Jelly Recipes

Jelly is one of the staples of breakfast, goes great on toast and makes an excellent addition for snacks. Jelly also goes great with a number and variety of crackers and other goodies. Jelly making is also a fun activity to share with kids. They are also a great way to learn and teach tradition and history.

Jelly making is something that brings back the feelings of togetherness and generational closeness that can often times is lost in the hustle of modern day life. Homemade jelly is also significantly better for you as you can control not only the ingredients but also how fresh they are. If you are looking for a healthy alternative to store bought products that can be loaded in sugar, preservatives, additives and chemicals than homemade jelly making is certainly something to give consideration to when coming up with healthy alternatives.

Rose Hip Jelly

Ingredients

8 cups of rose hips
6 cups of water
1 box of certo
1/2 cup lemon juice
5 cups of sugar

Directions

Take the rose hips and boil for 10-15 minutes or until soft enough to crush. Crush and squeeze through a cloth in order to make a juice. For every 4 cups of juice add on box of Cetro or other brand of pectin and bring to a boil. Then add lemon juice and sugar.

If it foams add ½ a teaspoon of margarine. Bring to a boil again and boil hard for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into sterilized containers, and then seal the jars with the caps and rings. The consistency should be that of liquid honey.

This next recipe really takes grape jelly to a completely new level by spicing it up. It is a delicious alternative to an old classic. This jelly is also one that does not require the use of Gelatin or pectin additions.

Spiced Grape Jelly

Ingredients

2 oz Stick cinnamon
1 oz Whole cloves
1/2 pt Vinegar
3 1/2 lb Sugar
1/2 pt Grape juice
7 lb Grapes

Directions

Tie stick cinnamon and clove in a bag, and put in preserving pan with vinegar, sugar and grape juice. Place on stove and when the mixture boils add grapes and boil until it is at the jelly stage. Remove from stove and bottle. Spiced grapes generally require from one hour to one and a half hours boiling.

Mint Jelly

Ingredients

2 cups water
1-cup vinegar
1-cup basil or mint leaves
6 1/2 cups sugar
1 bottle fruit pectin
Green food coloring optional

Directions

Combine the water, vinegar, mint leaves and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then add the fruit pectin, heat until the mixture reaches a full rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.
Remove the leaves and seal the resulting mixture in hot sterilized containers. This recipe makes approximately 12 - 6 oz containers of Jelly. The green food coloring will give it a more appealing look and set the right tone for the flavor of mint.

Here is a spicy gift from down south that makes a great homemade gift idea.

Spicy hot pepper Jelly

Ingredients

1-cup water
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (Tabasco or other favorite)
1/3 cup lemon juice
½ bottle (3 oz) of liquid pectin
Red food coloring

Directions

Combine water, hot pepper sauce, lemon juice, and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly, Add pectin to the mixture along with a few drops of red food coloring. Cook, until the mixture comes to a rolling boil, stir continuously. Boil hard for 30 seconds, Remove from heat. Skim off any foam and pour into 8 oz jelly jars. Remember to leave about ¼ in of headspace. Then process for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Apple Jelly

Ingredients

4 cups apple juice (about 3lbs tart apples and 3 cups water)
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
3 cups sugar

Directions

To prepare juice

Select ¾ ripe apple. Wash applies. Cut apples into small pieces. Add water, cover and then bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 20-25 minutes or until applies are soft. Strain juice through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth.

To make Jelly

Put apple juice in large saucepot. Add lemon juice and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Boil over high heat, stirring constantly to 8 degrees F above the boiling point of water or until the jelly mixture sheets from a spoon. Remove from heat, skim foam if necessary. Ladle into sterilized jars leave ¼ in headspace.

Homemade Jelly

Beautiful, clear jelly can be easily made with fresh fruit and sugar. Commercial pectin such as Sure-Jel can be used to speed the cooking, but often is not necessary if you are willing to cook for a longer period and watch for the jelling point. Recipes using commercial pectin use more sugar and cannot be doubled.

To make jelly without pectin you need fruit that has a high natural pectin content. Do not use overripe fruit as the pectin content is lower in very ripe fruit and the jelly will not jell. Use some under ripe fruit to increase the pectin content. Berries and other fruits low in pectin content will require the addition of fruit high in pectin or the use of commercial pectin products.

Prepare fresh fruit by washing and trimming out any defects. Do not use frozen or canned fruit unless you are using a packaged pectin product, their pectin content is too low for jelling. Do not peel or core the fruit. The peel will add color to the jelly. Cook the fruit to a soft pulp, but do not overcook. Pour the fruit into a jelly bag and allow to drain naturally, do not squeeze. Squeezing the bag may hasten the process, but will produce a cloudy juice and ultimately a cloudy jelly.

The acid content is important in order to enable the pectin to jell. Some fruits require the addition of acid, usually in the form of lemon juice. Do not leave out or substitute for the lemon juice in the recipe.

The sugar is necessary to preserve the jelly and aid in jelling. Do not reduce or substitute the sugar content in the recipe. If less sugar is desired, use a recipe specifically designed for less sugar. Add the sugar and any other ingredients called for ingredients to the juice in a large pot or kettle and boil rapidly until the jelling point is reached. A large kettle is necessary as jelly tends to boil up and foam. If foaming is a problem, a ¼ teaspoon of butter or margarine may be added. Skim the foam off the jelly at the end of boiling, just before pouring into jars.

Follow these tips for beautiful clear jelly every time.

Jam Making Tips

It is much easier to make jam and marmalade if you use the right equipment, although perfectly good results can be achieved with ordinary thick based pans provided you remember to allow a little extra time for simmering the fruit. Most saucepans are not as wide as a preserving pan and so present a smaller surface area.

Heavy stainless steel or tin lined copper preserving pans are the best and they should have a thick base in order to prevent the jam from sticking and burning. The sides should be deep enough to allow the fruit to bubble without splashing all over the cooker and a wide top is necessary for good evaporation. The overall size will depend on how much jam you want to make in one go.

Lovely old unlined copper and brass preserving pans can be used provided they are really clean and tarnish free. However the finished preserve will contain less vitamin C and you must not allow the mixture to stay in the pans any longer than absolutely necessary. Vinegar will react with these metals so don't use them for pickles or chutney.

A slotted spoon for removing stray stones and a wide funnel for filling the jars are both useful but not strictly essential and if you need to use a sieve it should be made from nylon and not metal.

Start collecting jam jars well in advance of your project and ask your friends to save theirs for you too. Just make sure they are in perfect condition and scrupulously clean. A sterilizer is handy here.

Apart from apples, gooseberries, damsons, red or black currants, oranges, lemons and limes, most other fruit will need extra pectin in order for it to set firmly. Fruit that is lacking in natural pectin must have it added and this can be in the form of lemon juice or apple or gooseberry extract.

You can make this extract at home by boiling about two pounds of cut up fruit in one to one and a half pints of water for about an hour and then squeezing the pulp through a jelly bag. Alternatively you can buy pectin in a bottle and then follow the manufacturer's instructions.

The right amount of sugar is also vital. Granulated sugar is the sort most commonly used in jam making and it is easily obtainable. If you can get lump sugar and preserving crystals there will be less scum to skim from the surface but otherwise the results will be the same. Unfortunately there is really no substitute for sugar. Glycerine and glucose are not as sweet and honey or treacle will change the taste noticeably, but they can make up half of the sugar content if you wish.

The best way to be sure that the jam is ready is to use a sugar thermometer but if you haven't got one put a drop onto a cold plate and push it around a bit. It should wrinkle and feel a little rubbery. Take the pan off the heat while you do this. When it is ready remember to pour the jam into warm jars so they don't crack with the sudden heat, then put a waxed disc over the jam and put the lids on quickly so that you get a good seal.

Now you have this information you are ready to find a good recipe and start making jam!