Memories of Grandma's Homemade Jelly

October 07, 2008 07:50 PM EDT (Updated: October 07, 2008 09:37 PM EDT)

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My grandma had a apricot tree in her yard. Oh, how I loved it when the apricots were ready for making jelly.It became a tradition is our family for years to come.
I remember standing next to grandma in the kitchen waiting for a small taste of her delicious apricot jelly. We would spend the day canning tomatos and making jelly's and jam's. To this day not even the best of jams or jelly's can stand up to her sweet tangy jelly. My mouth waters just thinking about it!

First we'd pick the apricots and wash the fruit in a strainer of plain cold water,

removing any bits of stems, leaves and mushy fruit.

Apricots have such thin skins, so we never needed to peel them.

We'd cut up the apricots to keep the fruit from turning brown,sprinkle 1/4 cup lemon juice

then stir the apricots to make sure all the surfaces have been coated. Then we'd use

fruit juice instead of using sugar to make the jelly perfect and naturally sweet.

Then we'd mix the Apricots with the pectin and cook to a full boil and cook

over medium to high heat stirring just often enough to prevent burning.

It took about 5 minutes to get it to a full boil. It felt like a lot longer.

Next we'd test the jelly to see if it was thick enough. I always loved grandma's magic spoon test. Grandma used to leave a metal spoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then she'd

take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool on the spoon. If it thickened up a good

consistency, then we'd know the jelly was ready. If not, she'd mix in a little more pectin and boil it for another minute or two. I could never have a taste until all the jars were full.

Then we'd fill the jars and put the lid and rings on and finish the jars in the boiling water. Then we'd cool the jars and were all done. Finally, we had out homemade jelly on toasted fresh bread.

We'd have ten jars of jelly and we always gave half away to the neighbors. Seeing the smile of grandma's neighbors was almost as fun as making the jelly. (after we tasted the jelly ourselves of course.)

Jam Making Tips I learned from grandma

When stirring, make a large "figure eight" to prevent sticking.When making jam, slightly under-ripe fruit is better than slightly over-ripe.

When you are preparing the fruit, take care to remove damaged or bruised pieces.

You will find it easier to clean your jelly pan if you rub the inside with butter prior to using. Below the basic method in recipe form.

Apricot jelly

2 quarts crushed and peeled apricots
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 cups sugar

Combine apricots and lemon juice in a large saucepot. Add sugar. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly to gelling point, about 25 minutes.

As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars. Make sure you leave enough space for cooling. Enjoy!

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