Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Pomegranate Jelly

A few months ago I was having dinner at my in-law's house, and they served pomegranate jelly with Kathy's homemade rolls. I about slid off my chair, the flavor of the jelly was so wonderful.
I told them that the next time they make jelly, I wanted to watch the process.

Pomegranates grow especially well here in the St. George climate, and are usually harvested in October. This is just one of the McConkie's trees.

Isn't this a beautiful fruit?

My brother -in- law Stan is a master gardener. His hard work provides a wide variety of harvest.
He's also a "make do" kind of guy. I will show you step by step his very technical process for making pomegranate jelly.

First Stan took two small pieces of 2 X 4's and put them together with a hinge. He then pressed a whole pomegranate in between the wood, catching the juice in a pan. He repeated that process over and over until he had 3-4 cups of juice.
Yes, very high tech.

I asked Stan what he calls that squishy thing. He said "I don't know...squishy thing sounds good." Kathy called it a "press".

I think it took around 8- 10 pomegranates to have enough juice for one batch of jelly.

Next Stan strained the juice to remove any seeds or membrane.
The McConkie's are very frugal. Using an old (but guaranteed very clean) nylon stocking worked well.
Watching Stan and Kathy made me think of the old adage "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." A great life lesson, especially in today's economy.

The jelly needs to be stirred constantly during the cooking process.

I admire Stan for helping and often initiating the canning projects. He and Kathy usually work together.
The entire process, from picking the fruit, to completed jelly worked up rather fast.
Once the sugar is added, the jelly only boils for 2 minutes. It's then ready to be funneled into jars.

Yum.
Tomorrow I will show you Stan's amazing technique for easily removing seeds from a pomegranate. I didn't even see this one on the Internet. But that Stan: he knows a lot of STUFF.
POMEGRANATE JELLY
(from Cooks.com)
3 1/2 C. pomegranate juice
1/4 C. lemon juice
1 package pectin
5 C. sugar
Put fruit and lemon juice in an 8 quart saucepan. Add pectin and stir thoroughly. Make sure all the pectin is dissolved. Put mixture on high heat and bring to a boil. Stir constantly to keep the jelly from scorching. Add sugar and mix well. Stir constantly to a boil so it can't be stirred down.
Boil EXACTLY 2 minutes. Remove from heat and fill jars.
*The recipe says to water bath, but Kathy never does. She adds a clean hot lid, twists on a ring and the jars usually seal on their own. If she ever has one that doesn't seal, she will add a little melted paraffin wax on top.

17 comments:

Jana said...

We had a pomegranate bush back in California when I was growing up. I have never seen a bush/tree and with that many pomegranates on it like your bil has! Wow! It's huge! The jelly sounds yummy!

Suzanne said...

Look at that color. Just beautiful and I'm sure it tastes wonderful!

Cathy @ CabbageQuilts said...

wow interesting post Nedra, I've enjoyed reading about pomegranate jelly! xo

Janet said...

I'm so fascinated by the bush, I always thought they grew on tall trees. I'm going to keep this recipe, I have to try it, even if the fruit costs at the supermarket.

Abby and Stephanie said...

Yum! I never knew how a pomegranate grew but I do love to put the fruit in salads. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Very interesting! Who knew that pomegranate grew on a shrub like tree. I think that is pretty neat. I just love the way that they help each other out making the jelly, very sweet. I bet the jelly is too!

Di~ said...

Thank You, I've never even thought about how they are grown! Very interesting. I bet it is so so good.

Martha said...

Thanks for the recipe. We have a lot of pomegranates here in the south, too.

Anonymous said...

I want some that looks sooo good. You have a wonderful family

Material Mary said...

What a fun post about jelly. I made watermelon jam/jelly last Saturday. My friend at water aerobics makes it and gave us some to taste and it was good. I thought it would make a fun happy gift for people. Have a good day.
Mary

Live Well With Judi said...

I am salivating!! Oh, Yum. I want to make some.

Gayle said...

I'll bet that tastes just YUMMY! I remember you planted your OWN pomegranate tree, so you'll be making your own jelly soon, right?

Canarella said...

Looks familiar I just got done with 23 jars stripped the tee next door...gotta love it ..god bless

Quilting Queen said...

I'm keeping this recipe. I can't wait to give it a try. I may be able to duplicate that press myself!! Pretty cleaver.

Eileen said...

I saw pomegranates in the store the other day and though.."now what do you do with those"? I had no idea! The jelly looks really yummy.. wonder how it tastes. :-)

Quilter Kathy said...

I sure enjoyed reading all about pomegranates. I am an newby canner and would like to try this recipe some time.

man with desire said...

The Bible describes in a very interesting way about pomegranate tree:

http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/Bible_Trees9.html