Tag: beginner canning

I had the privilege of learning to make jelly from my sweet mother-in-the-Lord, Mrs. Freda.

Now this lady can do pretty much anything. She makes her own curtains, she cans her own food, she made all of Rhett’s nursery bedding, and she makes really really good sweet tea.

She’s awesome. And I want to be like her.

So I got her to teach me how to make jelly. Baby steps. Baaaaby steps.

Now, we made jelly from blueberries that we picked from their yard. I felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder. And It. Was. Awesome.

Now the beauty of this recipe is that it doesn’t require pectin or a canner or any fancy equipment.

So it’s basically perfect for people like me. People who don’t have a clue what they’re doing. (ha)

Blueberry Jelly:

What You Will Need:

-4 half pint jars with lids

-3 cups sugar (divided)

-4 cups of berries, rinsed

Directions:

Rinse berries and place in pot. Place enough water in pot to barely cover the berries.

While you are waiting for your berries to begin boiling heat your oven to 200 degrees and place your clean jars (without lids) sideways on the oven rack.

Place your lids and rings into another pot and cover with water and bring to a boil.

Bring berries to a boil and then mash them with a potato masher. You just want to help the berries open up and get those juices out.

Boil berries for 5 minutes. Then add 2 cups of sugar.

Boil for 7 more minutes and then add 1 cup of sugar. Then boil for 10 more minutes.

Take your jars out of the oven. (Mrs. Freda had this handy little clamp to get them out without burning your hands! But you can always just use potholders too) Pour berries into jars and seal with dried off lid. Turn upside down for 10 minutes and then return to upright position. You should hear the lids sealing by a “popping” sound.

(May use other types of berries. If making jelly, strain pulp.)

And that’s it! Super easy and I think it’s so fun to give these as gifts to people. It’s such a unique thing to give!

The hardest part of this whole process was trying not to be distracted by this cute little baby. (ha)