Sunday, September 12, 2010

Grape To Meet You - Part 2

The making of jam and jelly probably began centuries ago in the Middle Eastern countries, where cane sugar grew naturally. It is believed that returning Crusaders first introduced jam and jelly to Europe; by the late Middle Ages, jams, jellies and fruit conserves were popular there. In fact, the word “jelly” comes from the French word “gelée” which means to congeal. The use of cane sugar to make jam and jelly can be traced back to the 16th century when the Spanish came to the West Indies where they preserved fruit.

Now the big question - What is Jelly? Yes, there is a difference between jam and jelly.  Jam contains both fruit juice and pieces of the fruit's (or vegetable's) fleshJelly is a clear fruit spread consisting of set, sweetened fruit (or vegetable) juice

How easy is this?  All you need is bottled grape juice, sugar and pectin. 

In a large pot, bring the grape juice to a boil.
Add the same amount of sugar as you have of the measured juice. Add one box of pectin for every 5 or 6 cups of juice.  Bring it back to a boil.
Boil the jelly mixture for about 20 minutes. Check the juice to see if it sheets off the spoon like pictured in the image. Keep cooking until it does.
The jelly is done. Pour it into a suitable container and enjoy! After it cools it will set up into a gel-solid.
If you process it in a canner to seal it in jars, pour into clean jelly jars and cover with canning lid. Boil immersed in water for 10 minutes. (If you live over 1000' above sea level check for whatever adjustments are necessary for your elevation)  Remove and cool.
Easy squeasy.


3 comments:

  1. mmmm grape!
    It is an honor to have been featured with you on Punk Domestics, today.

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  2. i made this today and the jars are not hot anymore, but it still hasnt set. Did i do something wrong? or do they have to be chilled before the jelly sets?

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  3. I'm not sure what happened but here is a great article on fixing jam that hasn't set properly:

    http://www.pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm

    ReplyDelete