Today I am sharing a guest post with you all. This Watermelon Jelly comes from JD. He is fortunate enough to have a watermelon farm near his place, down in Texas. This is the first year that I ever had the pleasure of eating a slice of yellow watermelon. JD had mentioned that he grew up eating orange, yellow and the traditional pink/red watermelons that we see... I honestly always thought he was joking - until last week when my own grocery store was carrying yellows! They are super sweet too. I can say that I never knew how traditionally 'set in my ways' I was until eating a piece of yellow watermelon...my chunks of freshly cut yellow watermelon looked more like the pineapple I just cut up then anything else...my taste-buds disagreed but, my eyes kept arguing. In this recipe, JD used an Orange watermelon to make his jelly. I think it looks fantastic and he says the taste is fantastic too. Just keep in mind that using 2 boxes of pink box pectin is needed for this recipe to set properly... ~Enjoy! Diane Watermelon Jelly
Ingredients: 1 Quart watermelon juice, strained ~ JD used an orange watermelon 3.5 Cups sugar 3 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Boxes Sure Jell, you must use the pink boxes. Directions: In a large pot, bring juice to a slow boil, add lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar (or other sweetener). Keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. Slowly add the pectin/sugar mix to the pot, bring back to a boil, stirring frequently, to prevent burning and sticking. Bring to full rolling boil, that cannot be stirred away. Add remaining sugar, bring back to full rolling boil, for 1 minute. Fill prepared jars to within 1/4" head-space, wipe any spilled jelly from threads and rim of jar, place on lid and screw on band, to finger tight, using only thumb and index finger. (DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN!) Place jars in water bath canner and process for 10 minutes (or the appropriate amount of time for your elevation.) Remove from canner, place on towel or rack and allow to cool, in a draft-free area, undisturbed. Check for seal. Clean jars, Remove rings and store in refrigerator. Why?! Yes, the refrigerator and not your pantry. There is no known/tested recipe for canning Melon. While JD's pH meter showed his to be safe after processing, we want to ensure your safety and ask that if you make this jelly, you store in the refrigerator for consumption. Recipe and Photos by: JD Provence for Canning and Cooking at Home Makes approx 5 ~ Half Pints
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Sweet Blood Orange Jelly with Almond Ingredients: 2 cups blood orange Juice, fresh squeezed 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided 1/2 cup Sure Jell, low sugar pectin powder 1 tsp almond extract 1 vanilla bean, split Directions: I took the leftover 2 cups blood orange juice from making marmalade earlier in the day and added to a stock pot with 1 cup of sugar and one cup of water. I split a vanilla bean and let that steep in the juice as it came to a medium boil. I then took another 1/2 cup of sugar and approx 1/2 cup of pink box low sugar sure jell and mixed those together in a bowl...I then went back to my juice and brought to a good boil and added remaining sugar/pectin in from bowl. bringing jelly up to a FULL boil (and removed vanilla bean) until the bubbles became larger. I then placed the pot on a cool burner while I preformed the "freezer plate test" and made sure - peeking back into pot that I could see what we call in our house "grammas pantyhose" forming on the top of the jelly ((((its like a haze that wrinkles if you rock the pot a bit, that tells me the jelly is setting up.))))) I returned the pot to burner for another few mins as I stirred in about a tsp of almond extract...then jarred, leaving 1/4 headspace, and water bathed for 10 mins (I add another 10 for my altitude) This made 3 half pint jars - exactly... Recipe & Photo by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home Pinterest Pin: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/530510031080656587/ Blush Apple Almond Jelly 4 cups apple juice (about 4 pounds apples, peels & cores and 3 cups water) 2 tablespoons lemon juice 3 cups sugar 1/8 tsp almond extract 1/4 - 1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice (if you want the blush color) Certo liquid pectin packet **if needed (the more tart the apples the higher in pectin but, if you are having problems getting your jam to set add pectin.) Yield: About 4 to 5 half-pint jars To prepare juice. Select about one-fourth under-ripe and three-fourths fully ripe tart apples. Sort, wash, and remove stem and blossom ends; do not peel or core. Add cherry juice to pot, cut apples into small pieces. Add water, cover, and bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until apples are soft. Use a colander and cheesecloth or jelly bag to extract the juice (do not press on the pulp bag/jelly bag or your jelly will turn cloudy). To make jelly. Measure apple juice into a large pot. Add lemon juice and sugar and almond extract, stir well. Boil over high heat to above the boiling point of water, or until jelly mixture sheets from a spoon. Remove from heat; skim off foam quickly. *Certo Liquid Pectin is added after the sugar is cooked down - it is a great pectin to use to save your jelly if its not gelling!! Pour hot jelly immediately into hot, sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch head-space. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner for 10 mins *adjusting time to your local altitude/regulations. Recipe Adapted from: National Center for Home Food Preservation Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home There was a "race" to see which one of us canned sweet corn cob jelly first! we've been talking about this for about a year and JD just WON - LOL I think this looks really good!! Diane Sweet Corn Cob Jelly (tastes like honey) Guest Post (JD Provence) Ingredients: 12 - 15 corn cobs, cooked and corn removed 2 Quarts Water 4 cups sugar + 1 cup brown sugar 2 T lemon juice 2 envelopes liquid sure jell Directions: Break corn cobs in half and put in large sauce pan, add 2 quarts water and boil, uncovered 30 minutes. Remove corn cobs and strain liquid, if desired. Measure liquid and measure equal amount of sugar, including brown sugar, set sugar aside. Add lemon juice and sure jell to corn water and bring to boil. Add sugar, a cup at a time, stirring constantly, making sure all sugar melts. Once all sugar is added and melted, bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes and remove from heat. Pour into already sterilized jars, seal, and water bath 10 minutes. (Makes about 6 half pints) Recipe by: JD Photos by: JD for Canning and Cooking at Home |