A shrub native to both Europe and North America. The elder, Sambucus Nigra (this has nothing to do with Italian liqueur Sambuca), is a once-treasured plant deserving renewed attention. This plant has provided powerful medicine in past centuries.The world around us constantly bombards our bodies with bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. A strong immune system is our vital defense against all these potential invaders. Elderberry triggers the body’s chemical messengers that stop viruses replicating.

I got these scrumptious berries from a Berrylicious Fruit Farm which is located near Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. I highly recommend this well run family-owned business!

Yield: 15 x 120 ml jars (4 oz mason jars)

Ingredients:

• 1.8 kg fresh stemmed elderberries

• 6 cups sugar

• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Crush the berries with hands if possible (it will make your hands skin silky-give your hands 100% SPA TREATMENT) or use potato masher.

2. Heat the crushed elderberries over low heat in the stockpot. When juice begins to to run, add 2 cups of sugar. Stirring, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes until juice runs even more.

4. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove most of the seeds.

5. Pour the elderberry juice back into the stockpot, add remaining 4 cups of sugar and the lemon juice.

6. Over medium-high heat, bring the berry mixture to a boil.Continue to boil for 15-20 minutes,stirring frequently until a drop of the jam mounds in on a chilled plate.

7. Ladle the jam into sterilised jars. Add lids and rings, and process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

   Delicious!