Description

The syrup is made in three steps. First a tincture is made with the berries and the brandy. This needs to macerate for 4 weeks. Then the tincture is strained and the same berries are simmered with water to make a strong decoction to which honey is added. This makes the syrup. Then some of the tincture is added to the syrup to create the final shelf-stable syrup.

Both the alcohol and the honey are important to make this shelf stable. Without them, this preparation would spoil quickly. Don’t be tempted to cut back on the honey or reduce the alcohol. The proportions are important to the success of the recipe.

Ingredients

Scale

Part 1

750 ml. brandy (about 3 cups)
3 cups of dried Hawthorn Berries (or 4 cups of fresh Hawthorn Berries)

Part 2

4 cups of filtered water
2 cups of honey

Part 3

¼ cup of tincture from part 1, for every cup of syrup
Syrup from part 2

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Instructions

Step 1:

Add the hawthorn berries to a sanitized wide mouth quart jar.

Pour the brandy over the berries, so that all the berries are covered with brandy.

Infuse the hawthorn berries in the alcohol for 4 weeks.
Check the alcohol level over the next 5 days and top up the jar with brandy to keep the berries submerged in the alcohol.
Shake the jar once a day, or as often as you remember.
After four weeks, strain the berries from the alcohol. The alcohol is your hawthorn tincture. But don’t discard the berries. You’ll need them for step 2.
Separate 1 cup of the hawthorn tincture and bottle the rest to use as tincture. Label and date it. It will keep indefinitely at room temperature in a cool place, protected from light.
Step 2:
Add the strained berries to a 1 ½ quart stainless steel pot.
Pour the water over the berries and simmer gently for 1 hour. At first the water will boil rapidly as the alcohol is evaporated from the berries. Then it will simmer normally. Stir the decoction frequently to prevent it from scorching.
After one hour, strain out the berries. Squeeze them through potato ricer or a jelly bag to get the most juice. The berries can be composted.
Return the decoction to the pot. Simmer until the decoction is just 2 cups, and is reduced by half.
Add 2 cups of honey to the decoction. Heat gently, keeping the temperature to just below boiling, in order to fully dissolve the honey. Remove from heat as soon as the honey is fully melted.
Step 3:
Measure the syrup. Add ¼ cup of hawthorn berry tincture for every cup of the prepared syrup.
Store in sterilized bottles. Label and date the bottles.

Notes

This syrup is preserved both by the alcohol and the honey in the recipe. For short term storage, place the bottles in the fridge. For long term storage, dip the cap and neck of the bottles into beeswax to make a wax seal. Sterilized and sealed bottles will last 1 year if kept in a cool place, and protected from light. Open bottles should last 3 months in the fridge.