Elderberries are one of my favourite Autumn fruits, although they haven’t been doing so well this year what with all the heavy rain and high winds we have been having, so they are even more precious if you can find some!

I recently wrote about elderberries health benefits and some of their healing properties as well as my tips for Elderberry foraging. You can find that post here : Elderberry Properties, Medicine & Healing if you would like to know more.

Here I will share three of my favourite, and super simple, elderberry recipes of Autumn. They are all refined sugar free and use natural ingredients that are good for you - because what’s the point in taking something that’s supposed to be healing for you if it is chock full of refined sugar and nasty chemicals, right?!

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

The simplest elderberry recipe, and possibly the most common, is elderberry syrup. You can use this as a cordial to add to hot water and make a delicious warming drink, but you can also take it neat by the spoonful to help relieve cold and flu symptoms (take one teaspoon every hour at the first sign of a sore throat or a cold). My personal favourite is to drizzle a spoonful on top of my morning yogurt :)

Ingredients

1kg Elderberries (roughly)

200ml of water

10 cloves

1in fresh ginger / 1tbs dried

1tsp cinnamon powder

300g set honey

To make:

• Strip the berries from their stems using a folk (removing any that are still green).

• Add the berries to a large pan, covering the bottom of the pan with a small amount of water - enough so that the berries don't burn.

• Bring to the boil, and then simmer for about 25mins until the berries give up their juice.

• Take off the heat and allow to cool. Then strain the mixture and press through a muslin cloth of fine meshed sieve.

• Once you have all the liquid pour it back into your pan, and add all the other ingredients.

• Put on a low heat and stir until all the honey had melted.Once all your ingredients are combined bring the mixture to the boil for 5minutes.

• Allow to cool before straining the mixture a final time.Store in sterilised air tight glass bottles, and keep in the fridge once opened.

(The syrup should keep for 6-12 months if stored correctly).

Elderberry Jam

Elderberry Jam isn’t so different to elderberry syrup,

Ingredients

3-4 lbs ripe elderberries

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 packet pectin*

4 1/2 cups white granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon butter

• different types of pectin have different results

For each batch of jelly, collect 3 lbs of de-stemmed elderberries (about 8 to 10 cups).

To make:

• Rinse elderberries thoroughly to remove any dirt and bugs. It can be easiest to do this in a large bowl so any bits rise to the surface

• Strip the berries from their stems - use the tines of a fork to do this. This is the fiddliest part of elderberries and can take some time. Put the fork at the top of the step and gentle pull downwards to dislodge the berries. Use mostly berries that are completely blue or black. A few underripe green berries are fine; they have more pectin and including them will help the jelly set.

• Put the elderberries in a large pan and crush with a potato masher or fork to release some of their juices. Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue to crush as it heats up.

• Once the berries and their juices reach a boil, reduce the heat to low and let the berries simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

• Strain the juice from your berries into a separate pan using a large fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth. Slowly transfer the mashed berries and juice over the sieve to strain the juice out into the pot. Let strain for an hour.

• To prepare jars for storing your jam sterilise them and their lids by leaving them to soak in boiling water, then dry thoroughly with a clean, dry, cloth.

• You will need 3 cups or 700ml of juice to make one batch of jelly. If you have more than that you can reserve for making syrup, or add to another batch for jelly.

• Add your elderberry juice (3 cups), lemon juice, and pectin to a large pan and bring to the boil on high heat.

• Add the sugar and butter, stir with a wooden spoon, and bring to the boil again. Watch the pot as the mixture will foam up. You may need to lower the heat a bit to keep the foam from boiling over the pot.

• As soon as the mixture reaches a rolling boil that you cannot diminish by stirring, watch the clock. After exactly 2 minutes, remove from heat and pour mixture into canning jars to 1/4-inch of headspace from the rim.

• Wipe rims with a damp paper towel. Place lids on jars and rings to secure. If you want, to ensure a good seal and to protect against mold (any potentially harmful bacteria will already be destroyed by the sugar concentration of the jelly), you can process the jars in a water bath for 5 minutes - To do so, put a steaming rack at the bottom of a large, tall pot. Fill the pot halfway with water (enough to cover jars with an inch or two of water when in the pot), bring to a boil, gently place the jars in the pot (helps to use a jar lifter, tongs, or be wearing rubber gloves), boil for 5 minutes, and remove.

• Let cool. As the jelly cools you should hear a popping sound as the lids seal.

Elderberry Muffins

These muffins are using the whole berries, but if you already have elderberry syrup you can make these muffins using blackberries, and substitute some of the honey in this recipe for the syrup.

This is such a simple and straightforward recipe ( my favourite kind), that you can whip a batch of these muffins up in minutes!

Ingredients

250g flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp honey

1 egg

237ml almond or oat milk

62g apple sauce

190g (approx) fresh or frozen elderberries

To make:

• Rinse elderberries thoroughly to remove any dirt and bugs. It can be easiest to do this in a large bowl so any bits rise to the surface

• add all your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir to combine

• Beat the eggs, apple sauce and berries together

• Add your berry mix to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until all ingredients are combined

• Spray or use a small amount of coconut oil to coat your muffin liners, then pour the batter into muffin cases

• Bake at 200c for 15-20 min until muffins have risen and are turning golden brown on top

There are lots of things you can make once you have your elderberry syrup. This elderberry ice cream by ‘honest food’ is one of my favourites if you have an ice cream maker Elderberry Ice-Cream Recipe

You can even come up with your own ideas by substituting elderberries in your favourite berry recipes!

Have fun experimenting, and I’d love to see if you make any of these recipes. Which is your favourite?

xo Emily