Photo by Getty Images/MaxCab
Bright, beautiful hawthorn jelly is good for your health — and good on toast, too!
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen aronia berries, thawed
- 2 cups hawthorn berries
- 2 cups elderberries
- 7 cups sugar, measured into a separate bowl
- 1/2 teaspoon butter, optional
Directions
- Wash and sterilize a dozen 1/2-pint glass canning jars.
- Add all the berries to a 6- to 8-quart stockpot, and barely cover them with water.
- Bring to a full rolling boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the berries have softened and released their juice.
- Pour the juice and berries through a jelly strainer or food mill, and collect the juice in a separate vessel.
- Measure the juice. For every 5 cups of juice, you’ll need 7 cups of sugar. Return juice to the stockpot, add sugar, stir, and bring to a full boil. Add butter to reduce foaming, or skim frequently to remove foam. Boil until the mixture passes a gel test. (The jelly is ready if it gels when you place a small amount on a plate in the freezer for several minutes.)
- Immediately ladle jelly into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Add canning lids, screw on rings, and tighten. Process jars in a hot water canning bath for 10 minutes.
- Remove jars from water, place upright on a towel, and allow to cool completely.
- Check the lids’ seal with your fingers. Sealed jars may be stored in your pantry for up to a year.
