I'm new to making jellies and jams, but the older I get the more I like to eat. And that leads to me tinkering with things like curing, smoking, dehydrating, and even canning. The wild raspberries are ripe in northern Indiana right now, so I decided this was as good a year as any to learn to make jelly.
After the berries are picked, they need to be "steeped" to release their juice. A potato masher helps the process a little.
Then the juice is strained off by transferring the pulp into a collander with a couple of cheesecloth layers added. Letting this happen naturally, without "squeezing" the pulp, keeps the jelly clear.
The juice is measured, returned to the stock pot, with lemon juice and sugar added.
Once the sugar is melted and the mixture brought to a boil, the powdered pectin is added and the stock boiled to a temperature pushing 220 degrees.
Meanwhile, the jars and lids are sterilized.
Jars are then filled, air bubbles removed, and 2-piece lids are placed and centered. Jars are returned to the hot bath for 10 minutes of processing.
The final product is a terrific tasting wild raspberry jelly that's going to taste darned good on a buttered biscuit sometime this winter when the snow is piling up outside!
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