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Cranberry Jelly
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Cranberry Jelly

Cranberry jelly is a delightful homemade preserve that's perfect on toast, or beside your holiday meal.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Additional Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

  • 6 cups 680 grams fresh whole cranberries or two 12 oz bags as purchased (see notes for frozen)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 ¼ cups sugar*

Instructions

  • Place clean, fresh or frozen cranberries in a medium saucepan and add water and lemon juice.
  • Place the pan on the stove on medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the stove and use a potato masher or heavy spoon to mash the berries, ensuring all the cranberries have popped open.
  • Carefully pour the cranberry mixture into a jelly bag and let it sit for several hours or overnight until the juice has stopped dripping. Use several layers of cheesecloth and a strainer if you do not have a jelly bag.
  • If canning, prepare a water bath canner, jars, and lids before you start working with the extracted juice to make the jelly.
  • Measure the amount of liquid you have, then measure the appropriate amount of sugar. If you do not have 2 cups of liquid, add bottled juice to obtain 2 cups, and measure 2 ¼ cups of sugar. 
  • If you have more than 2 cups, multiply the amount by 1.125 to determine your needed sugar.
  • In a medium saucepan or jam pot, stir the cranberry juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, and cook on medium-high heat, bringing it to a full boil, stirring often.
  • Continue to boil the mixture for 10-15 minutes or until it reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.
  • Pour the hot jelly into prepared jelly jars using a canning funnel, leaving ¼" headspace, then wipe the rims of the jars with a clean cloth.
  • Secure lids to the jars and continue the canning process using the hot water bath method. Process jars for 10 minutes, or 15 minutes if above 6,000 feet in elevation.
  • If you do not plan on canning your jelly, leave the jars to cool on the counter for 24 hours or until the jelly has set. 
  • Jelly that has not been canned should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or in the freezer for six months. Jelly that has been processed and sealed using a canning method can be stored in a cool, dry place, where it will maintain quality for 18 months. For all jelly, refrigerate once opened.

Notes

With Frozen Cranberries

This recipe calls for fresh whole cranberries because freezing fruit dramatically decreases the pectin.  After a week in the freezer, cranberries have lost about half their pectin, and they won't set nicely without added boxed pectin.  If you are using frozen cranberries, you can still make the jelly, but you will need to add 1 box of standard powdered pectin (like sure jel) to every 4 cups of juice. 
The order of operations is a bit different when working with pectin.
Extract the juice from the cranberries as you otherwise would.  Doubling the recipe will help you get to 4 cups juice, or alternately, you can use half a box of pectin (3 tbsp).  Pour the juice into a saucepan or jelly pan, and then stir in the pectin until fully dissolved (but don't add the sugar yet).  Bring the mixture to a hard rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.
Next, add the sugar and return the mixture to a boil for 1 minute.
Ladle the jelly into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace and proceed with canning, or freezing, depending on your preference.

With Bottled Cranberry Juice

If you don't want to extract the juice from fresh cranberries, you can use already-pressed juice. Be sure it's 100% juice without added sugar, as most cranberry juices in the grocery store are mostly corn syrup, with no more than 10% juice. Don't use sweetened cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail that contains sugar or corn syrup. Look for just cranberry juice, which is often in the health food section.
Next, proceed with pectin as you would using the instructions above. Bottled cranberry juice won't have enough pectin to set on its own, so you'll need to use pectin as you would if you're working with frozen cranberries.