Cleaning out freezer leads to sweet treats
Cleaning out my freezer is always an adventure. I find items completely forgotten about because they somehow landed in the wrong place. Like a twopound bag of small, sweet strawberries picked last June that was tucked behind containers of farro and freekeh.
Hidden between jars of bone broth was a quart jar almost full of grape juice. That had to be from making grape jelly last fall.
I had enough fruit to make a small batch of strawberry jam and plenty of juice to make a good four jars of grape jelly.
Now you can’t fool around tinkering with recipes for jams and jellies. As far as sugar goes, it’s a lot. But we’re talking food chemistry here. Accurate measuring assures success. Besides, you’re not going to consume a whole jar at once. Anything homemade with no weird ingredients added is always better for you. Dollop a spoonful of strawberry jam or grape jelly on a piece of bread and you’ll know what I mean.
I use 8 ounce jars but any size works since these are stored refrigerated. constantly and bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that can’t be stirred down). Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Ladle into clean jars.
mixture comes to a hard boil.
only thing in the bottle should be 100% juice, no sugar added.
23⁄4 cups grape juice, 100% juice
1 box/1.75 oz powdered pectin (4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Remove from heat, skim off foam.
33⁄4 cups sugar
4-5 jars, 8 oz each with lids
Pour juice into large pot to allow space for boiling.
Turn heat to high. Maintain high heat throughout.
Stir in pectin and lemon juice until
Wipe rims with clean, wet cloth.
Seal. Cool completely, store in refrigerator up to 6 months.
Grape jelly make take up to overnight to jell properly.