Elderflower, rhubarb and strawberry jam
May is peak elderflower season and it’s so wonderful to see the flowers bursting open along the hedgerows! Every year we make elderflower cordial, but this year I wanted to try a few more recipes using this fragrant blossom. I’d been kindly gifted some fresh rhubarb and strawberries so after having baked the family a large rhubarb crumble I thought a jam might be nice, especially as our elder tree was just beginning to flower. Elderflowers are excellent at supporting the respiratory system so I use them a lot in the kitchen during hay fever season.
ELDERFLOWER, RHUBARB and STRAWBERRY JAM
Makes enough jam to fill a 500ml Kilner jar
Ingredients
250g fresh rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces
250g strawberries, cut into quarters, tops removed
juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp water
500g golden caster sugar
5-10 heads of fresh or dried elderflowers, all green stems removed, placed in a small reusable muslin bag or tea bag.
Method
Place the rhubarb in a heavy bottomed pan, along with the lemon juice and water
Place the pan over a medium heat and allow the rhubarb to gently soften, stirring occasionally
Add the strawberries, the elderflower bag and the sugar and bring to a rolling boil for approximately 10 minutes or until the temperature reaches 104 degrees C (you will need a sugar thermometer to check this)
Another way to test if your jam is ready is to place a saucer or small bowl in the freezer and after a few minutes drop a small amount of jam onto it. Push your finger into it gently after a few seconds and if it wrinkles, it’s ready
Remove the elderflower muslin bag and decant the jam into a large jar (a 500ml kilner jar is perfect) and allow to cool
Once cool, place the lid on and store in the fridge
Kitchen Notes
It’s really important to remove all green stems and leaves from your elderflowers before using them. This is because they contain harmful toxins that it’s important to avoid. The flowers are perfectly safe though.
I used a small muslin bag to place the elderflowers in, which could be easily removed from the jam once ready.
You may use either dried or fresh elderflowers in this recipe.
A sugar thermometer is a great way of checking whether your jam has reached the perfect setting point, which is around 104 degrees C.
My recipe includes lemon juice to aid in setting as strawberries and rhubarb are naturally low in pectin.
Feel free to exchange the sugar for another of your choice. You don’t need to use jam sugar.
