Place dried elderberries and water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes and mash the berries towards the end to help them release more juice.
Add more water if berries soak up too much so you have enough syrup left to strain at the end.
Strain syrup, making sure to push down on the berries to extract all the juice.
After it’s cooled slightly but is still warm, add in honey and apple cider vinegar.
Stir well and store in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.
Notes
Always cook your syrup at a simmer for at least 15 minutes.
Don't use a pressure cooker, Instant Pot, or even a pot with the lid on as the hydrocyanic acid needs to be able to cook out and can't evaporate out with a lid on, it drips back into the syrup.
Wait until the elderberry juice has cooled to hot bath water temp, about 110 degrees, before adding honey and ACV.
Elderberry juice can be consumed plain. But for a tastier syrup add honey, and for additional health benefits add one or more of the optional add-ins such as cinnamon, rose hips, ginger, astragalus root, orange peel, or clove.