Elderberry Jam
A shrub native to both Europe and North America. The elder, Sambucus Nigra (this has nothing to do with Italian liqueur Sambuca), is a once-treasured plant deserving renewed attention. This plant has provided powerful medicine in past centuries.The world around us constantly bombards our bodies with bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. A strong immune system is our vital defense against all these potential invaders. Elderberry triggers the body’s chemical messengers that stop viruses replicating.
I got these scrumptious berries from a Berrylicious Fruit Farm which is located near Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. I highly recommend this well run family-owned business!
Yield: 15 x 120 ml jars (4 oz mason jars)
Ingredients:
1.8 kg fresh stemmed elderberries
6 cups sugar
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions:
Crush the berries with hands if possible (it will make your hands skin silky-give your hands 100% SPA TREATMENT) or use potato masher.
Heat the crushed elderberries over low heat in the stockpot. When juice begins to to run, add 2 cups of sugar. Stirring, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes until juice runs even more.
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove most of the seeds.
Pour the elderberry juice back into the stockpot, add remaining 4 cups of sugar and the lemon juice.
Over medium-high heat, bring the berry mixture to a boil.Continue to boil for 15-20 minutes,stirring frequently until a drop of the jam mounds in on a chilled plate.
Ladle the jam into sterilised jars. Add lids and rings, and process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Delicious!
