Autumn olive jam
This autumn olive jam is thick and delicious, and full of health-promoting anti-oxidants. I use the old fashioned cook down method, boiling off a lot of water. That helps prevent separation into a watery layer and a pulpy layer, which happens to autumn olive jam when you take a short cut and add pectin. Autumn olive is a great edible wild berry for jam, because it’s nice and tart. And also because the boiling process kills the seeds, preventing propagation of this invasive plant.
Native to Asia, Eleagnus umbellata goes by the common names of autumn olive and, more generously, “autumn berry”. Because it is an invasive, non-native plant, autumn olive is an ecological problem here in North America. Conservationists spend a lot of time, effort, and money poisoning it. You can help reduce the chemical warfare by eating the nutritious and delicious berries.
If you live in eastern or northwestern North America, chances are good that you have autumn olive growing right under your nose. For information on how it identify it and where to forage for it (as well as its health benefits), read this.
BUT, if you don’t have it in your area, please do not plant it. Instead, purchase frozen autumn olive berries from this company, which harvests them from the wild, for sale to you, and to restaurants. I wholeheartedly agree with their vision: “…by turning this invasive species into a useful commodity, we can transform land that is overcrowded with autumn olive trees into productive, diverse, and profitable forest farms.” Amen! Now isn’t that better than chemical control?
About autumn olive jam
- After boiling and straining, you can put the remains in the compost without worrying about spreading the plant, because boiling the berries kills the seeds.
- A couple of under-ripe apples are used because their high pectin content helps the jam to set. I use under-ripe McInthosh apples because they soften quickly when cooked and go through the food mill easily, and because I grow them in the backyard.
- I used 1/2 cup sugar for every 1 cup of juice/pulp, because I like the tartness. But in the past I have used 3/4 cup sugar for every 1 cup of juice/pulp, to get a more typically sweet jam. Use whichever you prefer.
Autumn olive jam recipe
Makes a little more than four 1/2-pint jars
- 7 and 1/2 cups ripe autumn olive berries
- 3 cups water
- 2 unpeeled, under-ripe apples (preferably McIntosh – see above), cored and chopped, to add a natural source of pectin
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups sugar
- Simmer the berries, apples, and water in a large pot for about 15 minutes, gently mashing the berries, and stirring frequently.
- Put the hot mixture through a food mill to remove the seeds and apple peels, pushing through as much pulp as possible. You should have about 4 cups of juice/pulp. The pulp tends to separate into a watery layer and a red pulpy layer, as you can see in the photo.
Pulp/juice after running the boiled berries through food mill. Note how it tends to separate.
- Add the juice/pulp to a large pot, with the sugar and lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently (constantly towards the end, to prevent scorching), until it sheets off the spoon, or reaches desired thickness. It will take 15-20 minutes. Do not use temperature to test for doneness. It gets quite thick well before the “jelling point” of 220 degrees F, and sets into a firm jam as it cools.
- Pour into sterilized half-pint jars, leaving appropriate head space.
- Cover with sterilized lids, screw on the rings, and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Autumn olive jam
Do you have autumn olive in your area? Have you made anything with it?
Shared On: Homestead Barn Hop, Thank Goodness it’s Monday, Natural Living Monday
I have not heard of Autumn Olive Berries, but according to your description of them, they’d be right up my alley! I will have to see if they are something I’ve overlooked, and if so, I’d be more than happy to help stop their invasive propagation. 😉
Andrea, look at edges where field and forest meet, and in abandoned fields. Bet you’ll find it!
Looks yummy! I will try this with my next batch of berries. I picked some this week but just got done making fruit leather with my first batch. The good thing is that they stay in season so long that there will be plenty more opportunity to try different things! I made wild grape freezer jam last week, with nothing but wild grapes, boiled down until thickened. It came out pretty good! Thanks for all the great info and tips!
You are right, Kim, they do stay in season for a long time. Different bushes ripen at very different times. Sometimes around here we still have a few berries in November. I might make some fruit leather with them this year, too.
Hi again, I did make the jam with my last batch of autumn olives. It’s really good! My kids still prefer the fruit leather, though, but more jam for me to enjoy! Some of my favorite trees are already bare– seems earlier than last year to have totally dropped. I have another spot I haven’t been to on a few weeks, and I’m afraid they will all be gone, until next year! Hope you are finding plenty. I’m in metrowest boston, too, not too far from you.
Great to hear that you like the jam – thanks for letting me know! We do still have quite a few berries on some of the autumn olive bushes this year, so I might get to that fruit leather yet.
I’m boiling my first batch right now! I was wondering if anyone has tried producing pectin by including some underripe autumn olives themselves? Ripe enough to be good/safe to eat, but not all the way juicy? Thanks!
Hi! Please tell me if you added anything to the berry pulp before pouring your fruit leather. Did you add any sweetener? Thanks!
I don’t think I have ever heard of Autumn Berries, but then I live in California where they probably haven’t invaded yet. The jam looks delicious. Thanks for the information.
Yes, I think you’re right – they haven’t made it CA yet. But they’re probably on their way, because they are already in some of the northwestern states.
Can or does one eat the seeds from the autumn olive berries? I have scads of them behind my house. Saw a recipe for cobbler. Seeds!!???
The seeds are huge compared to a relatively small berry. I can’t imagine you would want to eat them. They make a very tasty jam, but you need to get the seeds out. When you pick them watch out for thorns, the bushes can be pretty pokey if you aren’t careful.
I actually like the seeds. They have a slightly nutty flavor – a lot like pomegranate seeds.
I have a cookie recipe using whole autumn olives. The seeds are like nuts in the cookies and also remind me of the seeds found in some of the wild blackberries I pick (hard seeds).
I like the seeds too, although i’ve only eaten them in the raw fresh berry, not cooked into anything. I imagine boiling them down into the jam might make them lose that crunchy quality i like. I’ve heard that they do have a little omega nutrient value!
I am SO GLAD to see this!!! I have seen these berries and felt that there should be SOME way to use them, but wasn’t sure if they were poisonous or safe…. Thank you. 🙂
Yes, autumn olive berries are quite tasty, with a tad of sugar. Just be really certain of ID’ing it – check with several sources to be sure it’s autumn olive.
Pingback: Thank Goodness It's Monday #89 - Nourishing Joy
Pingback: AutumnBerry Jam Recipe and Why You Should Make It | Herbs and Oils Hub
I attempted this recipe and it failed miserably. It looks like this recipe calls for 5 times the amount of water as other recipes on the Internet and I followed the instructions exactly.
I’m sorry it did not work for you, Erika. I have been making this jam with approximately the same ratio of berries to water since 2007, and it hasn’t failed yet for me. If you’d like to explain in what way it failed, I’d be happy to discuss it.
I also had a problem getting the jam to thicken. I cooked it for over an hour after running it through the food mill. It could be that I didn’t use a good pectin apple – I actually just used apples growing on a tree in a random parking lot. Also the apple didn’t cook as fast as the berries and wasn’t soft enough to make it through the food mill.
I don’t know what to say about that other than wonder if you are certain you ID’d the plant correctly and used autumn olive. There are some look alikes, namely amur honeysuckle. My experience with this jam is that it becomes quite solid very quickly. If anything it’s too solid – I would actually like it a bit softer so it’s easier to spread on bread.
The apples should be under-ripe. I use McIntosh because I have them growing in the backyard. McIntosh do cook down to soft mush very quickly and so go through the food mill, so I wonder if that’s what makes mine work so well. I will edit the recipe to suggest under ripe McIntosh. Thanks.
Yes, thank you! We have a big stand of these in Edgar Evins State Park and I’ve been looking for ways to use the berries. Not fond of them raw. Luckily a beaver family moved into our problem area and is flooding it, gnawing down the Autumn Olive and privet as he goes! I am thrilled to see a company putting an invasive exotic plant to use! I’ll have to give this recipe a try.
Holly, I would love to know how it comes out, if you try this recipe. Thanks!
We walked down there yesterday evening and not a berry to be found! I guess the birds already cleaned them out. Maybe next year!
Bummer. Some of the autumn olives around here still have some berries, though they are mostly gone. Hope you get them in time next year!
I had no idea that they are invasive in the US. We just planted one (in Germany) because they fix nitrogen and are beneficial for the plants around them. But i guess too much of everything isn’t good. I have a wonderful book by Martin Crawford (http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/review-creating-a-forest-garden-by-martin-crawford/) where he talks about his favorite plant: the autumn olive =) Isn’t it funny how the same plant can be both?
That was interesting – thanks. Yes, I have seen autumn olive promoted by permaculturists, even here in the US, despite its invasive nature here. Personally I think the plant has great potential as a resource, but that’s just me.
I just return from Massanutten resort in Virginia where the berries are so invasive. I picked large amounts to take back with me to Maryland.
While on the resort I blend the berries with ginger and sweetened it with honey. The drink was quite delicious, and perfect for the pandemic as it is fortified with Vitamin A, C and E.
I felt I was in berry heaven.
Pingback: Autumn olive: foraging for autumnberries - One Acre Farm
Pingback: Autumn olive jam recipe | The Farmers in the Dell BLOG
Pingback: Autumn Olive Fruit Leather - One Acre Farm
thanks for the recipe! have 2 autumn olives close to the house begging to be harvested-will try jam, maybe the fruit leather, too! blessings
That’s great – Good luck, Holly. And as I advise everyone, make sure you are 100% certain of the plant species before eating it.
I like to add the berries to a cake mix to live it up! Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome! Adding the berries to cake — Don’t the seeds bother you? I tried making a pie with whole berries, and the filling turned into juice with a lot of seeds.
This is my first time ever cooking up jam or preserves.
I, too, got a very watery batch though I followed the recipe fairly exactly. Where I think I faltered was by hand-pressing the initial mixture through a strainer as I don’t have a sieve or food mill (not enough pulp?), and then I used apples that were too ripe (not enough pectin?).
I’m researching recipes to fix runny jam. What I’ve come up with suggests boiling water, sugar, lemon juice and powdered pectin, then adding it to the berry soup which will be brought to another hard boil and then simmer.
Any advice you can give would be appreciated, as it’s now just sitting in a liquid state in the pot cooling off.
Hi Adam, yes, hand pressing through a strainer doesn’t get enough of the pulp through. I just tried that this year, and ended up putting it through the food mill anyway, because I couldn’t get enough of the pulp through the strainer. If you used just a strainer, you would end up with a much higher ratio of water to pulp, and hence a very watery jam.
You can certainly make jam by adding pectin. It’s faster because you don’t need to cook off as much of the water. I haven’t tried making autumn olive jam with added commercial because I read that while the jam looks good initially, it tends to separate into a liquid and pulp layer over time.
Tart, under-ripe apples are essential to my old fashioned “cook down” method because they are much higher in natural pectin than ripe apples.
If I were you, trying to save a runny jam on the spot, I’d just cook it more till more of the liquid boils off. I’ve never had to boil all that long to make autumn olive jam, but I’ve boiled for up to 45 minutes to make jam out of other watery fruits.
Here is a good link on fixing a batch of runny jam. I had the same issue with my first batch & I was able to fix it with this method
Pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm
Thanks for this Janet. I am going to try try making some here in CT, because we have a lot of the Autumn Olive bushes, and they’re loaded with berries. One question: Once the fruit is initially boiled in the 3 cups of water, is the water that remains from that boiling to be included with the milled pulp mixture going into the large pot? Thx!
Bob – Yes, as the berries boil, most will burst and release a lot of juice which will mix with the water that you added. I’ve made this recipe quite a few times with no problems, but seeing as some people are ending up with runny jam, I’d try using less water. The amount of water really isn’t critical – you just need enough in the pot so you don’t scorch the berries before they release their own juice. But if you stir and mash as you heat the berries, they will burst quickly and release enough juice to prevent scorching. So I’d start with 1 cup of water for 7-8 cups of berries. Add more if you need it, but best not to add more if you don’t need it. Hope that helps. Oh, and be sure to use under ripe apples, and use a food mill, not a strainer, to be sure you get the pulp through.
Thanks Janet! I’ll try the reduced water to start. We have some abandoned apple orchard trees up the street (left to grow wild), and I picked off some totally green apples off of one of the trees. I will try them out.
Also, since the short stems came with a potion of the olive berries when plucking them off the bush, can I leave those on for the initial boiling and food milling? Or, do the berries need to totally stemless? One more – do I strain the seeds out from the mill mash? Thx!
Well, I try to get most of those little stems off, but usually a few berries here and there still have them. So I would say I clean them till mostly stemless.
Yes, you need to remove the seeds – that is the reason for putting it through the food mill. You want to push as much pulp as possible through the food mill, but the seeds are relatively large and will remain in the mill and should be discarded. Some people eat the seeds, but I find them large and hard enough to be unpleasant.
Just found these-again. Someone tried to introduce these to me last year, tried them, very bitter, thought they were crazy. Must have been too early in the season. Loving them this year-even found some in our yard. Not a lot of berries on them but plenty growing wild elsewhere in central Mass. Enjoying them tossed in my oatmeal. Just chew up the seeds but will experiment with the mill soon.
Just made the jam! It came out wonderful. I’ve seen other recipes for autumn olive fruit – this is one is easily shared with others, especially my conservation buddies! They’ll get a kick out of it as they all know this is a plant that needs to be controlled if not eradicated. because I did half a recipe, I just used a strainer rather than a food mill and it worked very easily. Thanks!
Thanks for letting me know, Kristin! I am still at a loss as to what could have happened to the people that tried it and found that it came out runny. Mine always comes very solid – almost TOO solid.
I love Autumn Olive/Russian Olives, and eat them mostly raw, but have made jam which I love. Do you know, the seeds to you have to chew them to gain the nutritional value? I’ve searched and most don’t say, and them mix on seeds, some you need to chew others, are gained whole…thank you!
Hi Sharon, I did know that some people chew them, but I can’t seem to get the past the weird feeling of the seeds in my mouth. There’s something strangely unpleasant about them, but maybe it’s just me.
We’ve found the trees are bountiful some years, than sparse other years. We have enough trees on our one acre to always have enough to pick each year so we’re in good shape. I do have a question; have you noticed the tree dies easily if you prune it? We’ve removed dead limbs only to find the tree half dead the next summer. We’ve pruned in the winter, early spring, and late summer and the time of year doesn’t seem to matter. I’d love some information about this.
Hi Teresa, no, I’ve pruned quite a bit and have never had one die. It sounds like yours might have been dying anyway, if limbs were dying. I have pruned living limbs quite a bit, to bring to our chickens and rabbits, and this does not seem to negatively affect the shrub at all.
Pingback: Everything You Want to Know About Super Autumn Olive Berry + Bonus: The Easiest Autumn Olive Fruit Leather Recipe - Wellness Geeky
Pingback: Everything You Want to Know About Super Autumn Olive Berry + Bonus: The Easiest Autumn Olive Fruit Leather Recipe
Pingback: Late Summer Stoll along the Champlain Canal | Curious By Nature
Pingback: Autumn olive: foraging for autumnberries
Pingback: Nitrogen Fixer Fixin' For Trouble | Maryland Invasive Species Council
We live in a cabin, bordering Shenandoah nat park. About a month ago a bear tore apart a 12×12 bush in the yard, trying to get at the millions of little red berries. After chain-sawing all the broken branches, I decided to find out what these berries were and if I could eat them. Autumn Olives!!! Well a couple days ago, another bear tore into a 2nd autumn olive bush (we have 3) and I harvested the berries. I made your jam recipe yesterday, but used 1 1/2 cups of blueberries instead of the apples – could not find McIntosh apples put here in the sticks. YUM!!!
Hi,
I just finished making Autumn Olive juice. I have never used a food mill before and I think I used the wrong size blade, so I believe my jelly fail was that no pulp got through. I cooked and boiled and finally gave up and canned the juice. Maybe it will thicken, but I doubt it. So I will try again later. Like another day later. Not today. Also, I used apples I picked but they were not Macintosh. How do you know if they are under ripe? Also about what size apple do you use?
It was fun trying to make it and I have a bountiful supply of Autumn Olive that are still loaded. Would like to try again.
Hi again. Today I made a second attempt at making Autumn Olive Jam. I believe it was successful! What I did different was that I used the larger size blade for the food mill, and pushed as much as I could out of the berries. I had exactly 4 cups of juice. I also used Macintosh apples that looked under ripe. The mixture cooked down quite a bit but I have 4 jars of Jam cooling on my counter and it looks like they have jelled. I’m so excited, because I still have loads of berries to pick and want to make more. Thank you for the recipe!
I just bought a 5 acre farm and the property is littered with Autumn Olive. I have already made 2 batches of fruit leather with my first 18 cup harvest that turned out amazing. I just brought in another harvest of 20 cup today (& still have tons to pick) I will be using this recipe for this harvest & can’t wait for the final product. I’m so excited given how fantastic the fruit leather turned out. Since I still have so many my next harvest will be a Autumn Olive Mead I found a recipe for (Mead is a wine made from honey) I’m loving these berries
Just an update:
First thing I did was cook down all the berries (about 20 cups) I then separated the batch into a few smaller batches. (About 3 1/2 cups each)
The first batch I used just the berries..I did have an issue with the first batch being a bit runny, however, I was able to fix it with this process the next day.. Perfect after the fix.
Pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm
My second batch I did Autumn Olive & Blueberry… That turned out amazing. I did use some “low sugar” pectin in this one since I was using an additional 2 1/2 to 3 cups of fresh blueberries
I will be doing another batch tomorrow with some fresh strawberries & given the tartness of the Autumn Olive.. Expect it to be slightly reminiscent of strawberry rhubarb, or strawberry cranberry jams I make.
My final batch I’m planning to do a sugar free jam by using chia seeds to aid in the gelling process
My family’s had a farm for a good two decades – And it took until a year ago for us to realize that these berries here were even growing in our yard! We’ve begun making the jam, which everyone can’t get enough of, and we’re also turning it into delicious holiday treats by placing the jam as a topper for mini cheesecake tarts. Spreading the word, and making it a little more popular as we go, so hopefully more people will join in with lessening the invasion! lol
I didn’t know what an autumn olive was until I found a bush on the edge of my yard this year. Thanks to a little googling I found this page and learned so much! I just finished making jam and hope to make more delicious goodies using these tart berries in the future! I used 2 Granny Smiths instead of using unripe apples just because I didn’t have any but it seems to work just as well.
Pingback: Yummy Invasive Species – The Saga of the Autumn Olive – Dr. LateBloomer
I just made my first batch! I could not find any McIntosh apples- so I resorted to the use of Ball’s realfruit liquid pectin. I can’t wait to see how this turned out! I took your advise and did not use too much sugar. It was fun to use the strainer my mom used when she used to make tomato juice.
Where does one get just 2 undee-ripe Macintosh apples?
It depends on where you live. In much of the northeast you can find them in farm stands right around this time of year when they just begin picking them and they’re still tart. As you can see under “About Autumn Olive Jam”, any under ripe apple variety is fine. The point is that under ripe (tart)apples are best because they are highest in pectin. If you do not live where apples are grown, you could try a green apple variety, such as Granny smith. Green apples tend to be higher in pectin than red ones.
Thank you! As I live in West Michigan I have access to a LOT of apples! But I did opt for Granny Smith as per some research, they seem to have a higher amount of pectin and were readily available. But all is good – my jam is looking great going into the water bath. I did have to cook it down longer but it came together around 30-35 mins and I’m really looking forward to having some on my toast! Initial tasting says it’s a keeper!
Pingback: How to Forage Autumn Olive (Identify - Harvest - Preserve - Recipes)
Just made an awesome cocktail simple syrup with Autumn olives and honey. Processed as above but boiled down the berry/pulp juice with a 1:1 by weight amount of honey. Use in place of grenadine or on its own (as in a modified Cape Codder), or add to water for an alternative to sports drinks.
We just made our first batch, before seeing this post! We used store bought pectin. A few of the jars have a small, much lighter, almost clear layer at the bottom. Is this just separation of the juice and pulp or something bad? We are completely new to all of this. The seals seem to all be good. I was going to attach a picture, but I don’t see a way to.
That hasn’t happened to me, but I have heard the same thing about separation of clear fluid and pulp from others. If the fruit was fresh and not spoiled to start with, then the jam is probably fine.
I’ve seen these pretty berries by the side of the road I live off of for years, and had always assumed they were inedible. I finally took a picture of them and sent it to my sister- who has her naturalist merit badge- and she identified it. I made a batch of jam, which is canning as I type. Thank you for posting your recipe, and sharing your knowledge. It only took me an hour to pick 7 1/2 cups, and the jam is delicious. I’ll go pick more in the next few days.
Pingback: Fall Foraging 2020 - GAT Daily (Guns Ammo Tactical)
What about using an instant pot to boil them down. I live in Massachusetts and never heard of these berries until I saw it on Rural-sprout on FB. I spotted a tree near my house. Took an identity picture on google and it was a match. Did not know they were evasive. Wondering if the jam is similar to cranberries. Anyhow gonna try making some. I will let ya know Thanks for the recipe
I myself having a lot of trouble having the jelly harden
Last year I had to boil 3 times
Imagine the time and frustration
I jysymr made this morning
Not sure were soneonecsaying that only takes 15/20 cooking time?
I spent hours
Ditto – perhaps the author is not working under conditions of standard temperature and pressure. 500 leagues under the sea, it might all go just as she suggests, after all.
I am the author and yes I am working under standard conditions. Only 400 ft elevation in Massachusetts. I don’t know why this recipe firms up well for some people but not others. I personally have never had it fail. In fact, if anything it comes out a little too firm for my taste.
Pingback: Fall Foraging 2020 – GAT Daily (Guns Ammo Tactical) | Alpha Holsters
I tried this this year and love the flavor! The longest part is picking berries as they are small but after the first batch, I liked it so much I picked another 10 cup batch. The first batch took a really long time to thicken so in my next batch I added 1.5tsp Xanthippe gum to help it thicken. It still took half an hour to thicken enough to process. Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s a keeper!
Other than it not becoming jam, this was a fun attempt to use the berries that grow in the back of the yard and which taste so good after a hike and so puckery and odd in the kitchen. I may try this recipe again with 2/3 of the recommended water removed or I may just try a different jam recipe that calls for actual pectin. But I have a fine runny sauce over which I’m sure I can find something to pour this on!
I’m curious about your location because it seems late, at least for the northeastern US, to be picking these berries. When I used to make this jam, I was picking in early to mid September in Massachusetts. The degree of ripeness might affect it. Also you must use under ripe apples called for in this recipe, because of their pectin content, for this to work. If you don’t, then you should try a different recipe, one that has added pectin.