Elderberry Jelly and Syrup

     As I write, the last of this season's elderberries are ripening. Now is when I make one of my two favorite jellies (wild plum is the other!). I will reiterate what I said when I wrote about elderflowers: lest you decide to go out and graze on elderberries, let me warn you that all parts: root, stem and leaf are toxic. The berries are mildly so until cooked. You can taste a berry raw (we always do, just for the surprise of it all over again!) but I warn you it is pretty awful. You would think that nothing good could come out of such a repugnant little berry. But now we are going to add sugar and jell it and the taste of this fruit is so sublime that I literally drink the leftover jelly as it sets!
     First you need the elderberry heads. Make absolutely certain you are getting elderberry. There are very few things that mimic it, but there is a plant that is called Devil's claw that grows further south to us that is amazingly similar. My hubby proudly brought me back a huge specimen from a job and I looked at the leaves and berries and was perplexed at how it seemed like my plants, but somehow different. Then I saw the enormous spikes on the canes  and ran to get my wild plant book. Turns out it is called Devil's Claw and is hugely poisonous and spreads like a plant from....well, the Bad Place. I smooched the crestfallen hubby and then promptly trotted out to burn the terrifying beast. So- look up leaf shape and placement, and no thorns!

     Pick your elderberries heads. The berries don't ripen all at once, so you will have about a month to keep picking as they ripen. This is actually great. When the heads ripen, snap them off and into a plastic grocery sack. Shove the sack in the freezer. Next round of berries ripens, repeat. They will keep like that for months, so you could wait until cool weather- November, December- to do your juicing and jellying.
      Once you have your heads, frozen or not, snip them into the juicer of your choice. I use scissors and just snip up close to the tiny, thin berry-holding branches. Just try to keep out all the stumpy stems, and no leaves.

 Some of the berries below look frosted- that's because they were out of the freezer. The dark shiny purple ones are fresh.

      I use what is called a Mehu-Maija  (yeah, pronounce that one for me) steam process juice extractor that my mom bought way back in the 70's for all her jelly making. Ancient, right? Well, it still works like a charm and I have seen similar contraptions in seed and plant catalogs. Maybe you have some kind of fancy mechanical juicer. I don't know how to tell you to get the juice- that, dear reader, is up to your resourcefulness. My method uses steam from the boiling water in the bottom to gently heat the berries till they soften and release their juice into the center piece. There is a hose attached that you can use to drain off the liquid.

     You would not believe how much juice each elderberry has in it! When you consider that the center is almost entirely filled with a seed you would think it would take a bushel to make a cup of juice. Not so. A grocery sack of berries should make about 4 cups of juice, enough for a batch of jelly and a little more. Another small note, elderberries have also been used as a natural dye. This means don't wear your favorite apron; your wooden spoon will be purple for weeks, and if you get it on your counter top it takes a while for it to wear away.

     Here's a  nice thing, after you juice your fruit of any kind, you can then freeze it for a more convenient  or cooler time. We didn't have an air conditioner the whole time I was growing up and mom and I would can all summer. I remember it was hot, but now I can't believe we didn't have a heat stroke. Most of us today have air conditioning, so let's get on to the making of the jelly! 
    Sterilize your jars - 5-6 cup sized jars per batch. Get your lids in a small saucepan and bring them up to simmering.
     This recipe used to be in the included recipe and instruction paper in all Sure-Jell packages, but now it is missing. I guess too few people even know what an elderberry is anymore. It is still on their website, and here is the original:

Elderberry Jelly
(makes approx. 5 small jars )
3 cups elderberry juice
1 box Sure-Jell
1/2 tsp butter
4 1/2 cups white sugar
( DO NOT mess with the measurement of juice, Sure-jell, or sugar. I am a very haphazard at measurements when cooking, but jelly making is EXACT or you will not have good results. Trust me, okay? )
      Measure the juice into a tall stock pot (jelly boils up high). Add the butter (this helps to cut down on foaming) and stir in the whole packet of Sure-Jell. Bring this to a rolling boil (that is a boil that does not stop when you stir it), and pour in the sugar, stirring.
      Return to a boil (now is when it will raise up high) and boil for just 1 minute.

     Remove from heat. As it sits you will see a whitish skim begin to form on the top. This is the "foam".

     You want to skim this off so that your jars aren't topped with it. I skim this into a glass, because you will also get a little jelly with the foam and you don't want to waste it. After a while the foam will set and you can scrape it off and put the jelly underneath in the fridge to use in the next couple days.

     Once the foam is off,  ladle the jelly into hot, sterilized jars using a canning funnel. Wipe the jar rims and sides well to be sure there are no drips, then place on a hot lid and screw on a band. This is hot work and I always burn myself, so be warned! After this you  place them in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. If you have never canned, please read up on it first and don't expect my instructions to have mentioned everything. I've canned since I was young and I might not say something that seems obvious to me.

Elderberry Syrup
exact same as above, only use 1/2 the packet of Sure-Jell. Yes, you read that right, I broke the rules. But half a pack gives just enough to make it begin to jell but not get Jello firm like a full pack. My hubby has a hard time eating pancakes without this syrup. Even if I have elderberry jelly he will sigh and mumble that it is just not the same. I understand- I could drink this from the jar! I don't drink alcohol, but if elderberry cordial tasted anything like this (does it?!) I might become a lush :).

      So now you have recipes for elderflower syrup, elderflower fritters, elderberry syrup, and elderberry jelly. If you aren't convinced about the glories of this humble plant then you need to come by the Lincoln Apple Festival the weekend of October 3-5 and I will give you a free sample of purple-y bliss!

" I don't know if I can eat pancakes without elderberry syrup!" ~ Hubby