Raspberry season is upon us here in Alaska and there are berries coming out the wazoo! Our family enjoys making jelly with our bountiful harvests! We are also so grateful for friends and family who let us pick from their personal raspberry patches!!
Don't let jelly making intimidate you too much, its really not that difficult to make. Sure, its more difficult the first couple times as you get your footing, but a breeze after that! You just need the right equipment and time. I would recommend getting a couple friends to join you!
I personally prefer seedless jellies so i take the additional time needed to remove the seeds. Now let me tell you,the first time I did this, it was a disaster! I did it by hand...the hard way. I figured I would just have to live with seeds from here on out. I ended up googling several recipes and found a woman who used her juicer to remove the seeds from her raspberries. I was STOKED! It made it sooooo much easier and faster!
I like to make my jellies a little healthier by using honey to sweeten them. I use Pomona's Universal Pectin because it is made for low sugar recipes.The information sheet on the inside has simple recipes for you to follow. You can also check out their website for additional tasty recipes! I followed the instructions in the pamphlet to make my raspberry jelly.
I want to show you the process of removing the seeds from the raspberries. I used my Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor. You will have to run the raspberries through 3 to 5 times to remove all the raspberry goodness from the seeds. I have some photos to show you what the pulp looks like after each time through the juicer.
I am lucky to have a husband who loves to be in the kitchen just as much as I do so it makes tasks like this a little easier! My husband has a system for everything which is super helpful when making jelly because timing is pretty important.
He had everything sterilized and ready for he canning process twhile I made the jelly.
The largest pots is where I will boil my filled jars to seal them. You will want this boiling by the time you finish making the jelly. The smallest pan has the canning lids in it and the medium pan has my delicious raspberries cooking in it. Another tip for newbies would be to taste your jelly before canning. I learned the hard way on this one and made some pretty tart jellies!
So there you have it! I hope you give jelly making a try! The rewards are well worth it!
~With Gratitude,
Ashley