ELDERBERRY JELLY

ELDERBERRY season has now come and gone. We picked these in August. This is the first time we had made elderberry jelly. It was some job ! The berries grow on cluster stems that reminds you of Queen Anne's Lace. The berries are about the size of a BB. So it does take alot of them.I met someone in the groc. store that told me where they were growing wild. My husband picked them for me. You do not want to pick the red berries , as these are toxic. They will be a dark burgandy color, almost purple when ripe.

Notice the pile of stems after stripping the berries off. Some say strip them off with a fork, but I found it worked better just using my fingers. This is a tiresome job, but the jelly is worth it !! Very Good!!! Reminds me of blackberry jelly .

After cooking the berries this is how I strained mine. I used Bridal Netting, which is very fine. I used cotton twine and hung them from my cabinet door to drain in bowl. You can use cheesecloth also

Here is the recipe I used:

ELDERBERRY JELLY

3 cups elderberry juice( that has been strained)

4 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 pkg. fruit pectin

4 1/2 cups sugar

Whisk in pectin and make sure it is fully dissolved. Bring to boil before adding sugar. Boil 1 min.

Measure sugar in a bowl where it can be added all at one time.

Pour sugar and lemon juice in and bring to boil and boil 1 min. stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Ladle into hot sterilized jelly jars. Put on lids tight and turn upside down on cabinet that has been covered with a towel.. The jars will seal like this, or some prefer to do a hot water bath for 10 min.

This makes about 6 - 1/2 pt. jars

Enjoy !