Grape Jelly

Grape jelly

Grape Jelly is not vegan because unlike blueberry, strawberry, raspberry or blackberry jam, you need Certo to make it gel. There is a plant-based version, but it's not something I can find here in town so I will probably need to order it online. For now, I guess I'll use the last couple boxes of Certo I have in my pantry.

Grapes on the vine

Grape arbor

Grape Jelly Recipe

Grape jelly is super easy to make but can make a huge mess.

Remove all the grapes off the stems and remove any green grapes. Rinse and transfer to a pot.

Bring to boil:
3 lbs grapes

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for 10 - 15 minutes, until grapes split and seeds separate from the fruit.

4.5 lbs of Concord grapes

Wrap in cheesecloth and hang overnight to drain juice.

Grape juice draining through linen

It's important not to squeeze the cheesecloth or linen while the grapes are draining. Just let them strain through on their own, overnight if possible. Squeezing can yield a cloudy result; we want the jelly to look like clear jewels.

Straining grape juice through linen

Combine:
4 cups grape juice
1 package pectin

Bring to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir while at a rolling boil for one minute. Turn heat down to low.

Stir in:
6 1/2 cups sugar

Let sugar dissolve, then remove from heat. Pour into sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes.

Grape jelly

Strawberry Jam

This recipe for strawberry jam couldn't be easier. We used a combination of Kent and Alpine strawberries and it turned out amazing. Tastes so...strawberry-ish. Summery. Brings back the sticky sweetness of June. And is fabulous on homemade oatmeal-molasses bread.

Strawberry jam on oatmeal bread

Grow Some Strawberries

Strawberries are remarkably easy to grow, and seem to be pretty disease- and pest-resistant. I think anyone with a 4' square area of space could grow them.

Kent strawberries growing in the garden

There is nothing like picking a sun-ripened warm strawberry off the vine and dining right in your garden either. If you've never tried it, you should. We ate plenty and used plenty, but also set some aside to make our jam.

Bowl of Kent strawberries

Strawberry Jam Recipe 

I found this simple old-fashioned recipe in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving cookbook. It's filled with lots of great recipes and canning tips. It doesn't have my beloved Lady Ashburnham pickle recipe, but I forgive it for that since I understand that's really a regional recipe.

Ingredients
6 cups strawberries
6 cups sugar

Directions
Bring strawberries and sugar to a slow boil. (I had the stove set to 4 and it took about 15 - 20 minutes to begin boiling) and mash strawberries while stirring. Boil rapidly until they begin to gel. I boiled hard for about 15 minutes, maybe 20. I used the gel test.

Berries & sugar cooking

Remove from stove, skim off the foam and ladle into jars. This made 6-1/2 250 ml jars (3-1/4 pints).

Bottled strawberry jam

Gel Test

The gel test is when you spoon a drop of jam onto a saucer and place it in the freezer for one minute. When you remove it, slowly push your finger through the jam. If there is resistance (it wrinkles when you push it), it is at the gel stage and ready to bottle. This is an old trick my Mom taught me back in the learning days. It probably goes by other names and has variations, such as length of time in the freezer, but this is a tried and true method and probably better than just telling you how long to boil. Give it a test. As a bonus, you can then lick your finger and have your first taste of the jam you're making!

Jams

I make jams and jellies every fall, using whatever fruit I can gather from what we grow as well as what other people grow and give me (my parents' grapes, their neighbor's plums) and that which grows wild, like blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. 

And, someday we will have more of our own berry bushes. What kind of berry bushes, you say? Probably all of them. lol

Blueberry Jam

Bring to boil:
4 cups blueberries, lightly mashed
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pack or Certo fruit pectin crystals

Stir in:
5 1/2 cups sugar

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for one minute, stirring frequently. Skim off foam. Pour into 6 250 ml or 3 500 ml sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes. 

Wild blueberries, Aug 12, 2013

Six 250 ml blueberry jam

Jumbleberry Jam

Bring to boil:

3 cups blueberries, lightly mashed

1 cup raspberries

2 cup blackberries

2 tbsps lemon juice

Stir in:
6 1/2 cups sugar

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Test by spooning a teaspoon of the jam on a chilled saucer. After a minute, push your finger through the jam and if the surface wrinkles, it's ready. Skim off foam, if any. Pour into six 250 ml or three 500 ml sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes. 

Pick all the crap out of the berries

Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries

Cooking the jam

Sterilized jars - I always sterilize more than I'll probably need

Processing the jam in a water bath

There was 1/2 jar left over after all the jars were filled. 

I didn't process it - I don't expect it to last more than a few days :)

Plum Jam

Wash plums and remove stems and debris.

5 lbs wild plums

Bring to boil:

5 lbs wild plums

1/2 cup water

Turn heat down to simmer. Mash plums while simmering about 15 minutes. Begin removing by about a cup at a time and remove pits, reserving the fruit and peel. You'll find your own best method; I used a mesh strainer over a bowl and a spoon to push the juice and fruit through. Makes quite a mess. Wear old clothes.

The mess, from right to left: 
Boiled plums in pot, mesh strainer in a bowl to mash plums through, 

bowl of pit-less fruit, bowl of pits

Stir in:
5 cups sugar, about a cup per lb of plums

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Test by spooning a teaspoon of the jam on a chilled saucer. After a minute, push your finger through the jam and if the surface wrinkles, it's ready. Skim off foam, if any. Pour into sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes.