This super easy elderberry jam has just 3 ingredients and no pectin. It is the perfect foraging jam that goes as well with toast or scones as it does with a cheeseboard.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- There are only 3 ingredients in my elderberry jam recipe!
- This is a fun recipe to get the kids involved in learning about foraging and nature.
- The taste, elderberry jam is delicious and different too.
- You can’t buy elderberry jam in the shops!
It’s end of summer/autumn now and the hedgerows and trees are full of nature’s bounty. I love foraging for everything from rosehips to elderberries, rowan berries to hawthorn and making full use of the goodies I collect.
Today I’m making a super easy elderberry jam that I think you’ll love as much as I do.
Elderberries
The Elder tree (black elder, ellhorn) has a long and varied history. it is said that Judas hanged himself from one. The Anglo-Saxons thought that if you fell asleep under and elder tree you would enter the fairy world.
Elderberries are the fruit of the elder tree and I use the elderflowers (the blossom of the trees) to make my elderflower fizz, raspberry, peach and elderflower jam, elderflower and apple jelly, strawberry and elderflower jam and of course my elderflower liqueur.
I use the elderberries themselves to make my delicious elderberry chutney which I make every year.
Foraging for elderberries
Elderberries are ripe in late August – mid September here in the UK. You know when elderberries are ripe as that are the deepest purple black you can imagine which looks rather stunning against the red stems (or umbrells) that hold the berries and the bright green leaves of the elder tree.
When you are foraging for elderberries to make your elderberry jam be careful as the juice of those ripe elderberries is a deep red colour and they can burst and splat all over you as you pick them. Leave the white T-shirt at home!
Pick the umbrells of elderberries (that’s the clusters of purple black elderberries on their tiny thin red stems that come together in groups) and take them home to remove the berries from the stems.
Never pick all the berries on the bush/tree, leave some for the wildlife to enjoy. Here is a great guide to foraging from the BBC which tells you all you need to know about foraging for all types of country goodies.
Can you eat raw elderberries?
No, don’t do that as elderberries will give you an upset stomach if you eat them raw. They have to be cooked to be edible to us humans.
Are elderberries healthy?
Yes, elderberries are good for you. They are packed with Vitamin C and antioxidents. That’s why you find lots of elderberry products in the health food store to help ward off colds etc in the winter months.
Ingredients for elderberry jam
There are only 3 ingredients for my homemade elderberry jam and there is no pectin at all.
Elderberries don’t have much pectin themselves but as one of the ingredients in my elderberry jam recipe is lemon juice that boosts the pectin levels so your elderberry jam will set nicely.
Elderberries – ripe purple black berries only please. Leave any red berries and green berries on the tree to ripen.
Sugar – just standard granulated sugar is fine for making elderberry jam.
Lemon juice – I always use fresh lemons for my jam-making, but you can use bottled lemon juice if you don’t have any fresh lemons to hand.
How to prepare elderberries
Removing the elderberries from their stems is the only time-consuming part of this simple elderberry jam recipe. But there is a trick to getting the berries off the stems easily, use a fork!
Just push a fork into the batch of berries and pull gently downwards. You’ll find that all the lovely ripe elderberries will just pop off their stems and into your waiting bowl.
How to make elderberry jam
Once you have removed the elderberries from their stalks and picked out any stray unripe (green or red elderberries) from your bowl and any little bits of stem that got past the fork its time to rinse them in cold running water.
This will just remove any dust and debris that might be on the berries.
Now I use my standard French jam-making method here but this is just my personal choice. I find the French method of macerating the fruit in sugar overnight makes for a far better jam.
I simply add the sugar to my bowl of elderberries and stir it through. Then cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave it on the kitchen counter overnight.
Next morning you will find that the sugar has completely dissolved and lots of juice has been released from the elderberries.
Why do this? Well, releasing the juice from the berries and having the sugar completely dissolved before you come to heat the elderberries to make your jam means that you can go straight to a fast boil and not have to slowly heat the berries and sugar.
The shorter time a jam cooks the better the flavour!
Just add the lemon juice to your elderberry mix and bring it to the boil. You want to get your elderberry jam to the magical 105C setting point.
Do you need to remove the seeds for elderberry jam?
I sometimes sieve out the seeds when I make my elderberry chutney (okay, when I can be bothered) as they can be a little bitter. But to be honest there is equal quantities of sugar to fruit in this jam recipe so it is sweet enough not to worry about.
However, if you really want to you can press the sugar-soaked elderberries through a sieve before you boil up your elderberry jam.
Simply ladle your finished elderberry jam into sterilised jars and you are done.
What does elderberry jam taste like?
This is a sweet/tart type of jam and with the tiny crunch of the seeds if you’ve left them in there as I have.
How to serve elderberry jam
I adore this jam with a cheeseboard, that sweet/tart combo works so well with string cheeses.
Serve your elderberry jam on toast or scones and it makes a good cake filling too for a forager’s style Victoria Sponge.
I also use my elderberry jam as a glaze for roasting turkey or duck and it is great with game too.
How much jam does this make?
I got approximately 500g of elderberry jam from this recipe. Just double up the recipe if you’ve got loads of elderberries.
How long does this keep?
Your elderberry jam will keep for up to a year in a cool cupboard. Once opened store your jam in the fridge and use it up within about a month.
Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.
Looking for more Autumnal foraging recipe ideas to try? Then check these out before you go;
Or check out my Foraging section for a whole host of country-style recipes.
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Homemade Elderberry Jam
Ingredients
- 500 g elderberries
- 500 g sugar
- 1 lemon juice
Instructions
- Remove elderberries from stalks (use a fork) then rinse in cold water. Put elderberries in a bowl with the sugar and stir. Leave overnight to macerate.
- Pour the elderberry mixture into a deep sided pan and add lemon juice and bring to boil for about 15 minutes till setting point 105C is reached
- ladle into sterilised jars
Thank you Karen. Wounderful easy recipe.
Hi Kathy
Thanks for letting me know you like my recipe so much
K
I simmered two cups of the berries to make tea. The liquid is dark.
Is this how you make elderberry tea in UK?
Am going to look for more elderberries to make your recipe next.
They’re selling a bottled drink now here in Louisiana that is
elderberry blossoms mixed with Kombucha. No berries. I’m
only interested in the berries.
Thank you for your help on this. And do you make a syrup for
colds? Health food store sells it for about $12.00 here. Works
great if you feel a cold coming on. Stops it in its tracks. Elderberry
pills do also but more fun to use the tasty syrup.for this.
Cheers.
Hi Karen
I don’t usually use my elderberries to make tea so can’t help you there. All my recipes are on the site here, just search ‘elderberries’ for everything with those in there.
K
First time making elderberry jam – I live in a house called Elderberry and there are plenty of elder trees around so thought it was high time! This was a brilliantly simple recipe and the jam is delicious.
Hi Anne
So glad you made my elderberry jam and like it so much.
K
Can I substitute honey for the sugar?
Will it set up the same?
.3
Hi Connie
I have never substituted honey for sugar here so can’t really advise.
K
Is it possible to use dried elderberries? That’s all I have.
Hi Heather
I have never tried this using dried elderberries so I’m afraid I can’t help you on this one.
K
How long will it last in the fridge?
Hi Linda
Very confused by your comment as all information including this – Your elderberry jam will keep for up to a year in a cool cupboard. Once opened store your jam in the fridge and use it up within about a month. – is in the blog post
K
I would love to convert this I do not understand how many pints or quarts you got out of this my conversion chart will not go past 1 cup. Can you please tell me in US measurements thank ya kindly
Hi Michelle
On the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post I have a button that says ‘convert to US standard’ and it give the measurements in imperial.
K
Thank you for this recipe! I’m in the northeastern US and we grown elderberry bushes in our yard. We picked and froze tons of bags of berries during the pandemic (it’s so labor intensive we only pick them every other year) and I’m just getting around to doing something with them. This recipe was great, and I think my cupboard will be cool enough to keep a jar or two for a little while with the air conditioning on in the summer months. Thanks again!
Hi Stephanie
So glad you like the recipe so much and have found another use for those frozen elderberries.
K
If the lid on my jar of jam didn’t seal, can I just put the jar in the freezer?
Hi Dymond
You can keep it in the fridge or freeze it but make sure there is space in jar for expansion.
K
After finishing with instructions, the elderberries became crunchy? I am very confused.
Hi Edith
Sorry to hear that I haven’t had this issue whenever I’ve made my elderberry jam. The seeds are left in there so they are crunchy. You can always remove them by pressing jam through a sieve before bottling it if it bothers you.
K
Hi will lids self seal w this jam after cooking? No need to further cook???
Hi Dawn
We don’t do water bath canning in UK and Europe, we put lids on hot sterilised jars and they keep for a year or more, I mention this in the blog post (Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.) Hope you’ll try the jam, its super.
K
Can I add fresh blueberries to this recipe?
Hi Cam
You could easily add blueberries if you like. I’ve not tried that combo myself.
K
I used a food mill to get my elderberries seedless. How much liquid per sugar ratio, cup of sugar per cup of liquid?
Hi Lee
I’m a bit confused by your question as I’m not adding water. I soak the elderberries in sugar overnight and this draws out the juice, all I add is the lemon juice. All info is in the recipe card for exactly what I made. I don’t use a foodmill first just the whole berries.
– 500 g elderberries
▢ 500 g sugar
▢ 1 lemon juice
K
First time ever attempting to make jam. We have a summer place in the mountains of New Mexico. We have had a wild elderberry bush in front of our house for years. This year I just decided, what the heck…Ill give it a shot. I made a very small batch… enough to fill a small jelly jar as a test. I just did the math for a smaller batch and… it’s awesome! Thanks for this simple recipe. We will go through it quickly, so I didn’t bother with canning it. Next year, I will!
Hi Houston
So glad that this was a success for you and that you are going to make more. A new jam maker, great that this was your first jam of many hopefully.
K
Is it an issue if I forgot the lemon juice
Hi Carol Ann
The lemon juice helps with the setting of the jam. If it has set without it then no problem.
K
Mine never set up like a true jam. It is very runny…but great taste and perfect for pancake syrup.
Hi Stephnie,
If a jelly doesn’t set up properly for you just boil it again. Does make a great pancake syrup though if it is runny. Enjoy those pancakes.
K
By 1 lemon juice do you mean the juice from one lemon?
Hi John
Yes the juice from 1 lemon. The recipe system only lets me type in certain things.
K
I just moved into a house with 2 elderberry trees and was able to harvest a ton at the end of the summer. They are currently sitting in my freezer – can you use frozen elderberries for this recipe?
Hi Cheryl
Yes you can certainly use your frozen elderberries for this recipe and any of my others too. Hope you like the jam.
K
My neighbor, who grew up on a farm taught me to freeze the berries on the umbrella stem, in a paper bag. Once frozen, just shack the bag, and the berries fall right off the stem. No messy juice is stained fingers.
Hi Amie
What a great idea, thanks for letting me know.
K
Great idea about the frozen berris in the bag..I’m going to do that next year!
I recommend elderflower and strawberry jam too!
Hi Ruth
Glad you like the recipe so much, thanks for letting me know.
K
How stem free can you get your berries? Even even working hard ti de-stem, there are lots of bits left, and I worry they will affect the finished product.
Hi Lina
You can see from my jam that I picked off as mush of the stems as possible, the tiniest ones will dissolve but you have to make the effort to remove the stems first.
K
Made mine an hour ago does not seem to be setting? Temp was correct and lemon juice.
Hi Jane
Sometimes you have to boil jam a little longer to get it to set, it is all trial and error really. You can reboil jam that hasn’t set. It also sets up more as it cools completely which takes more than an hour.
K
I have answered my own question. It was not quite set, so I reboiled this morning and it does indeed get to 105 degrees (221 here in the states) with a longer full boil. Already had on toast and it is wonderful.
Hi Cris
Glad you got it to set, it always does for me at that temperature.
K
Hi there,
I have two questions. The first being how long does the jam need to set before using. And two, if it’s possible to over-boil the jam, some drips missed the jar and I noticed they’re very firm almost like caramel. Thank you!
Hi Naomi
You just need to wait for jam to cool before using, it always firms up a bit as it cools down. Yes you can overboil jam and it sets up hard.
K
Once jarred, how long will this last? Thank you! Am making it today and haven’t tasted it yet:)
Hi Margaret,
Bit confused as I have this information in the blog post – How long does this keep?
Your elderberry jam will keep for up to a year in a cool cupboard. Once opened store your jam in the fridge and use it up within about a month.
Hope you enjoy the jam
K
I am hoping to make this jam but my elderberries are frozen from when I harvested them. I know thawing them can end in more juice than is probably needed so my question is : can I make this jam with frozen berries?
Hi Julie
Yes you can make this jam using your frozen elderberries. I always try to freeze berries when gathering so I can make different things at a later date.
K