Saturday, November 14, 2009

Pomegranates

Pomegranate 1 10/2009

I love pomegranates. When I was a kid my mom would get me one pomegranate each year. (They were too expensive to get more than that.) To me, pomegranates are special. They are a treat that is fun to eat. (Beware, they stain.) They are beautiful.

Pomegranate 2 10/2009

Now, I have a pomegranate tree in my backyard. Each year I get to torture my children by having them help me take out each and every little, red, juicy pearl inside. We watch a movie or 4 and sit down and get tired of pomegranates really quick get busy. I then juice them using my Kitchen Aid Mixer with the fruit and vegetable strainer attachment (also great to make applesauce with.) It's awesome, I find little spots of pomegranate juice for weeks. This year we got four gallons of juice from our tree. So, I made pomegranate jelly. Lot's of pomegranate jelly. Twenty-four pints and thirty-six 8-oz jars of pomegranate jelly.

Pomegranate Jelly 3

It's delicious.

Here is my recipe for pomegranate jelly:

5 Cups Pomegranate Juice
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (this helps keep out bacteria)
1 tsp. Butter (this helps keep the foam down, you'll see.)
6 1/2 Cups Sugar (preserves the jam so it doesn't rot)

1. Measure out the sugar in a separate bowl.
2. In a VERY big pot (It boils really big), start heating up the pomegranate juice on medium high heat.
3. Add in the pectin.
4. Stir until boiling.
5. Add in all the sugar.
6. Keep stirring.
7. When it comes to a full rolling boil, let it boil for one minute while you stir constantly.
8. Turn off the heat and using a spoon (it helps if the spoon is cold), dip it into the jelly and within a few second you will be able to tell if it jelled.
9. Put into jars and process jars according to whatever method you want to use, water bath canning or pressure canning.

Pomegranate Jelly 2

Pomegranate Jelly

It can take a couple of weeks for the jelly to fully form like the one above, but you can tell immediately if the jelling worked because it will look something like a thick jell. If it didn't work, you can redo the process. This SITE has great instructions for redoing the jelly.

*Make sure you use enough sugar or the jelly won't set right.
*Also, don't double the recipe or it won't work right either.

Out of one pot, I got about 7 little 8-oz jars or 4 pint jars and one 8-oz jar.

This post is linked to Grocery Cart Challenge.

10 comments:

  1. Don't let me forget to take a jar this year when we are at your place for Thanksgiving!!

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  2. I have never eaten a pomegranate in my life. Never made jelly either. Geez, I need to spice up my life ;)

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  3. Making jelly is hard work because you only can make one batch at a time. But, it is totally worth it. I also made strawberry jam recently because strawberries went on a major sale. I now have enough jelly to last a year.

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  4. Wow, I am so jealous! I love pomegranates and each year pay a pretty penny for a few. So good! But yes, they are a pain to eat. Very impressed with the jelly. This summer at our farmer's market I bought a 4 oz thing of pomegranate jelly for $9! You should think about selling some extra.

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  5. I never thought of selling them. That's a great idea. We have a farmer's market that starts in March. I will look into that. Thanks for the idea Jennifer.

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  6. In my Dad's town they have a pomegranate festival every year. There is every kind of pomegranate jelly you can imagine there. My favorite is pomegranate with jalapeno. We pour it over cream cheese and serve with crackers. Delicious! He has four trees in his yard...scrumptious.

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  7. I love pomegranates - I'm so jealous you have a tree full of them! You're a lucky duck!!

    :)
    ButterYum

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  8. Im loving your pomegranate jelly recipe! Those pictures look delicious.

    Would you be able to substitute sugar for honey or something similar?

    Thanks

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  9. @Pomegranate: I don't know. The sugar acts as a preservative. I haven't looked into using honey instead. But, I know I will be now. ;)

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