Alright so my little break turned into a big break. And I would be lying if I didn't tell you that what inspired me to write another recipe post is how beautiful this picture looks. Oh and by the way, the jelly tastes amazing too!
The process for these can take a bit of time. I chose to use fresh pomegranates so they needed to be deseeded and juiced.
To get the seeds out of the pomegranates, cut them just skin deep around the middle. Pry the halves apart. Over a large bowl of water, hold a half in your hand with the seeds facing your palm. Then bang the back of the half with a wooden spoon until all of the seeds are expelled. Doing this over a bowl of water will separate the membranes and the seeds. Then just skim the membranes off the top.
Next is getting the juice. I loaded about a cup of seeds into a food processor (a blender will work too) and pulsed 2-3 times. Then pour the broken up seeds into a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl or pitcher of water. At first I was squishing the seeds against the strainer to get the most juice out, but I ended up breaking it. So then I just used my hands to squeeze the juice (still over the strainer to catch any seeds that fell out). It was such a pain to get the seeds out of the skin that I was going to get every last drop of juice out of them I could to save having to deseed more of them!
FINALLY, I could start with the jelly. Pomegranate jelly does not double well. So if you have a bunch to make, only cook a recipes worth at a time.
For just the Pomegranate Jelly, I used the recipe on the Sure Jell website, The first round tasted great but a little too sweet for me. This is how I modified it.
POMEGRANATE JELLY
3 1/2 cups juice
1 box Low Sugar Sure Jell Pectin
1 tsp butter
4 cups white sugar
Sterilize 6 half pint jars with lids in boiling water.
Put a small plate or bowl in the freezer.
Pour the juice into a second large stock pot. While whisking the juice, sprinkle in the Pectin. Then add the butter. Stir until it comes to a rolling boil (the bubbles will not dissipate when you stir). Add the sugar all at once and continue to whisk until it comes to a rolling boil again. Let it boil for 1 minute, stirring as needed.
Remove the jars and lids from the boiling water and set on a towel on the counter next to the cooking jelly.
Take the plate out of the freezer and place a small spoonful of jelly on it to check for consistency. It should be thick.
Ladle the jelly into the jars. Wipe the rim of the jars of any jelly and place the lids on them. Try not to touch the underside of the lids. Screw on the rings.
Return the jars back into the large pot of boiling water, making sure that there is 1-2 inches of water above the tops of the jars. Boil for 5 minutes then remove and place back on the towel. Let the jelly cool. The lids should pop as they are cooling. Once the jelly is room temperature, push on the tops of the lids. If they are solid and do not give, they are ready to be stored in a cool dark place. If you can push the lid in just store the jelly in the fridge.
POMEGRANATE CHAMPAGNE JELLY (originally from HERE)
After my first batch of jelly, I didn't have quite enough juice left to make a second batch, and I just happened to have half a bottle of champagne in the fridge. Perfect! The original recipe used POM juice which I replaced with the fresh juice. If you are going to be using POM juice, make sure you get the unsweetened kind or use less sugar.
3 Cups Pomegranate Juice
1 1/2 Cups Champagne
Juice of 1 lemon or 3 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 tsp butter
1 box Low Sugar Pectin
3 Cups White Sugar
Sterilize 6 half pint jars with lids in boiling water.
Put a small plate or bowl in the freezer.
Pour the pomegranate juice, champagne and lemon juice into a second large stock pot. While whisking the juice, sprinkle in the Pectin. Then add the butter. Stir until it comes to a rolling boil (the bubbles will not dissipate when you stir). Add the sugar all at once and continue to whisk until it comes to a rolling boil again. Let it boil for 1 minute, stirring as needed.
Remove the jars and lids from the boiling water and set on a towel on the counter next to the cooking jelly.
Take the plate out of the freezer and place a small spoonful of jelly on it to check for consistency. It should be thick.
Ladle the jelly into the jars. Wipe the rim of the jars of any jelly and place the lids on them. Try not to touch the underside of the lids. Screw on the rings.
Return the jars back into the large pot of boiling water, making sure that there is 1-2 inches of water above the tops of the jars. Boil for 5 minutes then remove and place back on the towel. Let the jelly cool. The lids should pop as they are cooling. Once the jelly is room temperature, push on the tops of the lids. If they are solid and do not give, they are ready to be stored in a cool dark place. If you can push the lid in just store the jelly in the fridge.
