If you love keeping your natural medicine cabinet well-stocked, this elderberry shrub recipe is a must-have. Made with just elderberries, raw honey, and apple cider vinegar, it's part immune booster, part gut tonic, and part old-fashioned refreshment in a bottle. Be sure to try my fire cider recipe too!
This tangy, sweet, and slightly spicy drink has roots in early American homesteads, where shrubs were used to preserve fruit before refrigeration. Shrubs are just as useful (and delicious) today!
Elderberry shrub is kind of a cross between an oxymel (a mixture of raw honey, vinegar, and herbs) and a switchel, an old-fashioned "haymaker's punch" made with vinegar, sweetened, and ginger. However you label it, it's a time-tested way to support your immune system, much like elderberry tincture, especially during cold and flu season.
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What is a Shrub?
A shrub, also known as "drinking vinegar," is a sweet-tart syrup made by combining fruit, vinegar, and a sweetener. Traditionally, shrubs were used by early homesteaders to preserve fruit before refrigeration was a thing. These days, I like to sip mine mixed with sprarkling water or add a splash to cocktails when I'm feeling fancy. Either way, it's a natural way to support your immune system, and it tastes way better than cough syrup!
Elderberry Shrub Benefits
Elderberries are known for their immune boosting properties, but when combined with honey and raw vinegar, it becomes a triple threat against colds and fatigue. Here's what each ingredient brings to the table:
- Elderberries: Elderberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamin C and help shorten the duration of colds and flu. See this PubMed study to learn more.
- Raw Honey: Natural antibacterial and soothing to the throat.
- Apple Cinder Vinegar: Vinegar aids digestion, supports gut health, and helps extend the shelf life of the shrub without artificial ingredients.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Berry shrubs taste great and have a long shelf life!
- Elderberry shrub is loaded with health benefits. According to healthline.com (Pros and Cons of Elderberry), elderberry products are commonly taken to reduce the length and severity of cold and flu symptoms. They are high in vitamin C, flavonols, and antioxidants.
- Fruit shrubs consist of 1 part fruit, 1 part vinegar, and 1 part sugar (honey or other sweeteners). The same proportions can be used to make other fruit shrubs, especially if you can't find elderberries. Huckleberry shrub, anyone?
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Elderberries: I used one cup of fresh elderberries. If you substitute dried or dehydrated elderberries, use half the amount. Another option is to make a berry shrub with strawberries, blueberries, nannyberries, huckleberries, or other berries.
- Sweetener: Sugar is often found in shrub recipes. I decided to use honey, not only for its health benefits but also for its preservative qualities.
- Vinegar: The best option is apple cider vinegar, but any vinegar with at least 5 percent acidity can be used. Balsamic vinegar would add a fruity flavor.
- Spices: Spices can be added to enhance the shrub's flavor, including cinnamon, cloves, peppercorn, and cardamom. I also added candied ginger.
- Herbs: Fresh mint, basil, rosemary, lavender, and citrus peels are all wonderful additions!
*See recipe card for exact ingredients & quantities.
Equipment
All you need to make elderberry shrub is a quart-sized mason jar, a small saucepan, and a fine mesh sieve. Flip-top bottles are handy for storing, but optional.
How to Make Elderberry Shrub
- Rinse elderberries, then pluck them from their stems. Discard stems, leaves, and green or unripe elderberries.
- Add ripe elderberries, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, orange slices, and crystallized ginger to a quart-sized jar and cover with raw honey.
- Label and date the jar. Allow the fruit to macerate for a week. Shake the jar daily, or when you remember.
- After a week, pour the jar's contents into a small saucepan. Gently simmer for 10-15 minutes to neutralize any toxins naturally found in raw elderberries. This step also deepens the flavor.
Pro Tip: Avoid boiling the elderberries, a gentle simmer is all you need.
- Once the mixture has cooled to below 100°F, stir in apple cider vinegar. This way you preserve the vinegar's beneficial bacterica. Strain through fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a clean jar or a fliptop bottle.
Storage
Store your elderberry shrub in a cool, dark place like a pantry or in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. Shake before each use.
Serving Suggestions
- Add a few tablespoons of elderberry shrub to sparkling water or club soda and drink up to enjoy its health benefits!
- Give your favorite cocktail a makeover with a fruity, mouth-puckering twist.
- Mix a few tablespoons of the elderberry shrub with a few tablespoons of olive oil to make a tasty salad dressing.
- Pour the shrub into ice cubes and freeze. Not only is this a great way to preserve the shrub, but the ice cubes can be conveniently diluted into your drink of choice!
FAQ
Fruit shrubs taste sweet, tangy, and fruity. Their flavor differs based on the fruit used in the recipe.
Drinking vinegar is referred to as shrub because the word shrub is borrowed from the Arabic word "sharbat" which means "juice."
Shrubs are enjoyed diluted into plain water, carbonated water, club soda, or cocktails. Simply add two to three tablespoons of a fruity shrub to an 8-ounce glass of your beverage of choice.
During the first week, as the elderberries and honey mingle, a mild natural fermentation can occur thanks to the wild yeast in raw honey. Once vinegar is added, the acidiedy halts that process, turning the mixture into a shelf-stable tonic rather than an active ferment.
Pro Tips
- When picking elderberries, make sure to only use ripe elderberries. Green, unripe elderberries and their stems are toxic and should be avoided.
- To can elderberry shrub, pour the hot shrub into sterilized jars, leaving a ½" headspace. Next, wipe the rims with a damp paper towel, screw on the lids, and process in a water bath or canner for 15 minutes. Keep in mind you'll lose some of the health benefits if you do so.
- Experiment with other fruit, sugar, vinegar, spices, and herb combinations to create different flavored fruit and berry shrubs.
Whether you're fighting off a seasonal bug or just craving a tangy, refreshing drink, this elderberry shrub recipe deserves a spot in your homestead pantry. It's simple, shelf-stable, and packed with immune-boosting goodness, proof that some of the best remedies are really old-fashioned ones.
More Foraging Recipes
If you enjoy making this elderberry shrub recipe, check out these related posts!
Recipe
Easy Elderberry Shrub Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Rinse elderberries, then pluck them from their stems. Discard stems, leaves, and green or unripe elderberries.
- Add ripe elderberries, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, orange slices, and crystallized ginger to a quart-sized jar and cover with raw honey.
- Label and date the jar. Allow the fruit to macerate for a week. Shake the jar daily, or when you remember.
- After a week, pour the jar's contents into a small saucepan. Gently simmer for 10-15 minutes to neutralize any toxins naturally found in raw elderberries. This step also deepens the flavor.
- Once the mixture has cooled to below 100°F, stir in apple cider vinegar. This way you preserve the vinegar's beneficial bacteria. Strain through fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a clean jar or a flip-top bottle.
Nutrition
Notes
- Avoid boiling the elderberries, a gentle simmer is all you need.
- When picking elderberries, make sure to only use ripe elderberries. Green, unripe elderberries and their stems are toxic and should be avoided.
- To can elderberry shrub, pour the hot shrub into sterilized jars, leaving a ½" headspace. Next, wipe the rims with a damp paper towel, screw on the lids, and process in a water bath or canner for 15 minutes. Keep in mind you'll lose some of the health benefits if you do so.
- Experiment with other fruit, sugar, vinegar, spices, and herb combinations to create different flavored fruit and berry shrubs.
Hilda Sterner says
I hope you try making some shrub and then come back and tell me all about it!
Phil says
I love this stuff, thanks for the recipe!
Hilda Sterner says
My pleasure, Phil, enjoy!