Pomegranate Jelly

Pomegranate jelly is incredibly special.  It is both tangy and sweet and has the colour of a jewel when in a pretty jar.
I traditionally make this after Rosh Ha'shana when pomegranates are abundant.

There are a couple of ways to get the juice - you can use a colander and squeeze out the juice of a gazillion ripe pomegranates or you can cheat a bit like Chloe and I did and purchase a jar of pure pomegranate juice - check the label - often it will say pomegranate juice on the front but really be apple juice with pomegranate in it - get the pure stuff in a kosher shop - We found ours for about $4 but as we could not find an abundance of ripe fruit this year, it worked well.
Normally, cracking and then cooking down the fruit, then running it through a food colander and then squeezing the juice out through several layers of cheesecloth is the way it is done.  If you can find excellent quality and very inexpensive or free pomegranates then I believe it is worth the work.


Ingredients:
4 cups pomegranate juice (We used a 32 ounce jar of pure juice and got eight half-pints of jelly)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 cups white cane sugar
1 tsp plain oil (like crisco, vegetable, etc)

Equipment: Heavy bottomed pot
Spoon
8 or 9 4oz Jelly jars, lids and rings
sterilised funnel to help with the filling of the jars
Paper towel to help wipe mouths of jars clean in case you spill
TIMER
Ladle to help pour jelly into jars

Method:

Prepare half-pint or jelly sized canning jars according to manufactures instructions.  I usually wash them in hot, soapy water, rinse well and then heat, upside-down, in a large flat-bottomed pan.  I put the clean self-sealing lids in a pan of water and allow to simmer.  Watch that these don't boil dry. 

Follow directions in the powdered pectin recipe or do the following;


Put the pomegranate juice and lemon juice in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the entire package of powdered pectin. Stir until it is COMPLETELY dissolved. It might look a bit cloudy but that will disappear with the boiling.

Measure into a bowl the 5 cups of sugar. Set to the side of where you will be cooking.

Get all your equipment ready and then begin heating up the juice/pectin mixture. One it is just near to boiling, carefully pour in the sugar. Stir in well and begin heating so it will boil.
This is the time you should add the OIL - it helps the jelly not to foam up - really nice trick.

Stir constantly until the jelly gets to a full boil and begin timing - A full rolling boil is when even with stirring, the bubbles do not disappear - Stir constantly at a full boil for 2 minutes - use a timer for this.

Once the 2 minutes are up, turn off the heat and begin ladling the jelly into the jars, putting on the lids and then the rings. It will appear to be liquid but the next day you will see that your jelly has completely set and is the clear, bright colour of a ruby. Tangy/sweet and so special

Enjoy!

K (P)