09/12/2026
New on Grove Life: Elderberry jelly - and a Missouri cottage food answer that just changed.
Earlier this year, when I started looking into whether home-canned elderberry jelly could safely be sold under Missouri cottage food law, the guidance I received was essentially “not without process-authority evaluation.”
Then MU Extension kept digging.
In August, they published new guidance confirming that properly prepared traditional elderberry jam and jelly can qualify for home-kitchen production under Missouri cottage food law.
That “properly prepared” part matters. Elderberries are a low-acid fruit, so this isn’t a green light to grab any recipe, water-bath can it, and head to market. Formulation, acidification, sugar concentration, processing, testing and recordkeeping all matter.
In the newest Grove Life, I dig into what changed, why the food-safety science matters, where to find scientifically supported elderberry jam and jelly recipes - and what this means for small Missouri elderberry growers and producers.
And yes…this new guidance means there is now elderberry jelly at Twilight Grove. 💜
Read the full Grove Life post: https://grovelife.substack.com/p/elderberry-jelly-missouri-cottage-food-law
