Grape Jelly

Grape jelly - it is a staple in my house.  Jonah will not eat any other kind - Grape is his favorite!  I figured since I was doing all of this canning and learning how to make jelly, I would learn how to make his favorite.

My Schmoop - Jonah!

I REALLY didn't want to get fresh grapes and run them through a sieve.............that sounded like too much work.  Instead, I did a little research and found that you can make grape jelly from grape juice!

Here are the ingredients:

Grape Juice - 2 quarts
Sugar - 3 cups(if you want your jelly sweeter, add more)
2 boxes pectin
1 teaspoon butter

Heat the grape juice and pectin until right before the boiling point.  Add the sugar and butter and boil vigorously for 1 minute.

At the same time, you need to start preparing the jars for canning.  Place the jars in your dishwasher and run the cycle.  This will sterilize the jars and heat them so that the grape jelly mixture will not crack the glass.

Put the lids and rims in a pot of boiling water. 

You will need a large stock pot of boiling water to process the grape jelly.

When the grape jelly mixture has boiled, use a funnel and put the mixture in the jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Wipe the rim of the jars and then put the rims and lids on.

Process the jars in a water bath (boiling water) for 15 minutes.  Remove the jars and let them cool.  As the jars cool, the jelly will set and the lids will seal.  You will know that the jars have sealed because you will hear "pop,"  "pop," "pop!"

If you are able to press on the lid and it gives, the jar did not seal properly.  Put that jar in the refrigerator and use it first.

This is very economical!  I made 7 little jelly jars and 6 1/2 pint jars.  Considering the average jar of jelly will cost over 2 dollars a piece - I'd say this is a bargain!

Smuckers has nothing on me!

Strawberry Jam

Costco had the biggest container of strawberries ever!  I love Costco - time for some strawberry jam.

To begin, I washed the strawberries and cut the top off.  I cut the strawberries into smaller chunks and put them in a sauce pan.

I ended up with about 6 cups of strawberries.  To this I added 3 cups of sugar.  If you read a jelly or jam recipe, it will usually call for more sugar.  I always find that I need to cut the sugar almost in half otherwise it is too sweet.

I added 10 tablespoons of pectin and 2 teaspoons of butter to counteract any foam that might form.

As that cooked, I took my potato masher and helped break the strawberries apart.  I like chunky jam, but I don't want HUGE hunks.

To help avoid a big mess, I use a canning funnel to get the jelly into hot, sterilized jars.  An easy way to sterilize your canning jars is to stick them in the dishwasher and run it.  Make sure your jars are hot when you put the jelly in.  Otherwise, the jars might break.

Leave about 1/4 inch head space from the top of the jar.  Wipe off the rim of the jar to make sure that the lid will seal.  Put the lids in boiling water and put them on top of the jars.

The jelly needs to be processed in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.  After that time, remove the jars and let them cool.  As they cool, the jars will seal.  You will know that they are sealing because you will hear a popping sound.

After the jars are cooled, press your finger on the lid.  If you can press the lid up and down, the lid didn't seal.  Refrigerate that jar and use it first.

Canning is easy and a lost art!  I taught myself how to do this and if I can, you can too!  Enjoy!

Rasberry Jam

Today was shopping heaven:  Costco!  As I strolled through the aisle, I found two huge containers of strawberries and raspberries.  Time for some more jelly!

The first thing I did was wash the raspberries really good.  I put them in a saucepan and got them cooking.  As the raspberries heated up, I took my potato masher and mashed the berries a little.  I like chunky jam but not huge hunks!

I had about a quart of raspberries.  To this I added 2 cups of sugar and 6 tablespoons of pectin.  I also added 1 teaspoon of butter - this helps cut down on the foam.  If foam does appear, simply skim it off the top before putting in jars.

Some people don't like the seeds.  They strain the mixture through a sieve.  For me, I am more annoyed at the time it takes to strain the seeds out.  Seeds are fine with me!

While the raspberries were cooking I put my canning jars and lids in boiling water.  I do this to sterilize the jars and to heat them up so they don't break when I add the hot jelly.

I used a funnel to get the jelly into the jars.  This helps cut down on a big mess!

The jars need to be processed in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, I took the jars out of the canner.  As the jars cool, they will seal themselves shut.  You know when they have sealed because you will hear a popping sound.  When the jars are cooled, press on the lid to make sure they don't give.  If you are able to pop the lid up and down, refrigerate that jar and use it first.



Enjoy!