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This is a simple and delicious elderberry jelly recipe that only requires elderberries, lemon juice, and sugar. It’s easy to make and creates a dark purple preserve loaded with flavor! It’s delicious in sweet and savory dishes, but I especially love it paired with cheese and crackers.

In late summer, hedgerows fill with a bounty of wild fruit and berries. That includes many easy-to-forage wild foods, such as rose hips, crab apples, mushrooms, blackberries, and elderberries. Rich in vitamin C and sweet flavor, elderberries are wonderful in all sorts of delicious preserves. Elderberry syrup is a must, but this easy elderberry jelly recipe is delicious, too. Spread it on toast, serve with a cheeseboard, or dollop it on savory dishes like Swedish meatballs.

Elderberries’ flavor is rich and juicy but has an earthy wildness that’s hard to place. Trust me when I say they’re delicious and well worth a rummage around the hedgerows to find them. Another great thing about this recipe is that you only need a handful of ingredients, basic kitchen equipment, and a few jars to make it. Feel free to double or triple the recipe for even more jars of dark jewel-like preserves.

Identifying Elderberries

Elderberries grow throughout the northern hemisphere, from Europe to Asia and the Americas. There are a few varieties to look out for, but the most common type is the European elder, Sambucus nigra. They grow as shrub-like trees, and their fruit is formed from fragrant umbels of elderflowers that flower in June. The elderflowers gradually form clusters of green berries that deepen to a purple-black and fill with a rich purple juice.

Elderberry jelly recipe with elderberries, lemon juice, sugar, and pectin. Makes an excellent preserve that can be served in both sweet and savory dishes #foraging #canning #jellyrecipe — Forage for elderberries responsibly, and don’t strip the trees of valuable food for wildlife.

In North America, you’ll have the European elder, but also the blueberry elder and American elder. All are similar, although the blueberry elder has different leaves from the other two. Elderberries are easy to identify, but always triple-check that you pick the correct berry before eating it. Also, be aware that you shouldn’t eat elderberries or elderberry juice raw. Doing that can cause belly aches, but cooking the berries makes them safe and delicious.

Elderberry Foraging Tips

Elder trees are common across Europe, Britain, and some parts of North America. They usually grow along hedgerows and forest edges and are relatively easy to identify. If you come across one in spring when picking elderflowers, remember to come back later in the season to pick the berries. They taste completely different from elderflowers, and you can either use them right away or freeze them for later.

Also, please only take a little of what you find growing wild. Most foragers are responsible, but beginners aren’t always aware. Unsustainable foraging threatens our wild places and the food supply that wild animals need to survive. I try only to take up to ten percent of what I find growing wild, which is a good rule. Foraging that way means I can get a harvest, and the local birds, hedgehogs, and mammals aren’t impacted.

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Elderberry Jelly Recipe (no pectin)

Lovely Greens

Elderberry jelly recipe with elderberries, lemon juice, and sugar. It creates an excellent preserve with wild elderberry flavor and can be served in sweet and savory dishes. Makes 2-3 pint jars.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Course Snack

Cuisine American, British

Servings pints

Calories 50 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

2.2 lbs elderberries (1 kg)
3 cups water
2.2 lbs white sugar (1 kg / 4.5 cups)
1/3 cup lemon juice (Bottled is better than fresh)

Instructions

Preparation

Clean and sterilize the preserving jars and lids. You can run them through the dishwasher or place them in the oven at 270°F (130°C) for 20 minutes, then let them cool. Inspect them for cracks or imperfections and discard any that aren't perfect. The lids can go in the dishwasher, too, or you can pour scalding water over them and leave them in it for five minutes before repeating. Allow them to fully air-dry before you use them to seal your jars.
Put a plate in the freezer in preparation for testing the setting point.
Several hours before making elderberry jelly, make the elderberry juice. I usually do this the night before. Rinse the berries and then pluck the berries from the stems*. You can use a fork to pull them off the stems or your fingers.
Place the berries in a large saucepan with the water and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, then when the fruit is soft use a potato masher to squish the berries.
Set up a jelly strainer or muslin-lined sieve over a bowl. Pour the hot berries and juice through it. Leave the berries to drip for at least a few hours, if not overnight.

Make Elderberry Jelly

Measure the juice you have after it’s been strained. You need 1 kg of juice for this recipe. That's about 1 liter or 4.25 cups. If you have less, top up the juice with water to the amount needed.
Place the jars and lids in the oven and begin warming them on the lowest setting. They should be warm when you pour the hot jelly inside to reduce the chance of cracking.
Heat the juice, sugar, and lemon juice in a pan. Bring the juice to a rapid boil and leave it there until the setting point is reached. This will take about 15-30 minutes of boiling, and you should keep a close eye on it, stirring regularly.
Check that the setting point has been reached by dribbling a small amount of the juice onto the plate you’ve chilled in the freezer. Leave it for a minute, and then push at it from the edge with your fingertip. If the jelly crinkles up, then the setting point has been met and you can move on to step 8. If it just moves aside in a liquidy way and without any crinkling then continue boiling.
Turn off the heat and let the pan sit for a few minutes. A skin will form on the surface of the jelly. Skim this off with a spoon and discard it, then pour the jelly into the warm jars using a jam funnel. Fill them to within a quarter-inch of the rim and twist on the lids or lids and rings.

Process the Elderberry Jelly

Water-bath the jars to ensure that they're fully sterilized*.
Fill a tall pan with water and place a rack at the bottom. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the jars inside, placing them so that they're not touching and that there's at least an inch of water above. Put a lid on the pan.
Bring the water back to a rolling boil and leave the jars in the boiling water for five minutes.
Lift them out vertically (not tilted) with a jar lifter and set them on the counter to cool. The lids will seal as the jelly cools – you’ll hear a pop as the seal closes. It may take twelve or more hours for the seal to take.
Store the jam for up to a year in a cool cupboard. Once open, refrigerate, and use within six months.

Notes

* The stems leave a bitter taste in your preserves, so try to remove as many as possible. Don’t stress out if you don’t get all of them.

* In Britain, it’s not common for people to water-bath high-acid preserves like this elderberry jelly. It’s much safer if you do since it will ensure that the lid seals and the contents are sterile.

Nutrition

Serving: 1TBSPCalories: 50kcalCarbohydrates: 13gPotassium: 52mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 7mg

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