Autumnberry-Apple Cider Jam

I was reading Nature’s Garden by Samuel Thayer recently when I realized that my backyard shrubs had been misidentified, and were covered with fruit that was perfectly safe for me to eat – autumnberries.  Score!  If you’d like to read Mr. Thayer’s eloquent and passionate dialogue on the virtues of the autumnberry and it’s uses, you can check out his post at the Forager’s Harvest.  He notes that the juice and pulp like to separate, that the plants are extremely productive (3,600–12,600 pounds per acre), and that the fruits are loaded with lycopene – about 18 times as much as tomatoes.

The autumnberry or autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is much loved by birds and wildlife – but it’s not native and spreads really fast, so in many places it’s currently considered an invasive species.  My neighbor (who works for the county land conservation department) told me they were Russian olives (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and that I should get rid of them.  He’s been cutting them for me with his brush hog for years.  (We have around 8 acres of grass and shrubs – old pasture – on our property.)  The irony of this situation is shared by Mr. Thayer in his post:

“The autumn-olive was lauded as a virtual miracle forty years ago; it was intentionally planted by the same government agencies that are now villainizing it and spending millions trying to eradicate it.”

Yup – that sounds about right. Autumnberries are now the most common edible wild fruit in the Eastern United States, so I vote we do our part to control them by eating more of them.

Although most of my shrubs had been mowed, there were a few left around the edges with more than enough berries for Dunc and I to pick plenty for a batch of jelly.

The autumnberry fruit is small (about pea sized) with a single, large oblong seed that takes about about 1/3 of the berry.  The seeds are edible, but chewy.  If you like pumpkin seeds with the hulls on, you might like these.

The flavor is sweet, but mildly astringent.  They remind me of chokecherries, but sweeter and milder in flavor.  I was eating them by the handful as we were picking.  I used Pomona’s low/no-sugar pectin in this recipe, but you could use another low sugar type and adjust the recipe accordingly.

Autumnberry-Apple Cider Jam

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups autumnberry puree
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 teaspoons calcium water (included with Pomona’s Pectin)
• 1 cup honey or 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder

Directions:

Sterilize six 8-ounce jars, keep hot.  Heat lids and rings in hot water, keep warm but not boiling.  Fill water bath canner and bring to boil while preparing the rest of the recipe.

To prepare the autumnberry puree, rinse your autumnberries and place them in a heavy bottom pot with about a cup of water.  Given the size of the seeds, you need a little over twice as many cups of berries (8-9 cups) to get 4 cups of puree.  Cook until mushy.

Run through a chinois or food mill, or squeeze through a jelly bag, flour sack towel or cheesecloth.  I tried to use my food strainer, but the seeds were too big, so I had to switch to my chinois.  Note:  The pulp will want to separate from the juice as it sits. If you wish to make a jelly instead of a jam, cook down more berries, strain juice and pulp, and let them site overnight to separate.  Slim off pulp and use for fruit leather or just eat it straight (it’s very tasty).

In a small bowl, mix together sugar (or honey) and pectin powder.  Don’t skip this step, or your pectin will clump.  Set aside.

In a large, non-reactive pot (I use a heavy bottom stainless steel pot), combine autumnberry puree, apple cider and the calcium water. Bring to a full boil.

Add sugar-pectin mixture, stir vigorously 1-2 minutes while cooking to dissolve pectin.  Return to boil and remove from heat.

Ladle jam into sterilized jars leaving 1/4″ headspace. Wipe rims clean and screw on the lids. Process for 10 minutes in water bath canner (add 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level).  Jam will last about three weeks once opened.  Makes around 5-6 cups.

This makes a soft spread that will settle out into layers in the jar, giving a marbleized effect, which I think is quite pretty.  Since the lycopene is in the pulp, I didn’t want to remove the pulp to get a clearer jelly.  I figure I’ll just give it a mix when I open the jars.  You can drop the cider entirely if you like (the amount of pectin used normally gels 4 cups of liquid, but the apples and autumnberries both have some pectin), or add a little extra cider if you are short on autumnberries.

If you would like more jam and jelly recipes, check out the jams and jellies section of the Recipes page, where we have over 15 different jam and jam recipes from currant almond to fuzzy navel to lilac and violet.

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