Anna's Black Nightshade Berry Jam
Posted on January 14 2026
This recipe and the information shared here come from Anna Valentine from The Veggie Tree, who is a wealth of information when it comes to foraging and creating healthy, plant-based food from nature. If you’re even slightly curious about wild foods, Anna someone you want to learn from.
One plant that seems to cause a lot of confusion is Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum), and honestly, it doesn’t deserve the bad reputation it gets. It’s often lumped in with its infamous cousin Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna), which is very poisonous - but also extremely rare in New Zealand.
Black nightshade, on the other hand, is incredibly common and, when correctly identified and used, both edible and nutritious. Try making Anna's wild jam recipe, it's truly a forager’s delight!
From Anna ...
Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum) has got to be one of the most misunderstood weeds. It's cousin Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna) is very poisonous but extremely rare in New Zealand. Where as black nightshade is very common and has little white or purple tinged flowers and clusters of 5-6 berries, deadly nightshade has larger purple flowers and the berries are on a single stem and have flatter very shiny berries that sit in the calyx. Today we will be concentrating on the ripe berries but the leaves are also edible, highly nutritious and tasty. This wild jam recipe is a foragers delight
The other day I noticed a small but very laden self seeded plant in our wild lawn and have been waiting for this moment to make something delicious from the berries. I got a quarter cup of berries so it wasn't going to be a big something, so I decided on a quick simple jam recipe and I couldn't be more pleased with the result!
This jam has the most sensational flavour and colour, kind of like a mixture between a boysenberry and blueberry, so damn good. Here I've topped some freshly baked scones with butter, Greek yoghurt and topped with Black Nightshade Berry Jam.
Anna's Black Nightshade Berry Jam
he addition of the slice of lemon will help with the setting of the jam as this is where the pectin is stored.
Plant-based | Gluten free. Makes 100ml
1/4 cup ripe black nightshade berries
1/4 cup water
juice of 1 lemon, plus a slice of the whole squeezed half
1/4 cup sugar
Method
Add the berries, water and lemon juice and slice, to a small pot and mash the berries up a bit. Put on a high heat and when it comes to the boil add the sugar, stir to dissolve.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened. Remove the slice of lemon and pot into a warm sterilised jar and cap. Once opened keep in the fridge if it's warm out and enjoy.
Check out Anna's website The Veggie Tree here.
There are so many great recipes and foraging tips - and workshops coming up!