Elderberry Jelly

As you drive around the countryside this time of year, you may notice that the elderberries are ripe! If you’re not familiar with elderberries, they are a small, deep, red-purple berry that grows in clusters on a bush. Prior to being ripe, you will notice the white flowers, similar to Queen Anne’s Lace.

So what’s the big deal about these berries growing along the side of the road?

In addition to making delicious jelly you can also make syrup, tea, and more with these little berries.

They are also JAM packed with health benefits :p

Actually, they have the qualities of a superfood!

For more information on the health benefits and how to harvest elderberries, visit my previous post here.

I personally love making jelly with the elderberries. It’s something I learned how to do alongside my grandma and have fond memories of spending the day in the kitchen with her.

To make the jam, you’re going to need a LOT of berries. I had 6 plastic bags full… and that was enough to get 6 cups of juice. Enough for 1 batch of jam.

You will also need:

• Large stockpot
• Large measuring cup
• Potato masher
• Fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth
• Metal spoon
• Jars
• 7 cups of sugar
• 1 package of Sure Jell fruit pectin

Jump to Recipe

Place all of the destemmed berries in a stock pot and heat over medium heat.

Stir the berries and mash with a potato masher frequently to release all of the juices.

Once the juice has come to a boil reduce the heat to medium- low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and strain the juice into a separate bowl or pot. My large Pyrex measuring bowl worked really well (once the berries were able to be packed down a bit) for this step because you are going to need an exact measurement of juice for the jelly to set.

Hopefully you had enough berries to get 6 ½ cups of elderberry juice. You can add up to ½ cup of water to reach the desired 6 ½ cups of juice.

Measure 7 cups of sugar into a separate bowl and set aside for now.

Return the elderberry juice to the pot on high heat and add the package of Sure Jell.

Stir the pot continuously until the juice mixture reaches a rolling boil (a boil that continues while stirring contents of pot).

Add the sugar and continue stirring constantly. Return to a rolling boil.

Boil for exactly 1 minute and remove from heat. Skim off any foam using a metal spoon.

Immediately fill prepared jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace at the top of the jar. Wipe top of jars and tightly screw lids on.

Process jam jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.

Allow jars to cool and jelly to set for 24 hours.

Enjoy your elderberry jelly! Have any canning tips? Share them in the comments; I’d love to hear them!