How to Make Homemade Pomegranate Jelly - Easily!
Making and canning your own pomegranate jelly is also quite easy. Here's how to do it, in 12 easy steps and completely illustrated. These directions work equally well for other types of jelly: raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, dewberry, gooseberry, loganberry, tayberry, marionberry, youngberry, etc.; by themselves or mixed berry jelly. Any variations will be spelled out in the directions inside the pectin.Related pages: See this page for How to make muscadine or scuppernong jelly or this page for Jam-making directions and this page for apple jelly directions!
For easy applesauce or apple butter directions, click on these links.
Ingredients and Equipment
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Optional stuff:
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Pomegranate Jelly-making Directions
This example shows you how to make pomegranate jelly. You can use this recipe to make almost any type of jelly from the fruit juice; where there is a difference, I will point it out! The yield from this recipe is about 12 eight-ounce jars (which is the same as 6 pints).
Ingredients
- 8 or 9 large fully ripe pomegranates (or 5 cups prepared juice)
- 7½ cups sugar (if you use regular pectin, 4 cups of sugar if you use lower or no-sugar pectin)
- 1 box of dry Fruit Pectin (Certo® or other brand)
Step 1 - Pick the pomegranates! (or buy them already picked)
It's hard to find places to pick your own pomegranates, so most people will use store-bought
Step 2 - How much fruit?
Pomegranate Jelly can ONLY be made in rather small batches - about 6 cups at a time - like the directions on the pectin say, DO NOT increase the recipes or the pomegranate jelly won't "set" (jell, thicken). As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use either 6 to 8 fresh pomegranates or 4 cups of pomegranate juice (either bottled or reconstituted from frozen concentrate) without added sugar. Using pomegranate juice is especially useful if you want to make some pomegranate jelly in December to give away at Christmas!
Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids
Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars, the water bath processing will sterilize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.
NOTE: If unsterilized jars are used, the product should be processed
for 5 more minutes. However, since this additional processing can result
in a poor set (runny jelly), it’s better to sterilized the jars.
Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.
Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jelly.
Step 3 -Wash the pomegranates!
I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the pomegranates in a large bowl under running plain cold water.
Step
4 - Cut in half and scoop out the insides of the pomegranates
You cut the pomegranates in half and scoop out the innards to release the juice. Heating the innards in a saucepan over load to medium heat will help to free the juice. Once you get the pomegranate glop to almost boiling, you can then run it through a strainer, sieve, Foley Food Mill or colander.
Step 5 - Measure out the sugar
Check the directions with the pectin; typically, it is 7 cups of sugar to 5 cups of pomegranate juice and one box of pectin. The precise measurements are found in each and every box of pectin sold. Mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar and keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. Set both aside until step 8.
Step
6 - Heat the crushed pomegranates on the stove
We just want to bring the pomegranates almost to a boil to help release the juice and break down some of the fruit to help it pass through our jelly strainer. Put the crushed pomegranates in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning) for until it starts to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 7 - Sieve the cooked pomegranates
You can either put the soft cooked
pomegranates through a jelly strainer
(about $9.00, see ordering at right) which results in the most clear
jelly and is easiest to use, or pour them through cheesecloth in
a colander; or use a food mill. Or if you don't mind chunky jelly, just let the juice stand
for 20 minutes, and decant (pour off) the clear liquid to use and leave
the solids behind.
You may also want to run the crushed cooked pomegranates through a Foley food mill (about $20 - see this page) BEFORE the jelly strainer - it helps to extract more juice and jet out the large skins that will clog the strainer. It's not necessary, but helps you get the most out of the pomegranates.
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If you need a stopping point and want to finish up the next day, this is a good place. Sometimes, jelly gets crystals, called tartrate crystals, forming in the jelly. They're not harmful and don't affect the taste, but some people don't like the appearance. I rarely even see them! But if you do, let juice stand in a cool place overnight, then strain through two thicknesses of damp cheesecloth to remove any crystals that have formed.
Step
8 - Add the pectin to the hot strained juice and bring to a full boil
Stir the pectin into the pomegranate juice and put the mix in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil (the kind that can not be stirred away).
Notes about pectin: I usually add about 20% more
pectin (just open another pack and
add a little) or else the jelly is runnier than I like. With a little practice,
you'll find out exactly how much pectin to get the thickness you like.
Another tip: use the low sugar pectin. It cuts the amount of sugar you need from 7 cups per batch to 4 cups! And it tastes even better! On the other hand; I have never had success with the No-sugar pectin. It always turned out runny and bland. You might want to try using the low sugar recipe with a mixture of sugar and Splenda; that could work.
Is your
jelly too runny? Pectin enables you to turn out
perfectly set jelly every time. Made from natural apples, there are also
low-sugar pectins that allow you to reduce the sugar you add by almost
half!
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Step 9 - Get the lids sterilizing
If you didn't do so already, put the lids into a pan of hot water for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.
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Step 10 - Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil
When the
pomegranate-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the rest of the sugar (about
6 cups of sugar per 5 cup batch of pomegranate juice; 4 cups of sugar if you
are using the low or no-sugar pectin) and then bring it back to
a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
Step 11 - Testing for
"jell" (thickness)
I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jelly is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1/4 to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute.
Step 12 - Fill the jars and put the lid and
rings on
Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe any spilled jelly off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put them into the boiling water canner!
This is where the jar tongs come in really handy!
Step 13 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath
Keep the jars covered with at least 1 inch of water. Keep the water
boiling. In general, boil them for 5 minutes, which is what SureJell (the
makers of the pectin) recommend. I say "in general" because you have
to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you
use larger jars, or if you did not sterilize the jars and lids right before
using them. The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you
exactly - and see the Table below for altitude differences. The directions on the pectin tend to be
pretty conservative.
Note: Some people don't even boil the jars; they just ladle it hot into hot jars, put the lids and rings on and invert them, but putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLY helps to reduce spoilage! To me, it makes little sense to put all the working into making the
jelly and then not to process the jars to be sure they don't spoil!
| Table 1. Recommended process time for Pomegranate Jelly in a boiling water canner. | ||||
| Process Time at Altitudes of | ||||
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | 0 - 1,000 ft | 1,001 - 6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
| Hot | Half-pints or Pints |
10 min | 15 | 20 |
Step 14 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!
Lift the jars out of the water with your jar lifter tongs and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like.
Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!
Other Equipment:
From left to right:
- Jar lifting tongs
to pick up hot jars - Lid lifter
- to remove lids from the pot
of boiling water (sterilizing ) - Lid
- disposable - you may only
use them once - Ring
- holds the lids on the jar until after
the jars cool - then you don't need them - Canning jar funnel
- to fill the jars
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Summary - Typical Cost of Making Homemade Pomegranate Jelly - makes 12 jars, 8 oz each** |
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| Item | Quantity | Cost in 2006 | Source | Subtotal |
| Pomegranates | 9 lbs | $1.00 ea | Grocery store | $9.00 |
| Canning jars (8 oz size), includes lids and rings | 12 jars | $7.00/dozen | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$7.00 |
| Sugar | 4 cups | $2.00 | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$2.00 |
| Pectin (low sugar, dry) | 1 and a third boxes * | $2.00 per box | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$1.60 |
| Total | $19.60 total or about $1.63 per jar |
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| * pectin use varies - blackberry
jelly needs very little, raspberry a little more, pomegranate the most.
** - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars and reduce the cost further; just buy new lids (the rings are reusable, but the flat lids are not)! |
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