Elderberry Crab Apple Jelly with Lemon

We’ve discovered a field bursting with elderberry bushes; each bush more ladled down with fruit than the next.  It’s amazing to see so many growing in one spot.  Elderberries are a shrub native to North America and they seem to grow abundantly in wet, swampy, sunny areas.  An environment Muskoka provides with easy.

RECIPE FOR ELDERBERRY CRAB APPLE JELLY with Lemon:

• 4lbs elderberries; washed and stemmed
• 1 1/2lbs crab apples; washed and quartered
• 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons; washed, thinly sliced, and quartered
• 1 small lemon equalling 4 tbsps lemon juice
• 1 cup  water to boil with the elderberries and crab apples
• 3/4 cup water to poach lemons
• 2 cups sugar; divided
• 2 cups maple syrup (if you don’t have maple syrup replace with 2 cups sugar)

1. Place elderberries, crab apples, and water in a stainless steel preserving and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer until apples are soft (approximately 10-15 minutes).  Using the back of a wooden spoon mash the berries and apples to extract as much juice as possible.
   

   Picture above does not fairly represent the actual colour of the boiled berry mixture...it really is much more purple ~ poor lighting

2. Place cooked mixture in a moistened jelly bag to collect the juice. This mixture should yield between 31/2-4 cups juice.
3. Meanwhile wash, slice, and quarter 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons.  Place lemon slices in a stainless steel preserving pan with 3/4 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Continue to boil lemons until the slices become translucent (approximately 15 minutes).  Add more water if necessary so they do not stick to the bottom.
4. Prepare for water bath canning. 
5. In a large stainless steel saucepan combine elderberry juice, poached lemons (including the sugary water), lemon juice, sugar, and maple syrup.  Bring to a boil and boil until the set point is reached; approximately 15-20 minutes.  Note: you can use both the frozen spoon test and/or check the temperature to determine the set.  The jelly will set at 220F.  We do both.
6. Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.
7. Ladle jelly into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4″ headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, place lids and screw bands on adjusting so that they are just  finger-tip tight.  Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
8. When the time is up turn off the heat and remove lid, wait 5 minutes before removing the jars.  Check seals, label, and store.

Put up Total:

• 4 x 250mL regular mouth mason jars
• 1 x 125mL regular mouth mason jar…a tasty sample