Black Raspberry Jelly Tutorial

So...I've been told I need to do a tutorial on here...so here is it.  My favorite jelly is black raspberry, but it is labor intensive.

First pick the berries fresh from a local farm (but not so local that you don't get lost for at least an hour.)

Fill your helper up with fresh berries (notice the blue lips)

Assemble your supplies....

Premeasure your sugar according to your pectin because when it comes time to use it, you have to move fast.

Now, if you are like me, you rather not have the hard little seeds (thus jelly not jam)  This is the labor intensive part.  First mash up the berries with a potato masher and warm on the stove to release the juice. 

Call your mom to make sure you are doing it right.

"Hi Mom!  Thanks for the cheerleading!!"

Put the crushed berries into cheesecloth about 1 cup at a time and squeeze out the juice into a bowl.  Empty the seeds and pulp into another bowl...Repeat...

Repeat...Repeat....Repeat....

Use gloves unless you are planning on painting your fingernails later to cover up the black stain. Seriously, ask me how I know.....I KNOW!

Seeds & pulp on left, juice on the right.

Good job...take a break.

We took our break at the Alum Creek Beach.

More on that in another post!!

Back to work...

Stir the package of pectin into the measured juice...

And a pat of butter to keep it from foaming over.

Get your canner boiling as it takes awhile. Also boil water, and turn off before putting in your rings and lids.

After your juice and pectin comes to a rolling boil (cannot be stirred down), dump in ALL of your measured sugar.  Stir constantly and bring back to a rolling boil. 

Once it starts to boil and cannot be stirred down start timing.  You want it to boil for exactly 1 minute.

Ladle into warm glass jelly jars. 

We prefer the 8 oz size, but you could use 16 oz.

Work quickly, it sets up quick.

Pardon the mess all around.

The pepsi bottle is actually for the rabbits.

(Frozen water keeps em cool on hot days.)

Load your jars into the canner.

Process for 5-10 minutes

(as stated on your pectin recipe-for us it was 5 minutes after it came back up to a boil).

Unload your jars onto a dishcloth.  Make sure they are not touching each other. 

Enjoy the *PING* and the seal sets. 

The quart basket on the right will make two batches or about 17 jars of jelly.

Then have "quality control" check the taste and consistancy!

YUM!  Enjoy!