ELDERBERRY QUESTIONS
What is Elderberry Apple Shots?
Elderberry Apple Shots is a fantastic combination of elderberries and apples. For each bottle, we press ½ lb. of elderberries and combine them with apple syrup we make on our wood-fired evaporator from apple cider (similar to how we make maple syrup). We add nothing else! Zero. No added sugar, no glycerin, no preservatives, no funny business!
Why do you call it Elderberry Apple Shots?
Because the combination of these two perfect ingredients is thicker than a juice but thinner than a syrup. Elderberry Apple Shots has significantly longer shelf-life than elderberry juice and yet doesn’t have the preservatives or high sugar content generally found in elderberry syrups. Our farm product stands out for its purity, simplicity, delicious taste and one year shelf life!
Is your Elderberry Apple Shots Certified Organic?
We offer the Shots in several options, including one made with Certified Organic apples and Certified Organic elderberries and one which is USDA Certified Organic. Be sure to use the drop down menus under the green "Add to Cart" buttons to see the options.
How do I read the Expiration Date? And what does it really mean?
On the bottom of your Elderberry Apple Shots (and all other products except maple syrup, honey, and soap), you will see a white sticker with some numbers on it. Most stickers have a year-month-day on the left, and a 3-digit batch number on the right. A few may have a month/year, followed by, or preceded by, a 3-digit batch number. Our products will degrade over time, and the expiration date indicates the highest quality time-frame, assuming the original vacuum seal has not been broken. Spoilage after this date tends to be fermentation, but degradation of nutrition, vitamins, and minerals happens as well.
What is the daily dosage?
Elderberry Apple Shots is a food, not a supplement or a drug. Other elderberry products will offer dosages because they are sold as supplements. We recommend that folks who take prescriptions or are under medical care ask a healthcare specialist before consuming Elderberry. We cannot offer any health-related advice. You can read more about this here. Our serving size is 1 Tablespoon, and there are 8,000 mg of pressed elderberries in each serving.
Are elderberries good for me?
That’s a question for medical science to answer. We do have a short nutritional table to help you research elderberries here. As farmers we can tell you how elderberries grow best, what varieties do what, how soil should be enlivened, etc. But we are farmers not medical researchers! As farmers, about all we can say to you is our elderberries and apples are of the highest quality and that we take great care in putting them in a bottle. Please be wary of elderberry companies which offer medical advice.
How is it preserved when there are only two ingredients?
Elderberry Apple Shots have been evaluated and approved by a food laboratory and are "shelf stable." That means they can be stored, unopened, in a dark dry location safely for a long period of time. Three factors are at work to create a safe product, without added preservatives: 1. the naturally occurring sugars in the apples and the berries; 2. the low pH of the final product; 3. the care we take in packaging it safely. The same principles work for "no sugar added" jams and jellies and pickles that you purchase in the grocery store, or make yourself at home following approved recipes.
What is the shelf life of Elderberry Apple Shots?
The shelf life un-opened is one year (not refrigerated). Once you open it, keep it in the refrigerator and it will last for 4 months. You can also freeze Shots for very long term storage.
Do you sell raw or dried elderberries?
No, we do not. We occasionally sell dried elderflowers when they are available here.
Why don’t you sell plain elderberry syrup?
There is no such thing as "plain" elderberry syrup. We chose to use apples to sweeten the bitter taste of elderberries. Other companies use honey, agave nectar, vegetable glycerin, cane sugar, tapioca syrup, etc. It is common to add spices in these blends such as cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. We DO NOT add spices -- only 2 ingredients in our Shots -- and so actually our Shots are the "plainest" we've seen on the market.
Do you sell your Elderberry Apple Shots in larger sizes?
Yes! https://www.fat-stone-farm.com/collections/all/products/elderberry-apple-shots-67-oz
How much pressed elderberry (liquid) is in each serving?
Each serving contains at least 8,000 mg or 8 grams of pressed elderberries (liquid) derived from pressing 13,000 mg or 13 grams of whole elderberries. This means that we press ½ lb. of elderberries for each 9.3 oz bottle. Click here for our label.
What does it mean that your Elderberry Apple Shots has more minimally-processed elderberry than any commercially-available elderberry syrup?
Generally, if an elderberry syrup labels show high elderberry content it generally comes in the form of concentrate, extract, or concentrated extract. And this come at the expense of extra processing that involves more than simply cold-pressing berries and heating the liquid briefly (like Elderberry Apple Shots). Our Elderberry Apple Shots is not a lab food and as such it's very simply made. We guarantee it. Please see our 100% Money-Back, Satisfaction Guarantee.
Do you grow all the elderberries and apples used in your product?
No. We are expanding our elderberry acreage so that we can increase the proportion of our own elderberries in each bottle. For now, we have partnered with a few small farms in the mid-West to provide frozen, whole elderberries. We do not contract out any of the process (except pressing apples). Everything is done on our farm.
How should I use my Elderberry Apple Shots?
You can sip it straight. Kids will drink it, too, because it is not bitter, nor complicated with other herbs, spices, or flavors. Feel free to put it in tap water or sparkling water or seltzer as a flavoring. My mother-in-law puts it in her yogurt. You could put it on ice cream. The goal is to get it in your food. Best not to heat it too much, or you might degrade some of the nutrition.
Why do you call it Elderberry Apple Shots when the first ingredient is apples?
According to US food laws, ingredients must be listed in order according to weight rather than volume. When we make a batch of Elderberry Apple Shots, the apple syrup weighs a bit more than the elderberry liquid, even though there is more elderberry liquid by volume (55% elderberry liquid by volume).
Are your elderberries the European or American variety and does it make a difference in nutrition?
The European elderberry, Sambucus nigra, was used in earlier medical research and received accolades and attention from the medical research community. The North American elderberry, Sambucus canadensis, is native to our continent and the subject of medical research as well, specifically at the University of Missouri. Botanists seem to be further refining the categories of the species, though, and the USDA is now listing Sambucus canadensis as a subspecies of Sambucus nigra.
Why is the label hand-written?
We designed the label to reflect what is inside: a high quality, farm product that you cannot purchase at huge stores. The label follows federal, state and local guidelines, and reminds us that Elderberry Apple Shots is made by hand.
MAPLE QUESTIONS
Isn’t all maple syrup “organic”?
No, it’s not. It all comes from maple trees, and all of it starts out as sap and is reduced into a syrup, but the similarities end there. Certified organic maple syrup means that 1) no herbicides or pesticides are applied within 50 yards of the tree’s drip line; 2) all equipment must be stainless steel – no galvanized or lead-soldered equipment is permitted; 3) only organic de-foamers can be applied during the boiling process; 4) the minimum diameter of tapped trees at chest height needs to be 12”; 5) there is a limit of 2 taps per tree; 6) organic producers must monitor tree health and site condition characteristics to ensure sustainable tapping and overall forest health.
SOAP QUESTIONS
New in late 2020! Elderberry Soap for bath, shower, and hand-washing.
Is the soap sticky from the Elderberry Juice?
No. The saponification process removes all stickiness. This is why soap companies can make soaps with honey, milk, and lots of "sticky" ingredients and come out with an amazing bar of soap.
Don't people warn you not to eat elderberry seeds? Is this soap safe?
We wondered about that too! We sent our elderberry seed oil to an independent lab to test for the presence of cyanogenic glycosides (the compound found in some parts of the elderberry plant which can make you ill). There were NONE detected. This confirms that our variety of elderberry and the methods we developed to dry, extract, and press the seeds yielded a safe oil. Importantly, don't eat the soap no matter what! It's just for your skin.
What is the shelf-life of these Elderberry Soaps?
The soap will last for many years when stored correctly. The scent will disappear more quickly, though (6 months or so), because natural essential oils lose their potency over time. We make the soaps in small batches so that you are purchasing a fresh soap. The soap will also shrink very slightly as it loses moisture so the paper wrapper may get loose after several months.
FARM QUESTIONS
Can I visit the farm?
No, we don't host visitors. Our farm is not well suited to traffic and visitors and so we’ve chosen not to open to the public. Please visit our Facebook and Instagram pages for lots of up to date photos!
ORDERING QUESTIONS
What payment options do you offer?
We take Visa, Mastercard, Discover American Express, PayPal and more. Your credit card will be processed upon placing your order.
Can I change my order once I place it?
Please let us know as soon as possible if you want to change your order. We strive to get all orders processed within 48 hours, so call or email us with changes. We will try to accommodate your request.
Do you provide gift wrapping?
We have a greeting card option to include in the shipment! You will see this option at the first check-out page. No gift wrapping at this time.
SHIPPING QUESTIONS
Will my product freeze in the cold weather? Will it spoil in the hot weather?
No, and no. The only product we MAY hold back is the vinegar. The higher sugar items such as maple syrup and Elderberry Apple Shots do not freeze down to 0F. The additional bubble wrapping also acts as an insulator. We have not experienced any freezing/cracking of bottles in the many years we've been shipping around the country. And because our products are shelf-stable, they are fine in the heat of the summer.
What is your shipping charge?
On orders $35+ placed on our website, our packages ship for free to most States in the USA.
If you require a specific delivery service (options are UPS or USPS), we charge a $5.00 flat rate if your order is $35 or more. If you are okay with us choosing your delivery, shipping is free if your order value is $35 or more (after discounts and not including taxes or shipping fees).
If your order is less than $35, you will be given a choice between UPS and USPS and the rates will display at checkout.
We also have a plastic-free shipping option for the Elderberry Gummy Kit, which uses a kraft padded mailer instead of the white plastic USPS padded mailer. This does raise the cost of shipping by $3.
Will you ship Elderberry Apple Shots internationally?
Not at this time. We ship to the continental United States only. We would appreciate hearing from you if you want this option. Email us.
How quickly will you ship my order?
We aim to process and ship orders within 48 hours (unless you are placing a made-to-order product). Please keep in mind that orders are packed by human beings and every effort is made to do this efficiently but there may be times when orders get backed up by a day or two.
Can I track my order shipment?
Yes, you can. As soon as we ship your product, you will receive an e-mail with tracking numbers.
Will we expedite shipping?
Not at this time. We do our best to get your order processed and out the door within 48 hours. Most of the time it is sooner than that! We would appreciate hearing from you if you want this option: Email us.
May I ship to a Post Office Box?
Yes -- please specify "USPS" on the shipping page. Some larger products do not ship USPS regardless. The surcharges for large shipments to PO Boxes are substantial (usually around $15).
Do you ship to APO/FPO boxes?
Not at this time. We would appreciate hearing from you if you want this option. Email us.
