Elderberries

How to serve elderberries by age

6 months+

Cooked, sieved and stirred in

Use only ripe, dark purple berries. Strip every berry off its stalk, then simmer the berries in a little water until they have all burst and softened. Push the sauce through a sieve to take out the skins and small seeds, and let it cool. Elderberries are tart, so stir the sauce into a food your baby already eats, like mashed banana, cooked apple or pear, or oatmeal. Don't add sugar.

Size

A teaspoon or two of cooked, sieved elderberry sauce stirred into a soft food, or served on a pre-loaded spoon. Never raw berries.

Check before serving

Check the sauce before serving: smooth, with no whole berries, stalks, leaves or green bits.

US and UK advice differ here. The AAP suggests mashed food or soft pieces no larger than ½ inch; the NHS suggests soft finger-sized pieces your baby can hold in their fist. Both agree the food must squash easily.

9 months+

Cooked sauce, stirred in

Keep cooking and sieving elderberries. Swirl the sauce into oatmeal, iron-fortified cereal or plain full-fat yogurt (once dairy has been introduced on its own), or into mashed cooked apple or pear.

Size

Cooked, sieved sauce stirred into a soft food, with any fruit served alongside in pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

Check before serving

Check the sauce before serving: no whole berries, stalks or leaves, and every berry cooked until it burst.

12 months+

Cooked, mashed or baked in

Elderberries are cooked at every age. You can now leave the skins and seeds in a cooked mash if your toddler manages them, or keep sieving. Stir the sauce into oatmeal or yogurt, or bake cooked elderberries into soft muffins or pancakes, without sugar. Skip sweetened elderberry jam, cordial and syrup. Stay with your toddler while they eat.

Size

Cooked, mashed berries, or berries cooked into soft foods, with pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) or smaller.

Check before serving

Check before serving: every berry cooked until it burst, with no stalks, leaves or green berries.

18 months+

Cooked into family foods

Cook elderberries into sauces for oatmeal, yogurt and family desserts, or bake cooked, mashed elderberries into muffins, and take your toddler's portion out before any sugar goes in. Never offer raw elderberries, even a few straight from the bush. Poison Control suggests teaching children always to ask an adult before eating or drinking anything. Make sure your toddler sits down to eat, and stay with them.

Size

Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or cooked berries in sauces and bakes.

Check before serving

Check before serving: every berry cooked until it burst, with no stalks, leaves or green berries.

Always have your child sit upright in a high chair or at the table, and stay with them the whole time they eat. Keep to the size and texture for their stage. Every baby develops on their own timeline.

How to prepare elderberries

1. 1

   Use only ripe, dark purple-black elderberries. If you pick your own, use them only if you know for certain what the plant is (Poison Control).

2. 2

   Rinse the clusters under running water, then strip every berry off the stalks (running a fork down each stalk works well). Pick out all stalks, leaves and green or unripe berries: the NCCIH says raw or unripe elderberries, leaves and stems contain poisonous cyanide-producing substances.

3. 3

   Simmer the berries in a small pan with a splash of water, stirring, until every berry has burst and softened (our suggestion: about 10 to 15 minutes; the NCCIH gives no time). The NCCIH says cooking eliminates the toxin in raw or unripe berries. Cook dried elderberries the same way (our suggestion: no source we found says drying removes the toxin).

4. 4

   Push the sauce through a sieve to remove the skins and seeds for babies, then let it cool before serving. Don't add sugar: stir it into a sweeter food instead.

How much to offer

Start with a teaspoon of cooked, sieved elderberry sauce stirred into a familiar food. We found no official source that gives an age for cooked elderberries: the NCCIH says cooking eliminates the toxin in raw or unripe berries, and starting small at 6 months is our suggestion. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Elderberries are tart and strongly colored, so a little goes a long way.

Common mistakes

Questions parents ask

If your baby refuses elderberries

• Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
• Elderberries are tart. Mix a little sauce into mashed banana, cooked apple or pear, and slowly add more.
• Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.
• Funny faces don't mean they dislike it. They're getting used to a new taste and texture.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing elderberries

• Keep fresh elderberries in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C), and cook them soon after picking or buying.
• Cooked elderberry sauce keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
• Cooked, sieved elderberry sauce can be frozen in small portions and used within 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours of thawing, and stir it into oatmeal or yogurt.
• Throw away any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F / 32°C).