Saturday, 2 September 2017

Elderberry Jelly Recipes – Low Sugar and Sure-Jell Options

Elderberry Jelly Recipes – Low Sugar and Sure-Jell Options Find more on: Total Survival

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.When we had a banner elderberry harvest, my friend, Tami, and I experimented with a variety of elderberry recipes, including two different types of elderberry jelly. One recipe is low sugar elderberry jelly made with Pomona's Pectin, and the other is a traditional elderberry jelly made with Sure-Jell pectin.

If you don't have your own elderberries, I suspect the elderberry juice concentrate sold for winemaking could be adapted for jelly making. You can also buy ready-made elderberry jelly from Norm's Farms. Their jelly is made with elderberry juice and natural cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

Low Sugar Elderberry Jelly Recipe

This recipe was based on the “Make Your Own Recipe” instructions included with the Pomona's Pectin.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart elderberry juice
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 4 teaspoons calcium water
  • 2 cups honey
  • 4 teaspoons Pomona's Pectin

Directions

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.

We had a little incident while making this jelly. I forgot to mix the pectin into the honey before dumping it into the hot juice, and tried to add the pectin separately. This is what resulted.

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

There was no way that pectin was going to dissolve properly, so we fished it out, and I mixed another 4 teaspoons with 1/4 cup sugar, and mixed that into the hot liquid while stirring briskly. It worked like a charm and the jelly was saved.

Homestyle Elderberry Jelly Recipe

This recipe was based on the instructions for blackberry jelly included with Sure-Jell pectin.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart elderberry juice
  • 4 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon butter
  • 1 package Sure-Jell pectin

Directions

Sterilize 5-6 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.

Stir pectin into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 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.) Makes 5-6 eight ounce jars of jelly.

After a busy day, we ended up with a nice assortment of syrups and jellies for our families.

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

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Low Sugar Elderberry Jelly

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

Lightly sweetened with a bit of lime juice for acidity, this elderberry jelly is sure to please.

  • Author: Laurie Neverman

Ingredients

  • 1 quart elderberry juice
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 4 teaspoons calcium water
  • 2 cups honey
  • 4 teaspoons Pomona's Pectin

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together honey and pectin powder. Don't skip this step, or your pectin will clump. Set aside.
  3. In a large, non-reactive pot, combine elderberry juice, lime juice and the calcium water. Bring to a full boil.
  4. Add honey-pectin mixture, stir vigorously 1-2 minutes while cooking to dissolve pectin. Return to boil and remove from heat.
  5. 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.
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Homestyle Elderberry Jelly Made with Sure-Jell

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

This old fashioned elderberry is a full sugar recipe thickened with Sure-Jell pectin.

  • Author: Laurie Neverman
  • Yield: 5-6 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 quart elderberry juice
  • 4 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon butter
  • 1 package Sure-Jell pectin

Instructions

Sterilize 5-6 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.

Stir pectin into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 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.) Makes 5-6 eight ounce jars of jelly.

How to Remove Elderberries from the Stems

My friend, Tami, saw my comment on the Common Sense Homesteading Facebook page about wanting to experiment with elderberries, and embraced the challenge with gusto. She and her family went picking, and came home with the entire car trunk filled with elderberries. Bless her heart, I didn't have time to help her process them the next day, so she stuck them in the freezer overnight and tackled them herself.

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

Yes, those are FIVE GALLON BUCKETS – full of elderberries, plus the two boxes. It was a very, very long day.

Tami said that she found the fastest way to strip the berries from the stems was using a large comb (washed before using – honest!).

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

Freezing helped loosen the berries, too. (I can't remember who suggested freezing on the Facebook page, but thanks!)

Why do you need to remove elderberries from the stems before juicing?

Stems, bark, leaves, and roots contain a cyanide-producing glycoside. While these parts can be used medicinally, it's best to keep them separate from the berries, especially in an application that might end up concentrating the problematic substances.

Once the elderberries were removed from the stem, Tami cooked them down in a large pot and then stuffed them into a pillowcase, which she hung from under a stairway.

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

You know that pillowcase is never going to be non-purple again. There was a smidgen of fallout, too. With so many elderberries, juice ended up everywhere, even on the toilet seat in the bathroom. I feel so honored to have a friend that's willing to completely trash her house for me. 😉 Big hugs and kisses, much love.

Two homemade elderberry jelly recipes - low sugar elderberry jelly thickened with Pomona's Pectin, and old fashioned elderberry jelly with Sure-Jell.

When all was said and done, it was after midnight and 24 quarts of juice had been processed in the water bath canner. Quarts are processed for 10 minutes, pints and cups for 5 minutes. For more detailed instructions on water bath canning elderberry juice, visit pickyourown.org.

More Posts You May Find Useful

Home Food Preservation – 10 Ways to Preserve Food at Home

How to Make Elderberry Wine

How to Make Elderberry Syrup

The post Elderberry Jelly Recipes – Low Sugar and Sure-Jell Options appeared first on Common Sense Homesteading.

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