Spruce Tip Jelly

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4.80 from 10 votes

Spruce tip jelly is a delightful way to preserve the fresh flavor of wild foraged spruce tips.

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Canning Time (Optional)10

Total Time35

Course: Jelly

Cuisine: American

Keyword: jelly

Servings: Servings (4 half pint (8 oz) Jars)

Author: Ashley Adamant

Equipment

Ingredients

2 to 4 cups fresh spruce tips
4 cups water
2 Tbsp. lime juice
4 cups sugar See notes for low sugar option
6 Tbsp Pectin One box 1.75 oz. pectin (Regular or Low Sugar), see notes

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a medium-large bowl, place 2 to 4 cups of spruce tips.
Pour 4 cups of boiling water over the spruce tips, allowing the water to become infused with the flavor of the spruce tips for 15 minutes.
Pour the spruce tip-infused tea through a cheesecloth or strainer into a medium saucepan or jam pot. Discard the spruce tips.
Prepare your jars or containers for jelly, pre-measure the sugar you need, and set the sugar aside for now.
Add 2 Tablespoons of lime juice to the spruce tip tea.
Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil.
While stirring, slowly add the pectin.
Return the mixture to a hard boil and allow it to boil for one minute.
Add the premeasured sugar to the mixture slowly, stirring continuously, allowing the sugar to dissolve.
Continuing to cook over high heat, bring the mixture back to a hard boil, stirring while boiling for 1-2 minutes.
Ladle or pour the jelly into prepared jelly jars or containers, leaving ¼" headspace at the top of the jar.
Wipe the rims of the jars or containers with a wet, clean cloth.
If you are going to can your jelly, put the canning lid on the jar and screw on the ring until finger-tight. Do not over-tighten. If you plan to refrigerate or freeze your jelly, place lids on the jars or containers and leave the jars to cool and set up for 24 hours.
If canning, process the jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes if above 6,000 feet in elevation).
Unprocessed jelly should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, or in the freezer for 6 months. Canned jelly will maintain quality for up to 18 months in your pantry or cool, dry place. For all jelly, refrigerate once opened.

Notes

One box of pectin is equal to 6 Tbsp or 1.75 ounces. To use "standard" pectin, you need at least 1 cup sugar to every cup of liquid, thus the 4 cups sugar to 4 cups spruce tip tea in this recipe. A good dependable standard pectin is Sure Jel or Ball Flex Batch.

Personally, I make this with Sure Jel low sugar pectin, and I like to use 1 to 2 cups of sugar in my herbal jellies like this one.

Low-sugar pectin can be used to make jelly that uses less sugar, and you can use as little as 1 cup of sugar in this recipe if you use low-sugar pectin.

There are a variety of low-sugar pectin brands you can buy. I typically use Sure Jel Low Sugar because it's reliable and easy to use, and sets nicely with a perfect texture.

For making spruce tip jelly using low-sugar pectin, use 1 to 3 cups of sugar for about 4 cups of liquid (spruce tip tea plus lime juice).

Another option is Pomona's Universal Pectin for low-sugar recipes. When using pomona's pectin, you need to add extra lemon or lime juice for canning safety because that type of pectin does not include citric acid. Increase the citrus juice to 1/4 cup. Pomona's pectin also has different instructions, so you will need to follow the instructions in the box for mint jelly (substituting spruce tea in place of the mint tea).

*Using less sugar and low-sugar pectin will result in a lower yield.

Nutrition