Jelly

[daffadilly]

I was so shocked to realize that every jelly & jam had corn syrup in it - I mean like how many years ago did that happen? I am on a quest to omit corn syrup & artificial coloring & junk from the foods that I eat. While also cutting out the hydrogenated fats. But back to the sweet stuff, I have scoured the specialty grocery shelves for the jams & jellies that do not have corn syrup & some that even do not have added sugar - just fruit juice. These jellies & jams are sooooo good. But wow! they can be pricey anywhere from $6.00 to $10.00 a jar. (& those are none too large )

So I have been collecting the empty jars. Some really cute jars & bought a couple of boxes of sure jell. Today I had some apples that needed to be eaten & a handful of blueberries & a handful of cherries, so I cut up all the fruit & added a little water & boiled it till mushy, then I strained the whole mess in a large tea strainer & mashed the pulp thru with a wooden spoon, I drained it into a large glass pyrex measuring cup/bowl thing that has a spout, that the strainer fit on top of. Threw out the skins etc.

I had two cups of fruit pulpy stuff, poured it back in the pan, (stainless steel), I added 2 Tablespoons of the sure jell, & boiled till bubbly, then added in 1 cup of sugar, boiled to rolling boil, plus one minute & oh my goodness it was jelly, I poured into three jelly jars & then tasted the jelly & it was awesome.

Next time I am going to make blueberry with no sugar. But since I was a beginner I thought I would add the sugar this time. Also, these are going in the refrig, so I did not process in hot water bath.

Anyone else out there making jelly? Thinking of giving it a try??? All the directions are inside the sure jell package which is by the jars in the grocery, which is usually by the paper plates etc.

[IrishKelly]

I was so shocked to realize that every jelly & jam had corn syrup in it - I mean like how many years ago did that happen? I am on a quest to omit corn syrup & artificial coloring & junk from the foods that I eat. While also cutting out the hydrogenated fats. But back to the sweet stuff, I have scoured the specialty grocery shelves for the jams & jellies that do not have corn syrup & some that even do not have added sugar - just fruit juice. These jellies & jams are sooooo good. But wow! they can be pricey anywhere from $6.00 to $10.00 a jar. (& those are none too large )

So I have been collecting the empty jars. Some really cute jars & bought a couple of boxes of sure jell. Today I had some apples that needed to be eaten & a handful of blueberries & a handful of cherries, so I cut up all the fruit & added a little water & boiled it till mushy, then I strained the whole mess in a large tea strainer & mashed the pulp thru with a wooden spoon, I drained it into a large glass pyrex measuring cup/bowl thing that has a spout, that the strainer fit on top of. Threw out the skins etc.

I had two cups of fruit pulpy stuff, poured it back in the pan, (stainless steel), I added 2 Tablespoons of the sure jell, & boiled till bubbly, then added in 1 cup of sugar, boiled to rolling boil, plus one minute & oh my goodness it was jelly, I poured into three jelly jars & then tasted the jelly & it was awesome.

Next time I am going to make blueberry with no sugar. But since I was a beginner I thought I would add the sugar this time. Also, these are going in the refrig, so I did not process in hot water bath.

Anyone else out there making jelly? Thinking of giving it a try??? All the directions are inside the sure jell package which is by the jars in the grocery, which is usually by the paper plates etc.

WOW, this sounds awesome...i must give it a try

[cathzozo]

Thanks for the post. Your post title, "I am so into Jelly!" just put a big smile on my face. Sounds like a great idea. Not sure I have the time for it right now, but I might just buy the supplies in case I am inspired.

--Catherine

[Sweetfudge]

Sounds very good! I was at the farmers market this morning and bought several pounds of apples to make applesauce with. Didn't get around to it today, but I am hoping tomorrow I will How long do jams last in the fridge? I love this jam my mom made with lots of lemon juice. I think she was going for the less sugar thing too. It was yummy! I would love to make some jam sometime, just need to pick a day and get some fruit. I tried making fruit leather last summer. It was good, it just didn't dry evenly (got crunchy and gooey stuff). Anyway, good luck to you

[daffadilly]

Just guessing, but I think it would last about 6 months in the fridge, course mine might be gone by then!!!

[momandgirls]

We make jams and jellies all the time - a great activity to do with my kids. We always make some after going strawberry and blueberry picking in the summer. Something we look forward to. The make great teacher gifts...Anyway, I never bother with the hot water bath, either. After you fill the jars, if you let them sit for several hours, most of the time, they will self seal on their own. If they do, they don't need to be kept in the fridge. If they don't seal, I imagine they would last even a year in the fridge - mine are always eaten after a month or two...

[daffadilly]

for ones that do not seal can you just put parafin wax on the top of the jelly, like they used to do a long time ago? You sound like a great mom, those are the things that kids really remember when they grow up.

[eKatherine]

I have made some small batches of jam and jelly. Homemade is just the best, because commercial jam and jelly is made with the bare minimum of fruit or juice and usually has extenders like purified apple juice, which is totally flavorless.

Small batches is the way to go. You never get bored, they don't spoil, and it's fast and easy to whip up a batch on a whim.

[gfp]

Just guessing, but I think it would last about 6 months in the fridge, course mine might be gone by then!!!

Yeah once they seal then they are good for at least 6 months but once yopu open them they do go off faster than commerical preservative packed stuff. If you use the jars with the little pop-up you can tell they are sealed as they cool.

[Luvs to Scrap]

I don't ever hot water bath mine either. We just put wax paper between the jar and lid and then freeze after it has had 24 hours to set up. Mom and I made strawberry rhobarb and then peach jam when I was visiting last time. Homemade always tastes better Kendra

[momandgirls]

I imagine that, yes, you could use paraffin wax. But, I really don't think you need to. It's a rare jar that doesn't seal on its own (without a hot water bath). Once opened, I don't find they spoil any faster than commercially bought jams. Actually, ours are always gone within a month or two and I've never had one spoil in that time. It's super easy and really delicious. Definitely try it!

[daffadilly]

Thanks, I am already planning my next batch, & have the jars all ready!! I am thinking that would be a good thing to share with my celiac group.