BEST COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATOR

As I heated the juice I put the jelly jars upside down in boiling water to sterilize. Heated lids and rings in a separate pot but without boiling. My juice warmed and I added the pouch of pectin....stir, stir, stir. I'm getting excited here...jelly on the way!

Unfortunately I had to skip taking photos during this section...I had an unexpected knock on the door that I tried to ignore because this is an important part of the jelly making adventure. I had just heated the Blackberry juice and poured in the pectin....but the knocking at my door became banging. I swore the entire way to the door and found 2 women from the Census Bureau....yes, the CENSUS BUREAU.....they had not received my form. Since they insisted on an interview despite my somewhat polite protests I forced them to suffer in my kitchen while I stirred and ranted about how inconsiderate they were, knowing that I was in a jam-making time crunch they still refused to come back in half an hour. I gave them till the sugar boiled to ask their questions and LEAVE-my kitchen is not big enough for this. I think I only said a few swear-words. Goody for me.

Anyhow, this is the point in which I add the pat of butter to prevent major foaming. On high heat I stirred until it was boiling so much it couldn't be slowed by more stirring. I added the sugar and stirred---as in the photo.

The women knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was their cue to be on their way, I had answered all I planned on and wasn't interested in completing their intrusive survey...farewell intruders. Now back to business...

When the jelly came to a full rolling boil I set a timer and kept stirring for exactly one minute...then took it off the heat. Even though I was still a bit put out and frantic....its time to fill those jars with my gorgeous boiling hot jelly!!

Oh, I also did the plate test...put a saucer in the freezer and then test to see if the jelly is ready. Drip a nice dab on the frozen dish and push it with your finger...if it moves and wrinkles up then its ready to go, if it stays runny and doesn't gel then it needs a bit longer.

I usually do not remove the seeds unless the kids complain
Red Raspberry Jam
June 2009

I can't tell you how many times I have heard someone say "well you know where pectin comes from don't you, horses or cow hooves"
Just silly
Pectin comes from a plant:

"Pectin (from Greek ???????? - pektikos, "congealed, curdled"[1]) is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot[2]. It is produced commercially as a white to light brown powder, mainly extracted from citrus fruits, and is used in food as a gelling agent particularly in jams and jellies. It is also used in fillings, sweets, as a stabilizer in fruit juices and milk drinks and as a source of dietary fiber".