Basic Homemade Jelly Recipe
Follow the above homemade jelly recipe to turn your foraged juice into home-canned jelly with a water bath canner. First, forage for flowers and fruit (below), and then choose from the instructions below to make juice for producing a violet jelly recipe, redbud blossom jelly recipe, elderberry jelly recipe, or autumn olive jelly recipe. The choice is up to you! If you have plenty of freezer space, you can also freeze the filled jars for up to a year. I don’t recommend doubling the recipe. Processing times may vary for your elevation; refer to the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.
Foraging for Fruit and Flowers
Many blooms and berries are more than just attractive — they can also be delectable.
I particularly like to preserve common blue violet blooms, redbud tree blossoms, elderberries, and autumn olive berries. Luckily, I can forage for wild edible plants near where I live. Most can be found growing wild in many parts of North America and are plentiful enough to be harvested sustainably. One of my favorite ways to preserve their beauty and flavor for winter is to make jelly.
If you, too, want to put up these vibrant wild preserves, first be certain you can properly identify them, and know which parts are edible. If in doubt, get a good identification book, or ask an experienced friend to accompany you on a foraging excursion.
Juice for a Wild Violet Jelly Recipe
Viola sororia plants bloom with delicate little bluish-purple flowers in early spring and intermittently throughout summer. Though all of the 100-plus varieties of violets are edible, I find the common blue violet to be the tastiest, especially in a homemade jelly recipe.
Violets have long been used for medicinal purposes, both the flowers and tender, young leaves, and are considered an antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory, and a blood cleanser. So, as Hippocrates allegedly said, “Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
These low-to-the-ground perennial plants can be found growing wild along streams and in the woods, as well as in sunny locations — maybe even in your lawn. To harvest them, simply gather the flowers in full bloom. You’ll need to pick at least 2 cups for one batch of jelly, and you don’t need to remove the stems. Place the harvested blooms in a preheated quart or half-gallon glass jar, and add 4 cups of boiling water. Cover the jar with a lid and allow the mixture to steep for 30 minutes. Then, strain out the solids and measure the liquid. Add enough water to make 6 cups. Proceed to the instructions at the top of the page to make the violet jelly recipe. The jelly will be a light pinkish-purple and have a delicate sweet taste.
You can follow these same instructions to make jelly from other blossoms, such as elderflower, dandelion, and rose petals.
Juice for an Eastern Redbud Jelly Recipe
We have several Cercis canadensis trees in our backyard and make use of them each year. The blossoms have an exceptionally high concentration of vitamin C, making them a good source of this immune-boosting substance. The flowers are a beautiful pinkish-rose color and resemble pea blossoms.
Pick redbud blossoms in early spring. Since the tree tends to be shrubby, you can often stand on the ground to harvest them. Gather the flowers when in full bloom by plucking handfuls into a basket held underneath the branches, or by raking your hands down the branches.
As with preparing the liquid for violet jelly, pick at least 2 cups of redbud blossoms. Place them in a preheated quart or half-gallon glass jar, and add 4 cups of boiling water. Cover the jar with a lid and allow the mixture to steep for 30 minutes. Strain out the solids, measure the liquid, and add enough water to make 6 cups. Proceed to the homemade jelly recipe. Redbud jelly is an amber color, and its flavor is sweet and fruity.
Juice for an Elderberry Jelly Recipe
Sambucus canadensis is a woody, perennial bush that can grow as tall as 15 feet. Beginning in late spring, these deciduous shrubs bear fragrant white floret clusters that later become green berries. In mid-to-late summer, the berries ripen to a deep purple. Elderberries are well-known for their immune-boosting properties.
Elderberries prefer moist soil, so look for them along waterways, where they can grow in thickets. You can also grow the shrubs in your garden. In the wild, be careful not to confuse them with toxic look-alikes, such as pokeweed.
The easiest way to harvest the dark, ripe berries is to snip the branches and place them in the freezer until frozen. Then, gently tap the branch on the edge of a bowl, allowing the berries to fall into the bowl. You can refreeze the berries or process them immediately for jelly.
To prepare the juice for making the homemade jelly recipe, use a manual or steam juicer or an Instant Pot. To use a steam juicer, add water to the bottom container and berries in the top, then follow the manufacturer’s directions. You can also make juice by adding 1 quart of berries to 1 cup of water in a stockpot. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for 1 hour, then purée the contents and press the mixture through a jelly bag or mesh cloth. If using an Instant Pot, add 1 quart of berries and 2 cups of water, and process on the pressure setting for 10 minutes. Allow to depressurize naturally, remove the mixture, and then blend it with an immersion blender or masher. Remove all solids by straining the mixture through cheesecloth. If necessary, add water to make 5-1/2 cups. Freeze the juice for later use, or proceed to the instructions at the top of the page to make the elderberry jelly recipe. This jelly will be a deep-purple color and have an intense flavor.
Juice for an Autumn Olive Jelly Recipe
These large deciduous shrubs can grow 20 feet tall. Considered invasive in many areas, they’re most likely not going away. Elaeagnus umbellata produces abundant food for both humans and animals. Autumn olive identification is simple: drupes are red with tiny spots or speckles and high in vitamins. Autumn olive drupes grow in clusters and can be picked by raking your hand down the branches — but watch out for thorns. Though they can be picked anytime after they turn red, the first frost makes the drupes much sweeter. We use them as a cranberry substitute.
After harvesting, remove any leaves or branches from your fruit. A few tiny stems aren’t a problem. If you don’t have time to process them immediately, the drupes will last in the refrigerator for several days or will freeze beautifully.
Prepare juice for the homemade jelly recipe with a steam or manual juicer or by processing in your Instant Pot. Add 1 quart of drupes and 2 cups of water, and process on the pressure setting for 10 minutes. Strain out the solids. If necessary, add water to equal 5-1/2 cups. You can refrigerate the juice for several days or freeze it. When you’re ready to make jelly, follow the recipe above. Autumn olive jelly is red and has a tart-sweet flavor reminiscent of cranberry.
Other wild plants that produce delicious jelly include dandelions, wild roses, honeysuckle, wood sorrel, elderflowers, and wild plums. (Never harvest plants where they may have been sprayed, such as along roadways and power lines.) This is a wonderful way to add food to your pantry from nature’s bounty. So, get out there and pick some wild jelly!
Jenny Underwood is a home-schooling mom who lives on a fifth-generation property in the Missouri Ozarks. Follow her at Our Inconvenient Family.
Originally published as “Wild About Wild Jelly” in the June/July 2023 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS and regularly vetted for accuracy.
