Recipe: Chokecherry Jelly (2)

CHOKECHERRY JELLY WITH LIQUID PECTIN

To extract the juice, wash all fruits thoroughly before cooking. Add enough water to cover the washed fruit and cook 15 minutes or until fruit is soft. DO NOT CRUSH OR GRIND THE SEEDS WHICH CONTAIN A CYANIDE-FORMING COMPOUND THAT CAN BE TOXIC. When fruit is tender, press lightly through a colander. Then, let juice drip through a double layer of cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Excessive pressing or squeezing of cooked fruit will cause cloudy jelly. One pound of fruit should yield at least 1 cup of clear juice.

3 cups chokecherry juice
6 1/2 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Pour juice into large heavy kettle. Add sugar and stir to mix. Place over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Stir in pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir and skim 5 minutes.

Add almond extract if desired. Pour into hot, sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes at altitudes from 0 to 1,000 feet or for 10 minutes from 1,001 to 6,000 feet.

Approximate yield: 5 to 6 half-pints

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CHOKECHERRY JELLY WITH POWDERED PECTIN
Approximate yield: 5 to 6 half-pints

(Extract juice as in previous chokecherry jelly recipe.)

1 box powdered pectin
3 1/2 cups chokecherry juice
4 cups sugar

Stir pectin into juice. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Quickly add sugar to juice mixture. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam.

Pour into hot, sterilized half-pint jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Cover with two-piece lids. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes at altitudes from 0 to 1,000 feet or for 10 minutes from 1,001 to 6,000 feet.