Christina

@christina

We made Chokecherry Jelly for the first time! #recipe What a great way to take advantage of the gifts God has given us. The kids enjoyed helping pick these chokecherries we found growing right in our front yard! What you need: - About 7 cups washed chokecherries (yields about 4 cups of juice when cooked) - 3 to 4 cups of water - 6 cups of sugar - one packet of original SureJell pectin - 2 tablespoons of lemon juice Directions: 1. You’re going to take the washed chokecherries and put them in a pot, add the water and boil for about 20 minutes. 2. The chokecherries will become soft enough that you can mash them. You will then strain the juice and let sit until it’s room temperature (I did this a day ahead and left in the fridge overnight, I removed from the fridge when I had the rest of the things ready) 3. If your sterilized jars are ready, you can put your 4 cups of chokecherry juice in a pot. 4. I mixed together 6 cups of sugar and the pectin. 5. Heat the chokecherry juice and sugar/pectin mix until boiling, it should reach 220 degrees F. 6. You can then whisk in your lemon juice, and skim the foam off the top. The foam can be discarded. 7. Pour your hot jelly into your hot jars, leaving a 1/4 inch of headspace in the jar. 8. Clean the rims, and put the lids on your jars. You will end up with about 2 1/2 jars. The 1/2 jar can go right into the fridge. ( it has too much headspace and won’t create a seal) 9. Submerge the full jars into your boiling water and let simmer for about 10 minutes. 10. Carefully remove jars from water and set on towel to cool. You will hear the lids pop! Then you know your jelly is sealed and shelf stable for up to a year! 11. If your lids don’t pop and you’re able to press and hear the lid click, that’s okay, just put that jar in the fridge to be enjoyed first! Shelf Life Breakdown * Unopened (Canned/Sealed): 1 year to 1.5 years in the pantry for best flavor and quality. * Opened (Refrigerated): 1 to 3 months when handled with clean utensils. * Unsealed (Fridge-only): 3 weeks if stored in a standard container without processing.