Soil pH affects the pH of the fruit
Glass of fresh elderberry syrup with cinnamon stick, brown sugar, star anise and elderberries on a wooden kitchen counter
Canning Elderberry Juice Safely at Home
PrintCanning Elderberry Juice at Home Safely
- Yield: 4 pints 1x
Description
Some elderberry varieties have a higher pH than the 4.6 recommended for safe water bath canning at home. Increasing the acidity of elderberry juice can improve the safety of home canned elderberry juice, jam, and jelly to prevent the growth of botulism.
Ingredients
- 8 cups elderberry juice
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice, bottled or 1 teaspoon citric acid
- sugar to taste (optional) (Honey may be added before serving)
Instructions
- Extract elderberry juice from fresh or frozen elderberries. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per pint jar. Pour hot juice into jars over acid additive.
- Heat canning jar lids in a saucepan of simmering water to soften seal or treat them according to the manufacturers directions. Clean jar rims with clean towel to remove residual juice. Remove from pan, and place on jar rims of pint jars. Complete seal by screwing on the canning jar rings.
- Place in water bath canner. Fill canner with hot water to cover jars by 2 inches. Bring to a gentle rolling boil over medium heat. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Let jars settle for 5 minutes before removing from the canner.
- Remove jars using a jar lifter, and place on a clean towel on the kitchen counter. Allow to cool naturally. This will complete the seals.
- Seal is completed when the top doesn’t give when pressed with your finger.
- When jars have cooled completely and seals have completed, remove the rings and wash the jars. Label and date the jars before storing in a cool, dry place.
- You can use this juice to make elderberry syrup, elderberry jellies, or other elderberry dishes.
Per pint:
- add 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice or
- 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid or
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Why has no one mentioned using a stream juicer to get the juice out of the berries? No need to boil and mash the berries and the juice comes out crystal clear.
Lovely recipe. I truly appreciate the word about acid being the issue. We wildcraft our berries in Northern Oregon and when pH tested, the juice runs right at 4.0 pretty consistently. They are the wild blue elderberries, btw.
What I don’t notice here is anyone mentioning steamer juicing the berries. We have been using a streamer juicer for elderberries for over 22 years now. So easy and effective! I’ve just canned 20 quarts without added acid since my ph was low enough. Now we have several years worth of elderberry juice ready to make fresh syrup as needed for our large family.
Use a recipe that is for dried berries like this one: https://joybileefarm.com/easy-shelf-stable-elderberry-syrup/
If I only have access to dried berries, how do I go about making juice/syrup?
Thank you for being a voice of reason in these ridiculous times.
Honey is acidic and acts as a preservative, yet “the experts” say you shouldn’t use honey.
Elderberries themselves are naturally antimicrobial, yet this is considered at all in their guidelines.
It’s almost as if they don’t want us to be able to provide for our own needs…