Elderberry Jelly

A simple Elderberry Jelly recipe with foraging tips and step by step instructions.

Elderberries, lemon and jam sugar are all you need to make this glossy dark purple jelly with a deep berry flavour.

Spread it on warm scones, serve it with cheese, or stir a spoonful into sauces for a fruity jus or meat glaze. Think of it like redcurrant jelly – but deeper, darker, and more aromatic.

Elderberries are low in pectin and acid, both of which are essential in a good jelly. So I’ve used the juice and peel of a lemon, along with jam sugar, to achieve a delicious wibble wobble jelly.

Rich in vitamin C and known for their immune-boosting properties, elderberries are wonderful in all sorts of preserves. Each year we make elderberry jelly and vinegar, and always save enough berries for a delicious sweet tart treat.

Identifying Elderberries

You can forage elderberries (Sambucus nigra) in hedgerows, parks, and woodland edges. At The Kitchen Shed, we let our elder grow into small trees.

Make sure you have positively identified the bushes or trees as elderberries. In spring, they produce umbels of tiny cream flowers – which make a delicious homemade liqueur. After the flowers drop, clusters of elderberries appear, turning purple to black when ripe. When it’s time to pick, remember to leave some for the birds.

Important: Discard stems and leaves. They are toxic and not safe to eat.

You’ll find plenty more details in my comprehensive guide to harvesting and preserving elderberries.

Equipment You’ll Need

• A muslin straining bag or a jelly strainer and stand. Alternatively, you can use a muslin cloth placed in a sieve or colander.
• Preserving pan – nice and wide so liquid can evaporate and your jelly can set. If you make a lot of preserves it’s worth investing in a good solid preserving pan.
• Two chilled saucers – for the wrinkle test.
• A jam funnel – definitely something I wouldn’t be without as it saves a lot of mess and waste.
• Sterilised jam jars – at least 4 x 350g jars with lids.
• Jam thermometer – a quick and easy way to check the setting point of jam, it should be around 104C / 220F.

How to Sterilise Jam Jars

Clean your jars just before you use them. This prevents bacteria from spoiling the jelly.

Microwave method:

1. Wash and rinse the jars.
2. While still wet, microwave for 2 minutes on full power.
3. Handle carefully – they’ll be very hot.

Alternatively, run them through the dishwasher on a hot cycle.

What Ingredients do I Need ?

• Elderberries – freshly picked and fully ripe. Unripe berries can cause stomach upsets. Pick when they are almost black. A few red ones won’t matter, but definitely discard any green berries.
• Lemon – helps the jelly set, enhances the intense elderberry flavour, and balances the sweetness. You won’t taste the lemon.
• Jam sugar – granulated sugar with added pectin (not to be confused with preserving sugar, which has larger crystals that dissolve more evenly).
• Optional – a splash of port to enrich the elderberry flavour and add subtle sweetness.

How To Make Elderberry Jelly

• Clean and prepare elderberries – the easiest way is in a large bowl of water. Swish the berries around so debris and insects float to the top, then skim off. Rinse again if needed.
  Strip the berries – use a fork to remove them from the stems (like redcurrants). and discard any unripe fruit. Food-grade gloves help prevent purple fingers.
• Simmer the fruit, lemon zest and water until soft. Mash well and remove from the heat.

• Pour your preserving pan contents into a jelly bag set over a large bowl. Leave to strain for at least 2 hours or overnight.

• Measure the strained juice and add 450g of sugar to every 600ml juice.
• Pour the strained juice into a preserving pan and bring to a simmer before removing from the heat.
• Add the jam sugar and return to a low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then stir in the lemon juice.
• Bring to a gentle rolling boil and cook until setting point. The surface of the jelly should be covered with tiny bubbles.

• Don’t be tempted to turn the heat up too high as your elderberry jelly might catch and burn on the bottom.
• Setting point is reached when the jam thermometer reaches 104℃ or 220F. I also like use the wrinkle test to check for a good set.
• Remove from the heat and leave to settle for 5 minutes before skimming off any scum from the jelly.
• Optional – Sir in 4 tablespoons of port for every 900 ml of juice used.
• Ladle into warm sterilised jars and immediately seal tightly with a lid.

Canning and Preserving Notes

Here in the UK, we don’t generally use the water bath method to make jams and jellies.
Jars and lids are sterilised before filling and once sealed a vacuum seal forms naturally as the jelly cools. Within the airtight jar, the sugar and acid content is high enough to preserve the jam or jelly.
If you prefer to water bath elderberry jelly, follow your jar manufacturer’s instructions and the food-safety guidelines of your country..

Tips for Perfect Elderberry Jelly

• Relatively speaking, you need a lot of fruit when making a jelly as the strained fruit is discarded. There’s never the same quantity of jelly when compared to making a jam from the same weight of fruit. That said, I find the availability of fruit is never a problem with elderberries as they’re so prolific.
• But don’t be tempted to use more than the 2kg recommended in the recipe as this will affect the setting of the jelly. It’s best to make your jelly in batches using 2 kg of fruit each time.
• In general, to avoid a cloudy jelly, it’s recommended not to squeeze the fruit whilst it’s straining. But it is really tempting to get as much juice as you can by squeezing the jelly bag. The good news with elderberries is that squeezing a little more juice out doesn’t really make much difference because Elderberry Jelly is such a dark jelly.
• Ideally you should use a preserving pan for jelly making. If unavailable, use a wide, deep pan (at least 22cm / 9inch). This will enable the jelly mixture to come to a rolling boil quickly and for the liquid to evaporate sooner, giving a fresh tasting jelly.
• Sugar acts as a preservative in jellies and jams, so it is important to use the correct amount. Too little and the jelly may ferment and go mouldy.
• Sugar must be completely dissolved before the jelly comes to the boil otherwise it may crystallise.

Storing Your Jelly

Once sealed, jars of elderberry jelly will keep for up to a year in a cool, dark place. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within 4 weeks.

Serving suggestions

Elderberry seedless jelly is delicious on toast or a buttermilk scone.
Equally good with cooked or cold meats too as it pairs perfectly with beef, pork, lamb and poultry.
Add an extra dimension to your gravy or sauces with a tablespoon or two of elderberry jelly.

More Jelly and Jam Recipes

• Strawberry Jelly
• Dark Cherry Jam
• Plum Jam
• Sweet Chilli Jelly
• Smooth Pumpkin Jam
• Peach Jam

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Elderberry Jelly

A simple Elderberry Jelly recipe with foraging tips and step-by-step instructions. Elderberries, lemon and jam sugar are all you need to make this glossy dark purple jelly with a deep berry flavour.

Spread it on warm scones, serve it with cheese, or stir a spoonful into sauces for a fruity jus or meat glaze. Think of it like redcurrant jelly – but deeper, darker, and more aromatic.

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Course: Jams, Pickles, Chutneys, Sauces, Dips & Spreads

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Straining Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 80 tablespoons

Calories: 45kcal

Author: Sarah James

tablespoons

Equipment

• A large preserving pan
• A scalded jelly bag
• A jelly stand
• Optional: jam thermometer
• A couple of chilled saucers or plates to check the jelly has set.
• At least 4 straight sided 250 g sterilised jam jars and lids

Ingredients

• 2 kg cleaned elderberries, stalks removed
• 2 Juice and zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
• 500 ml water
• 1 kg jam sugar I used Whitworths’ Jam Sugar
• 4 tablespoons Optional : port

MetricUS Customary

1x2x3x

Instructions

• Place the elderberries and lemon zest in a preserving pan with the water and gently simmer for 35 to 45 minutes until soft. Mash well and remove from the heat.
• Attach the jelly bag to its stand and place over a large bowl. Pour the contents of your preserving pan into the jelly bag and leave to strain for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Measure the strained juice and weigh 450 g (1 lb) of jam sugar to 600 ml (2 1/4 cups) of juice. Pour the strained juice into a preserving pan and bring to a simmer before removing from the heat.
• Add the weighed out jam sugar and stir, return to a low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, then stir in the lemon juice.
• If using a jam thermometer, attach it to the side of your pan. Bring the jelly to a rolling boil and boil until setting point is reached; this is likely to be about 5 minutes of boiling. If using a jam thermometer, 104 C or 220 F indicates the seting point.
• To check the jelly without a thermometer, drop a small amount of jelly on to your chilled saucer, allow to cool for a couple of minutes and then push gently with your finger tip. If the jelly crinkles, setting point has been reached.
• Remove from the heat and leave to settle for 5 minutes before skimming the jelly of any scum.
• Add 4 tablespoons of port for every 900 ml of juice used and gently stir in.
• Transfer to sterilised jars, screw on lids and leave to cool. Store in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight and once opened store in the fridge.

Notes

• The recipe makes approximately 4 x 250g jars. Serving size is 1 tablespoon.
• Clean and prepare elderberries – the easiest way is in a large bowl of water. Swish the berries around so debris and insects float to the top, then skim off. Rinse again if needed.
• Strip the berries – use a fork to remove them from the stems (like redcurrants). and discard any unripe fruit. Food-grade gloves help prevent purple fingers.
• The amount of sugar in the ingredients list is approximate – weigh out your sugar and use 450g of jam sugar to 600ml of elderberry juice.
• Use an upturned stool with a muslin cloth attached to it instead of a jelly bag and stand.
• Use small straight sided 250 g jars
• Preparation time does not include straining time.
• Once sealed, jars of elderberry jelly will keep for up to a year in a cool, dark place. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within 4 weeks.
• Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Serving: 1Tablespoon | Calories: 45kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 150IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg