If You Give a Homesteader Elderberries and Pears…

This blog post is dedicated to Eddie T. for his love of all things jammy.

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First a neighbor gave me some elderberries, she does every year, and usually I use it for elderberry syrup. Then a co-worker of my husband’s gave him pears, before I had time to process the elderberries. No one in my house likes pears, except for me. And there was 10 pounds of pears, so what is a homesteader to do? Well, combine both and make jam, of course. I could not find a recipe I liked, so I made up my own. And it is rather delish! A friend of my daughters’ was over the day I made it and suggested that I should “print it” when I told him I was mostly making it up as I went. So I followed his wise advice and here you have it! Click on the image to print the recipe :).
Love,
Mattie

Tips and tricks

• The reason I processed each fruit separately is that I do NOT like seeds in my jam. I really, really do not! If I had processed the elderberries with the pears it would have been very seedy, lol! Out of 6 cups of fruits I ended up with 2 cups of strained juice and 4 cups of seeds and skins!
• If you are using an applesauce maker you do not need to peel or seed the pears! It will all be taken out when you put them through the applesauce maker. Just wash, quarter and cook!
• A thick or heavy bottomed saucepan is best to prevent sticking and burning.
• Half pint jars are my favorite for gift giving and fundraisers.
• Don’t skip on the basic canning equipment to make your life easier, and keep your fingers burn free: lid magnet, wide mouth funnel and jar tongs are essential!
• My favorite canning book is: Ball Canning Back to Basics: A Foolproof Guide to Canning Jams, Jellies, Pickles, and More, by Ball Home Canning Test Kitchen. Truly basic and perfect.
• And a basic tutorial, just in case.