We Have An Elderberry Tree…

…so I made blackberry and elderberry jam!

If there are any other nutters out there and you have a ton of time to spare, then this one is for you!

My neighbour and Google enlightened me this year, that the massive tree we have in the garden is, in fact, an elderberry tree. By the time I googled what to make of elderberries, the flowers had gone and so I waited for the berries to make something easy like jam.

Besides the dangers of getting ripe berry branches, I also had to deal with odd looking spiders and various other unidentifiable beings, at which point I decided to make less jam than intended and add some frozen blackberries to the mix.

There is a more organised method of getting the berries, which is freeze them in a freezer bag and shake them the next day for all berries to come off. I, however, chose the way which leaves your hands purple and everything in proximity in danger of being purple-ised. I am the adventurous type, ha!

Anyhoo, here is the quick recipe, if you do fancy a purply afternoon.

What you’ll need

• 200g elderberries (ripe)
• 200g sugar
• a handful of blackberries
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• a big pot (the jam will bubble up)
• a sterilised jar
• courage
• time

How to make the jam

Make sure your elderberries are ripe and cleaned.

1. Put the elderberries, blackberries and lemon juice in the pan over a medium heat. Let the juices run and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Skim any scum that rises to the surface.
   
2. Add the sugar and stir it in until it’s completely dissolved. This time, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes, at which the jam should set.
   
3. Spoon the jam into a warm sterilised jar.
   

Oh, and it tastes delicious.