Elderberry Jelly Recipes

ELDERBERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Heat the berries over a low fire until the juice starts to flow and then simmer the fruit for 15 minutes.
• Strain the liquid through a double layer of cheesecloth (easier if you cook the fruit in the evening and let it drain overnight).
• Mix the elderberry and lemon juices along with just enough water to make three cups of fluid.
• Add the pectin, bring the mixture to a boil and stir in the sugar.
• Bring the jelly to a full boil again for one minute, pour it into sterilized glasses and cover the jars with paraffin.

ELDERBERRY JELLY RECIPE FOR CANNING

Steps:

• Juice the elderberries by simmering them with a bit of water and straining them overnight through a jelly bag. It takes roughly 2 pounds of stemmed elderberries to make 4 cups of juice. You can also add a bit of water or other fruit juice to reach 4 cups.
• Add 4 cups of elderberry juice to a pot and bring it to a boil along with half the sugar. Add the calcium water included with the Pomona's pectin and Simmer for a few minutes.
• Mix the pectin powder into the remaining sugar, honey or maple syrup. If you add the pectin directly to the juice it will clump, so this is an important step.
• Add the pectin and sugar mixture into the simmering juice and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
• Pour the jelly into prepared canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a water bath canner for 5 minutes.

ELDERBERRY JELLY RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse the elderberry clusters thoroughly by putting them in the basin of a kitchen sink, and fill it up with water.
• Working over a large bowl, work on 1 small cluster at a time, gently raking the fingers or the tines of a fork across the clusters to dislodge the berries from the stems.
• For each batch of jelly, collect 3 pounds of de-stemmed elderberries (about 8 to 10 cups).
• Place the berries in a large pot and crush with a potato masher to release some of the juices.
• Turn the heat to medium and continue to crush as the mixture heats up to a boil.
• Once the berries and their juices reach a boil, reduce the heat to low and let the berries simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Place a large fine-mesh sieve, or 4 layers of cheesecloth, over a pot.
• Slowly transfer the mashed berries and juice over the sieve to strain the juice out into the pot. Let strain for 1 hour.
• For jars needed for canning, 5 to 6 8-ounce canning jars and lids are needed.
• Rinse out the jars and place on a baking sheet, top-up, in the oven. Heat for 10 minutes at 200 degrees F to sterilize the jars.
• To sterilize the lids, bring a kettle of a couple of cups of water to a boil.
• Place lids in a shallow bowl and pour the boiling water over them.
• To make 1 batch of jelly, 3 cups of juice will be needed, if using MCP or SureJell pectin. (Any amount more than that can be reserve for making syrup, or be added to another batch for jelly.)
• Place 3 cups of juice into a large, high-sided, wide pot (8-quart).
• Add the lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil on high heat.
• Add 4½ cups sugar and ¼ teaspoon of butter.
• Stir with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil again.
• Watch the pot as the mixture will foam up considerably. There may be a need to lower the heat a bit to keep the foam from boiling over the pot.
• Boil the mixture, then pour into canning jars:
• As soon as the mixture reaches a rolling boil that cannot be diminished by stirring, watch the clock.
• At exactly 2 minutes, remove from heat and pour the mixture into canning jars to ¼-inch of headspace from the rim.
• Wipe rims with a damp paper towel. Place lids on jars and rings to secure.

ELDERBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Combine berries, vinegar, and sugar.
• Bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick.
• As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.
• Pour boiling hot mixture into sterilized jars. Adjust lids.
• Process in boiling water 5 minutes. Remove jars; cool and store.

LOW SUGAR ELDERBERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Sterilize 4-5 8-ounce jars, keep hot. Heat lids and rings in hot water, keep warm but not boiling. Fill water bath canner and bring to boil.
• In a small bowl, mix together honey and pectin powder. Don't skip this step, or your pectin will clump. Set aside.
• In a large, non-reactive pot, combine elderberry juice, lime juice and the calcium water. Bring to a full boil.
• Add honey-pectin mixture, stir vigorously 1-2 minutes while cooking to dissolve pectin. Return to boil and remove from heat.
• Ladle hot jelly into sterilized jars leaving 1/4″ headspace. Wipe rims clean and screw on the lids. Process for 10 minutes in water bath canner (add 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level). Makes around 4 cups of jelly.

ELDERBERRY JAM

Steps:

• With a fork, pick elderberries off their stems. You can freeze them beforehand to make this easier.
• Place the elderberries, lemon juice, apple juice concentrate, and sugar in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium heat until the elderberries are mostly popped.
• Add the pectin, stir well, and continue to boil for another 5 mins.
• Do a gel test: drop a bit of jam on a cold plate. If it gels, it's ready. Otherwise continue boiling it or adding a bit more pectin.
• Fill in sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch to the top of the jar. Put lids on and process as desired, such as pressure canning or water bath canning.

CERTO ELDERBERRY JELLY RECIPE

Steps:

• Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.
• Remove and discard large stems from elderberries. Crush fruit thoroughly; place in saucepan. Cook until juice starts to flow, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 min., stirring occasionally. Place three layers of damp cheesecloth or jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 3 cups juice into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Stir in lemon juice.
• Stir sugar into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
• Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

SURE.JELL ELDERBERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
• Remove and discard large stems from elderberries. Crush fruit thoroughly; place in saucepan. Cook on medium heat until juice starts to flow, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 min., stirring occasionally. Place 3 layers of damp cheesecloth or jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 3 cups prepared juice into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. (If necessary, add up to 1/2 cup water for exact measure.) Stir in lemon juice.
• Stir pectin into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
• Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

ELDERBERRY SYRUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Making elderberry syrup can be a messy business and the juice can stain fingers (and clothes), so wear an apron and disposable gloves.
• Before you begin, check through all the elderberries and pick out any dead ones, bits of twigs, leaves, etc.
• Place the berries and water into a stainless-steel pan and bring to a gentle boil, lower the heat and simmer for twenty minutes. Avoid boiling the mixture as this will destroy some of the fresh flavor in the berries.
• While the berries are simmering, every 5 minutes press the berries with the back of a wooden spoon or potato masher to release the juice.
• Line a fine sieve with a cheesecloth of a muslin cloth , tip the contents of the pan into the sieve and leave it to drip. Then, donning your plastic gloves, give the berries a good squeeze by gathering up the cloth and twisting it to stop them from escaping and squeeze hard. Discard the berries once all the juice is out. You should have around 2 cups.
• Return the juice to a clean stainless-steel pan, add the honey, lemon, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the syrup starts to thicken, about 15 minutes.
• Strain again and pour the syrup into a clean, sterilized jar.

ELDERBERRY JELLY

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine elderberries with 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the juice of 1 lemon. Toss until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight to let the berries soften.To make juice, place berries in a large, heavy saucepan. Cover and bring to a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, mashing berries with a potato masher until they soften and release their juices.Press berries through a food mill. Discard solids. Strain juice through a fine mesh sieve to remove any leftover solids that may have gotten through. If you want an even clearer jelly, strain the juice another time through a muslin jelly bag.Measure out 2 cups of prepared fruit juice. Any leftover juice can be refrigerated and saved for another use. Juice can be made ahead of time and refrigerated in an airtight container until you are ready to make your jelly.Fill a large stock pot or canning pot 2/3 full with water; place a rack of some sort in the bottom and place over medium-high heat. Wash/sterilize your jars and submerge in water bath as it heats. The pot should be just about boiling by the time the jam is ready to go. Keep jars in hot (not boiling) water until ready to use.In a bowl, whisk together sugar and pectin until evenly distributed.Pour 2 cups of prepared juice along into a saucepan along with lemon juice and calcium water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scalding.Whisk in sugar and pectin, stirring until completely dissolved and mixture returns to a full rolling boil. Add elderflower syrup and liqueur and return mixture to a full rolling boil once more.Remove from heat and ladle jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch of head space. Wipe jar rims and screw on lids. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks.