Nothing beats mom’s hot, buttery, homemade biscuits dripping with butter and grape jelly. YUM! I know we’ve all had store-bought jelly, or those little jellies that come in the plastic cups from fast-food restaurants, but have you ever enjoyed fresh, homemade jelly?
Today you can — the Christ-following minimalist way!
It’s almost homemade, anyway. At least it’s made at home!
Ingredients:
- 1 box of Sure-Jell (fruit pectin)
- 1 12 fl.oz. can of frozen 100% Grape Juice
- 3 1/2 cups of water
- 1 pat of butter or margarine
- 7 cups of sugar
- Mason jars (we had enough to fill 5 small to medium-sized jars with a little left over.)
- A timer
Easy! Easy! Easy! With mom as my guide, we followed the directions provided in the Sure-Jell package. Here we go….
In the biggest pot you have (we used our spaghetti pot), place the Mason jars and their lids on high heat to boil and sanitize them.
Always sanitize your jars before canning.
In your favorite large pot/dutch oven, pour in the 12 fl. oz. of grape juice straight from the can, and add 3 1/2 cups water. Stir in the packet of Sure-Jell until completely dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to a rolling boil, which doesn’t stop boiling when you stir. To prevent a heavy film from forming on top, drop one pat of butter into the brew.
Adding butter will help reduce the amount of film that may form.
Word from the wise-one: Mom says, “Never leave your grape jelly alone. As soon as you turn your back, it will boil over. You’ll lose half of your liquid and everything is purple.”
I trust Mom.
When you’ve reach the optimum boil, pour in your seven cups of sugar and stir until dissolved. Now, stir, stir, stir until you’ve again reached a rolling boil. Once you’ve reached a rolling boil, stir for one full minute. Do not stop stirring for anything. And, manipulate the heat and the pot as needed to maintain the rolling boil but not boil over. The “wise one” took care of this step for me. I love my mom. 🙂
Take your beautiful grape jelly concoction off of the burner, then scoop off any film that may have formed. Now, ready yourself to handle the VERY HOT mason jars.
Use tongs to empty the water out of one jar and place it next to the grape jelly pot. Now, ladle the jelly juice in, then clean off the rim of the jar with a wet rag or paper towel. CAUTION: It will be very hot! Please use precautions. I am not responsible for injuries. Sorry.
Be careful! The jar and the liquid are hot!
I looked like I was handling nuclear waste. With oven gloves on and tongs in hand, I moved the jar over to the waiting counter top to receive its lid. And, wa-lah! It’s done!
Another word from the wise one: Mom completes one jar at a time, instead of doing everything in stages. She once dropped a jar and splattered glass and grape juice everywhere. Since she hadn’t covered the other jars, the entire batch was ruined and full of glass. I know. It brought a tear to my eye, too.
When you’ve filled all of the jars and have securely fastened all of the lids, flip each jar over in order for them to seal. They will need to stay like this for 30 minutes to one hour, or until cooled. For storage, we always keep ours in the refrigerator.
One hour away from yummy goodness
Homemade jelly is a great gift idea for the holidays, and it’s easy to do! Our friends are excellent at giving back their jars, too. I know it’s so we will refill them. 🙂
Until next time,
Bohemian Christian Chelle
Enjoying grape jelly goodness!
Posted by My 100th post! And, a fun Simple Supper « Christ-following Minimalist on June 5, 2012 at 6:17 pm
[…] for dipping, if desired. Our Panko Parmesan Chicken Tenders waiting for the oven with a backdrop of Mom’s Favorite Grape Jelly she made […]