Blackcurrant Jelly (Especially for Beginners)

So the preserving has started.  A large bucket full of delicious fat shiny black currants turned up from my in-laws begging to be turned into something delicious.  They are so big they look like small grapes but are tiny bursts of vitamins and goodness. Time to make some black currant jelly.  

 

One of the reasons I am going to make jelly is that I am lucky to leave the jam making to my lovely mother in law.  She actually tops and tails her blackcurrants. They sit together at the outside table with a pair of scissors each and top and tail those tiny berries. Bless. 

Anyway I’m not going to do that so I am going to make jelly this time where you stick everything in the pot and strain it out so any stray sticks or tops and tails will be strained out. I did pop them in a colander and wash them, picking out any that were a bit squashed and starting to go rotten as you don’t want those in there. I then weighed out 2 kilos of berries and put them into my large preserving pan, just covered them with cold water and brought to the boil.  I cooked them for about 20 mins and mashed them occasionally with the potato masher to squash as much juice out as possible. You don’t have to have 2 kilos of fruit – the recipe I was using called for 1.5 kilos which is a good size too but I had so many.  It doesn’t really matter as you will just adjust the proportion of sugar to fruit when you have strained it.

Once it had cooked away for 20 mins I turned it off and let it cool slightly before transferring the whole lot to my jelly stand to strain.  This is my new prototype I am testing out. Normally I have a muslin bag hanging off a broom over a bowl in the bath but I am trying to improve. I think it’s a bit small yet so I put half the mixture in first and let some of the liquid strain through before adding the rest. I only got a little bit on my good top. (Make sure you wear an old tee shirt and apron to do this)  The other thing to be really aware of with any preserving is to be super careful when carrying heavy pots of boiling liquid. Especially once the sugar is in because the sugar will stick to you and hold its heat for a long time.  Always make sure there are no obstructions to trip over and make sure you are really well prepared so you can minimize the distance you have to move pans etc.

The important thing to remember at this stage is to not squeeze the bag tempting though it may be. This will make your jelly cloudy which is what you want to avoid.   So pour it into the bag and leave it at least over night to drain.

Sterilising Jars.

Because you are obviously going to be keeping your produce you need to sterilize your jars.  You can recycle old jars or buy some gorgeous new ones.  Smaller sizes are good as once you open your jelly you will want to put it in the fridge and eat within a few weeks of opening. Plus you will be able to give some jars away or swap with neighbours –part of the blackcurrancy market.(ha ha!)  Wash jars well and then put into a cold oven. Turn on to 110degrees C. Once the light goes out to indicate the temperature has been reached turn the oven off but leave the jars in.  Put all the lids into a saucepan of hot water and bring to boil. Simmer for a while then turn off. Do this while you are boiling your jelly and the timing should work out well.

Making the Jelly.

While the jars are sterilizing in the oven, measure the strained liquid by cup into a deep preserving pan and add the same quantity of sugar. 6 cups of liquid means 6 cups of sugar. Don’t skimp on the sugar – it is the reaction of sugar with the acid in the fruit that forms the jelly. My 2 kilos of fruit made 1.5 litres of liquid. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 20 mins or so. Turn the element down a bit so you don’t have juice going everywhere of course, but keep it at a rolling boil. Test by putting a bit of the liquid onto a cold saucer and into the fridge. After a few minutes it should show signs of setting by wrinkling when you prod it with your finger.  If you have a sugar thermometer the optimum temperature is 105 degrees C.  The longer you boil the more it is likely to set but you don’t want to overdo it as it can become solid.  For this batch I did add the juice of half a large lemon which can aid the setting process.  Later in the season if you are making jam or jelly using frozen fruit some good cooking apples added to the mix will also improve the pectin.

 

Turn off your element and let the mixture cool down to a safe temperature. Put down some newspaper on your bench and a good wooden chopping board on top of that.  Carefully get your hot jars out of the oven. The jars and the liquid both need to be hot otherwise you will get cracked jars. Pour your mixture into the jars and get the lids on. Don’t move until cool, then wash and label jars.  

Now you have some delicious black gold on your shelf to savour over winter.