Elderberry Jelly Recipe
Elderberry jelly recipe with elderberries, lemon juice, sugar, and pectin. Makes an excellent preserve that can be served in both sweet and savory dishes. Makes 2-3 jars
Servings 3 Pint jars (8 oz / 225 g)
Calories 260kcal
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs Elderberries 1 kg
- 3 cups Water
- 2.2 lbs White granulated sugar 1 kg / 5 cups. If available, purchase 'Jam Sugar'
- 1/2 Lemon Juice of
- 1 Tbsp Pectin 8g / 0.28oz / approx 1 Sachet. If using 'Jam Sugar' you won't need this extra pectin.
Instructions
- Clean and sterilize your preserving jars. Run them through the dishwasher or place them in the oven at 270°F (130°C) for 20 minutes and then let them cool. Inspect them for any 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.
- Rinse the berries and then pluck the berries off the stems. The stems leave a bitter taste to your preserves so try to remove as many of them as possible but don’t stress out if you don’t get all of them. To get the berries off, you can use a fork to pull them off the stems but what I like to do now is gently roll and pull them off with my fingers. I place the entire cluster of berries in my hand and gently tug the berries off.
- Place the berries into 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 your jelly strainer over a bowl and pour the berries and juice through it. Leave the berries to drip for at least a few hours if not overnight. You’ll notice in my photo that I’m using a jelly straining frame but a piece of muslin to strain my berries.
- Measure the juice you have after it’s been strained and compost the berry solids. For every 600ml (2-1/2 cups) of juice measure 450g (1-1/4 cups) of white granulated sugar.
- Warm your jars. This is especially important if you use recycled glass jars to make preserves in. That's because the thin glass can crack when hot contents are poured inside. Place your jars and lids into the oven and begin warming them on the lowest setting.
- Put the juice into a large saucepan heat it on high. As it begins warming up, slowly pour in the sugar, lemon juice, and pectin and stir until dissolved. Now 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.
- Check to see 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 the heat off and let the pan sit for a couple of minutes until a skin forms on the surface of the jelly. Skim this off with a spoon and discard then pour the jelly into the warm jars using a jam funnel. Fill to within a quarter-inch of the rim and twist on the lids or lids and rings.
- Water-bath the jars to ensure that they're fully sterilized*. Fill a tall pan with water and place either a rack at the bottom. Bring to a boil then lower your jars in so that they're not touching and that there's at least an inch of water above. Bring 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
- In Britain, it's not common for people to water-bath high-acid preserves like this elderberry jelly. That's because there's been no national body that gives advice on such matters since WWII. The information that people use to preserve food in the UK is very much outdated and leads to a lot of spoilage. You can read more on the topic here.
Nutrition
Calories: 260kcal