add the measured raw honey to the strained warm liquid and stir until evenly incorporated, including any thick honey at the bottom. The finished syrup should pour in an even stream.
  5. Transfer to a clean covered jar or container, label the preparation date and refrigerate. Use a clean spoon when serving. Spoon a little onto Full GAPS pancakes, stir into yogurt or dilute with warm water to taste.

Notes

Timing: Ten minutes preparation and thirty minutes cooking give a forty-minute planning estimate, using the upper end of the twenty-to-thirty-minute simmer guide. Bringing the pan to a simmer, reducing, straining or cooling can add time. Finish by the reduced liquid level.
Yield: This recipe makes thirty-two small servings. Final liquid volume varies with reduction and recovery from the sieve; measure the finished batch if you need equal portions.
Fresh Berries: At 1x, two cups of fully ripe, cleaned fresh black elderberries replace one cup dried. At 2x, use four cups fresh if choosing that option.
Fresh Ginger: At 1x, a one-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger replaces one teaspoon dried. At 2x, use a two-inch piece if choosing fresh.
Flavor Choices: Rose hips, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and vanilla are optional flavor additions. The card shows the full spiced, honey-sweetened version.
Honey: Keep it out of the simmering pan and stir it into the strained warm liquid afterward.
Storage: Keep covered in the refrigerator, label the date and use a clean spoon.
Full GAPS: After elderberries, honey and the chosen spices have been introduced and tolerated. No dairy, egg or flour; not early Intro or No-Plant.

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