A Jelly Journal

Maybe I should rename this blog post “Watch Your Step”…I wrote it two weeks ago, but before I could post it and before Verne and I made our trip to Half Moon Bay where I was to teach a class on Jams and Jellies, I took a tumble and have been house-ridden ever since. To make a long story short, I stupidly walked into the cabin bathroom during its renovation (“renovation” is probably a poor choice of words as it suggests we had a choice here; the bedroom and bathroom floors and part of the walls have been demolished in order to repair extensive damage done by an infestation of powder beetles and dry rot) and fell through the open floor. A 2”x6” floor joist kept me from falling through to the basement. I’d like to think the resulting damage to my body was less than had I fallen through to the floor below, but those positive thoughts haven’t eased the pain.  I left the house for the first time yesterday (eight days since the accident) and thought I’d die before I could get back home to the couch. This recovery may take longer than expected. On a positive note, I feel great when I’m standing so our fall preserving (pears, citrus, cranberries) will continue.

Here’s my original blog post written before my mishap…

Jelly Making - Day 1:

Have I mentioned lately that I love to can? I’m writing this while I wait for the water in the canner to come up to temp. I’m getting ready to process my first batch of real jelly. I say “real”, because my first and only experience was during my MFP training in the spring when we made grape jelly from commercial unsweetened grape juice, rather than real Concord grapes. Although it was loaded with sugar (7 cups to 5 cups of juice), the taste and texture were perfect and it would have fooled any Welch’s grape jelly aficionado. That reminds me of a little jelly trivia I learned recently…during World War II grapelade, developed by a man named Welch in 1918, along with sliced bread (also invented around that same time) and peanut butter were included in soldiers’ rations. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich was born. Extremely popular amongst the troops, when soldiers returned home after the war they demanded more of the grapelade. Today, Welch’s grape jelly out sells all other jellies.

Back to today’s canning project and the reason I’m making jelly, something I swore I’d never do. You may remember that I agreed to teach an October class on jams and jellies to new MFP trainees. I’ve been anxiously preparing for the class, both academically (hours of research and a written PowerPoint presentation) as well as practically (hours in the kitchen testing different pectins by making batch after batch of strawberry jam). The Moser Test Kitchen has turned out well over 50 jars of the stuff (I’ve stopped counting) and given away most of it. However, this is a jams and jellies class…emphasis on the jellies. I’ve put off making jelly because, frankly, I’ve felt for a long time that jelly is just a cheater jam without the chunks of fruit. It’s a jam wannabe for sissies. Joking aside (actually, there’s truth in most jokes), Welch’s grape jelly is about my only experience with the product and I have been biased against jelly making since I started jamming two years ago. But, how could I teach a group of trainees without having at least once experienced jelly making?! Thus, our jelly-making project today.

In keeping with the theme (strawberries) Saturday morning Verne and I got up early and went in search of fresh strawberries. I’d noticed a few weeks ago that a couple of fields in the Clements area (a good hour from home) had been replanted with a fall crop and were close to picking. We arrived at the Clements Ridge Produce stand to find strawberries for sale. I took that as a good sign. We came home with six boxes of freshly picked berries and this morning we got up and completed the second step of the process (the first was finding the berries): boiling the fruit for 10 minutes and then placing it in a jelly bag, which allows it to drip over a bowl for several hours. Pressing or squeezing the mixture to speed up the process is a no-no, as the jelly will cloud. Here are a few pictures of this initial step.

The rest of the jelly-making process is the same as making jam, just a little more foam to skim before the beautiful, clear jelly is ladled into the jars. I'm calling it "bubble scum"...a new term for jammers!

It was beginning to gel before we put the jars into the canner - that’s good news (maybe). What we’re after is a clear jelly that jiggles when moved, yet holds its shape when removed from the jar. I’m hoping we have a winner. What fun! And, I can now say I’ve made jelly from scratch.

Jelly Making - Day 2:

I was up early this morning excited about trying our strawberry jelly. For you readers who are not a trained food preserver, jams or jellies must sit for a minimum of 12 hours after being removed from the water bath canner. The point of this waiting period is to allow the product to completely cool (naturally) and hopefully assure a good seal. Well, the seal was perfect, but the jelly was not. It was clear and would most definitely hold its shape when removed from the jar, if, in fact, it could be removed from the jar. It was solid. I shook the jar looking for the jiggle, but there was no movement at all. Our first attempt at making jelly was a failure! Disappointed!!!!

Jelly Making - Day 3:

Two hours round trip drive to Clements Ridge Produce stand for more strawberries and we were back in the kitchen by noon for another try at making jelly. We’d made our first batch with Pomona Pectin, a product I’m determined to love, so rather than trying another pectin, like Sure Jell or Ball, we decided to give Pomona another try. This time, though, we reduced the amount of pectin by 25% hoping that alone would give us a softer gel. Also, in discussing our failure we suspected that we’d boiled the jelly a bit too long after adding the sugar and pectin. The directions said to bring the fruit to a boil, add the sugar and pectin, and bring back to a boil. That last step should take no more than 1-2 minutes. Apparently, we didn’t bring it to an “angry” boil the first time, because it took about 5 minutes to return to a boil. Hmmmm…I’m finding it’s the little things that cause the flops when making jams and jellies.

Jelly Making - Day 4:

Again, we were up early and anxious to try our strawberry jelly. The seal was good and the color looked great. I opened a jar and spooned some onto a plate…it was perfect; blue ribbon quality! It is clear, holds its shape, jiggles when moved, and as an added bonus the taste is amazing…pure strawberry goodness. Success! I now feel like I have the creds to teach Saturday’s class.

P.S. I’m again adding this to my original blog entry. It’s probably apparent, but I’ll tell you anyway…I didn’t get to teach the Saturday class of new trainees in Half Moon Bay, because I spent my Saturday flat on my back in bed drugged out on pain meds.