Elderberry Jam

A lot of work goes into this jam.  I have spent over 15 hours stemming these little beauties.  We were so successful foraging yesterday I don’t think we realized at the time just how many berries we had collected.  I have stemmed 36 cups of berries…my hands are stained burgundy with their juice but boy is the jam worth it!

These little guys grow all over Muskoka and foraging for them becomes very addictive.  Unfortunately, they are not a berry that tastes good on its’ own.  While they are perfectly safe to eat out of hand they have a bitter taste.  However, the addition of sugar transforms them into a wonderfully tasty treat.  Well worth the effort!

RECIPE FOR ELDERBERRY JAM:

• 8 cups of stemmed and washed elderberries
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 6 cups of sugar

1. Stem and wash berries.  The process of stemming these berries is time consuming but makes for fast work with help or to keep hands busy while watching tv.  
2. Place berries in a large stainless steel sauce pan and using a potato masher crush to release their juices.
3. Add vinegar and sugar to the crushed berries and cook on medium high until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Then, turn up the heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent the jam from sticking to the bottom.
5. Boil hard for approximately 35 minutes or until the setting point has been reached at 220F.  Perform a jell test by placing a drop of jam on a frozen plate and returning the plate to the freezer for 1 minute.  Remove and using  your finger nudge and/or separate the jam.  If it is ready it will retain its’ shape.
6. Pour hot jam into  hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4″ headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rim, top up with additional jam if necessary and add sterilized snaps and lids securing until resistance is met and they are finger-tip tight.
7. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.  When time is up turn off heat and remove the lid,  leaving the jars to stand in hot water bath for 5 minutes before removing.
8. Check seal, label, store, sample and enjoy!

Put up Total:

• 7 x 250mL regular mouth jars
• 3 x 250mL wide mouth jars