Blackberry Jelly

Blackberry Jelly

I was lucky enough to get some beautiful local blackberries recently. I was busy , so I popped most of them in the freezer. Today, I decided to use some of them to make blackberry jelly. It came out perfect. Sweet and tart, and full of the flavor of summer. Jelly was a little more work than jam, but I wanted to have a product without seeds in it. I first cooked the berries to extract the juice, then used that juice to make the jelly. While it was a hot day to be making jelly- the aroma in the house made it all worth it. I also saved the seeds and solids. I placed them in a jar and covered them with vodka. I can strain it in a few weeks, sweeten it a little, and I’ll have some blackberry liqueur as a bonus.

Blackberry Jelly

3 quarts blackberries*

1/2 c. water

1 box powdered pectin

5 c. sugar

Place the berries in a pot and use a potato masher to crush the berries. Add the water and simmer until the berries are soft. Strain out the solids and then pour the juice through several layers of cheesecloth to clarify. You should end up with about 4-5 cups of juice. Place juice in a pot and add the pectin. Bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Add the sugar and return mixture to the boil, again stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle mixture into clean, hot jelly jars and fill to 1/4 inch from the top. Seal and repeat with remaining jelly.  Place in a boiling water bath and process 10 minutes. Makes 6-7 half pints.

* Best if some of the berries are a little under ripe. Higher in natural pectin.