4 Ingredient Elderberry Jam (Sugar-Free Option)

This Homemade Elderberry Jam Recipe is the perfect way to preserve the luscious taste and health benefits of the prized elderberry. Use fresh or dried elderberries to make a jam you can enjoy year round, even when the berries are out of season!

This jam is made with date paste and I've included a recipe to make your own, but I share ways to make this jam sugar-free and low-carb as well!

It's that time of year again when a simple visit to the playgroup, daycare, or classroom can put the whole family under the weather for a week.

And every time this happens, I chide myself for not having dosed us all up sooner with a generous helping of Elderberries, or any of these other common superfoods.

Tthere are many ways to help kids take herbal remedies, but I like food-based herbal recipes that are also low on the glycemic index. And so this Elderberry Jam recipe was born.

Elderberry Benefits

Elderberries are full of antioxidants and they've also been studied for their protective effects from viruses.

Hands down, my favorite go-to for staying healthy during cold and flu season is Elderberry.

Elderberry flavonoids binding to virus proteins on their viral envelopes. Those proteins are the ones that viruses use to bind to our cells and cause infection. Binding prevents the viruses from reproducing in the body and then our body gets rid of them (source).

Elderberry Safety Tips

1.  Raw Elderberry Danger: First and foremost, Elderberries must always be heated, since in their raw form, they contain a constituent similar to cyanide. Although some sources say that fully ripe elderberries and dried elderberries are okay to consume raw, I prefer to be on the safe side and treat my berries to a nice, hot bath.

2.  Poison Berry Lookalikes: Ripe Elderberries are lovely, however if you don't know plants really well, it's easy to pick poisonous berries by mistake. To avoid that risk, I buy Organic Dried Elderberries and based this recipe off of them. Elderberries retain much of their potency when dried, and can easily be rehydrated to make this jam, Elderberry Syrup, or even pies, crumbles, and other treats.

Recipe Notes

Fresh or frozen elderberries work best for jam, but dried berries can be rehydrated in a pinch.

Juice Options

Apple juice is a popular choice for making jams, and is also a natural sweetener. Other good options are are pear, mango, and grape. Unsweetened berry juices are high in antioxidants and give the jam a deep purple color, but they do make a jam that is less sweet.

Cranberry juice is another lower carb option, and lemon or lime juice are even lower.

Sweetener Options

While this recipe was written to use date paste, other sweeteners can be used as well. However, you'll have to adjust the amount according to your taste. Here are some options.

• Low Glycemic Options: A couple of low-glycemic syrups are yacon syrup (glycemic index of 5) and brown rice syrup (glycemic index of 25). Stevia is also a great choice since it has a glycemic index of 0, but this will change the flavor of the jam and you'll need a thickening agent like pectin.
• Agave syrup , though sometimes considered to be low glycemic, has been featured in numerous reports questioning whether it is indeed a safe and healthy choice. It's also produced through a highly refined chemical process in which the starch of the root is reduced to syrup.
• Vegetable glycerine is another good low-carb sweetener option. Just keep in mind that it can be sourced from different plants (with soy, palm, and coconut being the most common).
• Jerusalem Artichoke Syrup is another option. It's a pre-biotic and has a very low glycemic index, but it has a distinctively nutty flavor.

Storage

Originally this post stated that this jam could be canned for up to two years, however, since then, I've learned that elderberries are low in acid and care really needs to be taken when canning them and if you are going to can this jam, then you need to use sugar instead of the date paste. Here is how it should be done:

• For Jam: the ratio of elderberry pulp to sugar must be no more than: weight of fruit/ weight of sugar = 47/55 = 0.85. For every 16 ounces (1 pound) of fruit pulp you need to use at least 18.9 ounces of sugar.
• For Jelly, the ratio of elderberry juice to sugar must be less than or equal to: weight of fruit juice/ weight of sugar = 45/55 = 0.82. For every 16 ounces (1 pound) of fruit juice for Jelly, your recipe must include at least 19.5 ounces, by weight, of sugar.  Adding more sugar than that is fine, but less is not.
• Lemon juice will not reduce the pH sufficiently apparently, but it is good for the end product.
• Honey cannot be used as the sugar source.
• Low-sugar or no-sugar added pectin cannot be used. (source).

I have not investigated this topic, and I think that the lemon juice could reduce the pH but other substances could as well. No matter what, the pH needs to be at a safe level (4.6 or lower) for canning. You should use acid pH strips or a pH meter to test the pH of your elderberry jam or jelly before canning.

Typically, a homemade jam that is canned can last up to two years if unopened. Once opened, it should be refrigerated and will usually keep for about 3 months (source). If the lid is tightly closed it may last 6–12 months in the fridge (source).

What do YOU use to support your immune system?

Author: Mélanie Pulla is an herbalist, mamma, radical homemaker, and entrepreneur. She has a BSc in Wellness and Alternative Medicine, holds several diplomas in herbal medicine, and is the founder and editor of Herb Geek, an online educational resource for natural healing. Mélanie is happiest when exploring the natural world, crafting herbal concoctions in her kitchen, and sharing her herbal musings with the world.