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Two jars of Strawberry Elderflower Jelly, one open with a spoonful sitting on top to show the jelly texture, with fresh strawberries and elderflowers scattered around.

Strawberry Elderflower Jelly

Made with fresh elderflowers, ripe strawberries and classic pectin for a ruby red, crystalline jelly with a subtle undertone of floral elderflower (or rose) flavor. This recipe can be water-bath canned for shelf-stable storage, or refrigerated or frozen instead if you prefer.
Yield: about 1 1/2 cups/360mL
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For Flower-infused Syrup:

  • ½ cup / 100 g granulated sugar
  • ½ cup / 118 2/7 g filtered water
  • ½ cup fresh elderflowers, or 1/4 cup dried rose petals

For Strawberry Jelly:

  • 18 ounces / 510 g strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons / 18 g Ball Classic Pectin*
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 cup / 200 g granulated sugar

Instructions

  • To make the flower syrup, bring sugar and water to a simmer in a small saucepan until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into a heat-proof bowl or lidded jar along with flowers. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 1 week. Strain out flowers before using (you should end up with about 2/3 cup of syrup but won't need it all).
  • If you will be canning your jelly, fill a large stock pot or canning pot 2/3 full with water; place a rack of some sort in the bottom and place over medium-high heat. Wash/sterilize your jars and submerge in water bath as it heats. The pot should be just about boiling by the time the jelly is ready to go. Keep jars in hot (not boiling) water until ready to use. This recipe can also be stored in the fridge or freezer if you don't want to can it.
  • Mash chopped strawberries with a potato masher, you should have a little over 1 3/4 cups of mashed berries.
  • Pour mashed strawberries into a medium sized heavyweight saucepan. Cover with a lid and let simmer for 5 minutes, then strain through a fine mesh strainer or, for a clearer jelly, a double layer of cheesecloth or a jelly bag. You should have 1 cup of juice.
  • Return strawberry juice to saucepan along with lemon juice and pectin, whisking well until pectin is completely dissolved.
  • Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, then whisk in sugar, stirring continuously until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in 1/4 cup of strained flower syrup; taste, then add up to an additional 1/4 cup of syrup to achieve desired flavor (I ended up using 1/2 cup of elderflower syrup, or 6 tablespoons of rose syrup; leftover syrup can be refrigerated for another use.)
  • Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until jelly returns to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for exactly 1 minute, then remove from heat. Optionally, skim off any excess foam from the edges of the pan.
  • Ladle jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch of head space. Wipe jar rims and screw on lids. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks.

Notes

  • This recipe was written for Ball Classic Pectin. If using a different brand or type of pectin, please follow the basic strawberry jelly recipe and instructions inside your pectin package, and add the flower-infused syrup in with the sweetener. Pay attention to the order in which the ingredients are added and the proportion of fruit to sweetener recommended to ensure a proper set.