When the neighbors sent their children with a box of the pomegranates they grow on their patio, I didn’t hesitate and I bought them all.
My goal was to make pomegranate jelly.
They knew we like pomegranates because when they bought the property about a year ago, they let us pick the pomegranates. I made jelly and sent a couple of jars to them.
In spite of all what it is said about how complicated is to make pomegranate juice and jelly, there is no rocket science. The only really time consuming part of the process is to take the seeds from the fruit.
I made one quart of juice out of 12 pomegranates. The rest was like making any other jelly.
I made this jelly a couple of weeks ago, in the peak of the pomegranate season. Because of the holidays, I didn’t have time to post it. However, it is never too late and here I am. I hope you like my recipe.
Pomegranate Jelly | Ingredients for 8 6-ounces jars
12 pomegranates, seeded or 1 quart of pomegranate juice
2 cups of sugar
½ cup of fresh lemon juice
2 pouches of liquid pectin
Put half of the seeds in the vase of a blender, process and strain them. Process the rest of the seeds and strain. You will get approximately 1 quart (1 litter) of pomegranate juice. In a non reactive stock pan, put the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice. Boil over medium heat for 15 minutes. You can take away the foam or let it stand (foam is made out of airy jelly.) Add the pectin and keep boiling, 15 minutes more, until it gets the jelly consistency. You may need to add some extra pectin and boil until the jelly gets the right consistency.
Canning
.Pour the jelly in sterilized warm 6-ounce jars. Make sure to leave ½ -inch headspace and that there is no jelly in the headspace (food particles may interfere with sealing).
.Cap the jars for processing by fitting a screw band snugly over the jar rim and lid.
.Fill a water bath canner halfway with water. Place the jars in the rack. Make sure the water covers the jars at least by 1 inch.
.Cover the canner and bring the water to boil. Once the water starts boiling, process for 20-25 minutes.
.Place the processed jars on kitchen towels. Let them rest until they cool down. The lids will pop and become concave, indicating the jars are sealed. If the lid doesn’t pop and doesn’t look concave, reprocess the jar with a new lid or refrigerate and eat in the next few days.
Canned jelly should be kept in a dark place up to one year.
To print the recipe click here.
