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Canning Elderberries - Easily! With Step-by-step Directions, Photos, Ingredients, Recipe and Costs

How to Can Elderberries

Yield: 7 to 9 pint jars

Click here for a PDF print version

Canning your own elderberries is also quite easy.  Here's how to make it, in 12 easy steps and completely illustrated. These directions work equally well for regular sugar, low sugar, fruit juice-sweetened and Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, -sweetened jam.

For more information about elderberries, see Elderberries. 

Ingredients

• Fruit - fresh elderberries - any quantity  - the crunch down some, so you will need about 1 and 1/4 pints raw per pint jar finished.
• Lemon juice - either fresh squeezed or bottled. Alternatively, Citric acid (brand name, fruit fresh).
• Sugar - About 3 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar. See step 6. It is possible to make low-sugar,  fruit juice-sweetened, or Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, -sweetened fig jam; I'll point out the differences below.

Equipment

• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)- Big box stores and grocery stores sometimes carry them; and it is available online - see this page. It's a tremendously useful to put jars in the canner and take the hot jars out (without scalding yourself!). The kit sold below has everything you need, and at a pretty good price:
  
  See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon
• 1 large pot; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Nonstick ceramic coated pots for easy cleanup.
• Large spoons and ladles,
• 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimes at big box stores and grocery stores.). Note: we sell canners and supplies here, too - at excellent prices - and it helps support this web site!
• Half pint canning jars (Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger, Safeway carry them, as do some big box stores - about $7.50 per dozen pint ounce jars including the lids and rings)
• Jar funnel ($5 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page) or order it as part of the kit with the Jar grabber .
• Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
• Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.

Optional stuff:

• Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the almost-boiling water where you sanitize them. ($4 at big box stores or it comes in the kit at left)

Directions - Step by Step

This example shows you how to make canned elderberries. The yield from this recipe is about 7 pint jars per 9 pints of raw berries.

Step 1 - Pick the elderberries! (or buy them already picked)

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality ones!

I prefer to grow my own; which is really easy, don't require pesticides and they make beautiful landscaping plants with red/gold leaves in the Autumn - but that does take some space and time.

As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use frozen elderberries (those without syrup or added sugar); which is especially useful if you want to make some jam in December to give away at Christmas!

Choose ripe, sweet berries with uniform color. At left are elderberries almost ripe! If you want to pick your own, here is a list and links to the pick your own farms.

 

Step 2 - How much fruit?

Canned elderberries can be made in large or small batches - you can can one jar at a time if that's all you have.

Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.

NOTE: If a canning recipe calls for 10 minutes or more of process time in the canner, then the jars do not need to be "sanitized" before filling them. But really, sanitizing them first is just good hygeine and common sense!  See this page for more detail about cleaning and sanitizing jars and lids.

Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jam. Some newer dishwashers even have a "sanitize" setting.

Step 4 - Get the lids warming in hot (but not boiling) water

Lids: put the very hot (but not quite boiling; around 180 F, steaming water is fine)
water (or on the stove in a pot of water on low heat) for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean and sanitize  the lids.

Need lids, rings and replacement jars?

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Step 5 -Wash the berries and sort!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in a colander of plain cold water. (yes, these are pictures of blueberries; my camera died when I canned the elderberry)

  

Then you need to pick out and remove any bits of stems, leaves and soft or mushy berries. It is easiest to do this in a large bowl of water and gently run your hands through the berries as they float.  With your fingers slightly apart, you will easily feel any soft or mushy berries get caught in your fingers.

Then just drain off the water!

  

Step 6 - Make and heat the syrup

Depending upon which type of sweetener you want to use (sugar, no-sugar, Stevia (but you will have to experiment with amount, each brand of Stevia is a different concentration), or Splenda, or a mix of sugar and Stevia (or Splenda) or fruit juice) you will need to use a different syrup from below.

Adding syrup to canned fruit helps to retain its flavor, color, and shape. It does not prevent spoilage of these foods. Heat the syrup to near boiling in a pot.

Most people prefer the medium syrup (highlighted) or elderberry juice with added sugar!

 

 

Sugar syrup proportions for 7 to 9-pint jars of elderberries (double it for 9 quart jars)
	Type of syrup (Choose ONE)	Water (cups)	Fruit juice (cups)	Sugar (cups)	Powdered Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer it
1	Plain water	7	0	0	0
2	no calorie sweetener	7	0	0	1/4 cup
3	Fruit juice (white grape or peach juice works well)	0	7	0
4	Reduce calorie / fruit juice	4	3	0
5	Fruit juice and Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer,	0	7	0	1/2 cup
6	very low calorie	7	0	1/4	1/4 cup
7	very light (10% sugar)	7	0	1	0
8	light (20% sugar)	6	0	2	0
9	medium (30% sugar)	6	0	3	0

• Nutrasweet (aspartame) will NOT work - it breaks down during heating).
• Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, (sucralose) substitutes exactly with sugar BUT even the manufacturers of Splenda will tell you that you get best results if you just use a 50-50 mix; half regular sugar and half Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, .
• Sugar not only affects the sweetness, but also the color and flavor.  It does not affect the preserving or spoilage properties - that has to do with acid and the processing method.
• you can use "no sugar" pectin in place of "low sugar" pectin - you can still add sugar or other sweeteners.

Step 7 - Add the natural preservative to the jars

Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice per quart jar or 1 tablespoon per pint jar to each of the jars.  Alternatively, you may add 1/2 teaspoon citric acid (also goes under the brand name "fruit fresh") per quart or 1/4 teaspoon per pint to the jars. This is to increase the acidity and help prevent discoloration and spoilage.

Step 8 - Fill the jars with elderberries

Fill jars with elderberries, gently tapping the bottom of the jar on the countertop to help pack the elderberries down gently (tapping does it without breaking the elderberries).

Note about "hot packing" vs. "raw packing".  You may have noticed that some recipes or canning directions call for the berries to be heated in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds to several minutes before filling the jars.  That is the 'hot pack" method.  We're using the "raw pack" method (no preheating) because most berries are delicate and would be adversely affected by the preheating, and being small, it isn't needed to ensure uniform heating in the canner!

Step 9 - Fill the airspace in the jars with syrup

Add the hot syrup from step 6, leaving 1/4 to 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe any spills jam off the rim of the jar.

 

 

 

Step 10 - Put the lid /rings on and put in the canner

Seat the lid and tighten the ring around them.  This is where the jar tongs and lid lifter come in really handy! Place them into the canner

 

 

 

Step 13 - Process the jars in the canner (either boiling water bath or pressure canner)

You can use either a water bath canner or a Pressure Canner, since there is sufficient acidity in berries. In the water bath canner, keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling.

The processing times are shown for each type of canner in the tables below!

To adjust, process according to the recommendations in the table below:

Step 14 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!

Lift the jars out of the water in the water bath canner (wait till pressure is zero in a Pressure Canner) and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last about 18 months. After that, the get darker in color and start to get runny. They still seem safe to eat, but the flavor is bland. So eat them in the first 12 to 18 months after you prepare them!

Canning Books, Supplies and Accessories

These are my favorite essential canning tools, books and supplies. I've been using many of these for over 50 years of canning! The ones below on this page are just the sampling of. my preferred tools. but you can find much more detailed and extensive selections on the pages that are linked below.

• Vacuum Foodsealers for freezing, dried foods, and refrigerated foods - the FoodSaver line
• Selecting a KitchenAid mixer and attachments for home canning
• Steam Juicers
• Strainers, pit removers, seed-skin-stem removers, jelly strainers, etc. All types, makes and prices (from $19 to $350)
• Cherry pitters reviews, prices and ordering
• Food dehydrators - easy and fast to dry your own fruits, veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.