Plum Jelly

Today I am taking on two canning adventures:  Plum jelly and tomatoes!  Yesterday I went to the local produce market and couldn't pass up a great deal on plums.  I love the taste of plums but I don't like the texture of a fresh plum.........so, I decided to make some more jelly!

The first thing I did was blanch the plums.  This means I placed the plums in boiling water for 1 minute and then put them in an ice bath.  By doing this I am able to remove the skin very easily.

You can clearly see how the skin started to peel back.

Once I peeled the plums I cut them into small pieces and put them in a sauce pan on the stove.  I decided I wanted to mash the plums a little more so I used my potato masher!

As the plums heated up, I added 6 tablespoons of pectin and 1 1/2 cups of sugar.  Some people like their jelly more sweet so taste it to see if this recipe is sweet enough for you.

At this point, your jelly should start to boil.  To avoid foam, I add a little butter (1 teaspoon).  Make sure you boil the jelly for 1 minute before adding to hot jars.

While the jelly is cooking on the stove, make sure you have a large pot with boiling water.  I add my jars and lids to sterilize them. 

When the jelly has boiled for 1 minute I use my canning funnel and ladle into the hot jars.  Then, I wiped the rims to make sure I get a good seal.

When I put the lids on the jars, I added it to the boiling water.  The jars need to process in the water bath for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, remove the jars from the water and set on a cooling rack.  As the jars cool, you will start hearing the pop, pop, pop of the jars sealing shut.  This is a good sign!

After the jars have completely cooled, press on the center part of the lid.  If it doesn't give then the jars have sealed properly.  If it indents a little, simply use that jar first.

Canning really is easy and I think it is fun!  Enjoy!