Elderberry syrup is brown. Is this ok?!

nlgetta

I was gifted a nice big jar of homegrown dried elderberries. I made my syrup adding only fresh ginger (I’m sharing w/someone allergic to cinnamon). The syrup is brown, not the usual dark violet. Is this ok to consume? Were the berries compromised? Did the fresh ginger cause a pigment reaction? Any knowledge and expertise is greatly appreciated. Thank you 🙏🏻

Torey

I hate to say it but I think it might be best to use these for chicken feed. The strong colour of anthocyanins is part of this medicine. The liquid in your cup should definitely be a beautiful purple, not this faded tea colour.

nlgetta

Thank you Torrey!

She just started chickens this year so I’ll gracefully offer the remaining berries back as chicken feed. Love it. I was able to order some from a reputable herbal shop.

Torey

How much ginger did you add. I make my syrup with a variety of other ingredients including ginger and it is always purple. What about the honey? Was it very dark?

To me a brown colour would indicate oxidation. Maybe the berries were older? Maybe they had been dried in the sun so they oxidized that way?

Welcome to the forum @nlgetta.

nlgetta

I used 2 C. Berries, 4 C. Filtered water and about 4 TBS. of finely grated ginger. Simmered quite awhile. Strained once cooled.

I’m not sure how they were dried but were most likely from last year’s crop (gave them to me in March).

As a quick test I put a small handful in the mug and poured boiled h2o and the water went a tea-colored brown immed.

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nlgetta

Oops, forgot the honey part. I add honey at the end but since the color was suspect I never got that far. I just stared at it puzzled, stressed awhile while trying to Google an answer (no luck) then opted to cut my losses and dump :(( I have 1/2 a jar left and hate to waste them but not sure what I can do with them at this point.

LaurieLovesLearning

@nlgetta Welcome to the forum. Please be sure to check out the introduction are and the rules as well. Both can be found through this link:

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/categories

You said that the elderberries were homegrown. Do you know the variety/color? The berries that I get are black-purple color when dried. This might seem like an odd question, but are you positive that they are actually elderberries?

They should not give you a tea color...I agree. I think dumping them is most likely the option you should take. I would suggest planting them instead of throwing them into the garbage.