The better part of yesterday afternoon was spent getting my floor so sticky that you can’t stand in any one place very long for fear of being ‘stuck’ there for good. The end result was 5 pints of blackberry pancake syrup and 6 pints of blackberry jelly.
I started out with about 15 cups of blackberry juice that was not easy task obtaining. One hint. Don’t bother trying to use an electric juicer to extract blackberry juice. What you end up with is a rather pale thick purple pulpy mess that I ended up not using. After many layers of cheese cloth and a sieve I ended up with enough juice for the projects. Next year I am probably going to invest in a steam juicer. I feel like I ended up wasting a lot of juice the way I did it.
I went with blackberry jelly over jam because of the seed issue. Most of the berries were ones I had grown this year but I did add some wild berries I had in the freezer. They are loaded with seeds, too many for my taste. I went with the jelly recipe from the pectin box but used the following recipe for the syrup.
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Blackberry Pancake Syrup
Blackberry Juice
Sugar
Lemon Juice
For each cup of blackberry juice add 2/3 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of lemon juice. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 8-10 minutes, remove from heat. Once it settles down skim off the foam with a metal spoon if there is any and pour into hot pint jars. Seal in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
This will take a while to thicken and will seem quite thin when you remove from the canner. I’ve had it take a couple of weeks to thicken up before but if prepared properly it should thicken up fine.
I haven’t tried it but will try using raspberries with this recipe too perhaps adjusting the sugar a little as they aren’t nearly as tart as the blackberries.
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I gathered some raspberries this morning and will work up a batch of raspberry jam this afternoon. Stay tuned…
To seive the juice, I use a clean, new pair of pantyhose. I cut one leg off and rince it thoroughly with clean water. I streach it over the canning funnel and fill it with the mashed berries then hang it up on a cupboard door handle or hook. I usually knead the bag to extract all the juice because I get impatient.
To separate juice and seeds I used the metal mesh disk you put on the frying pan to stop splattering. When I used the mesh disk, I put in over a bowl, poured someone of the smashed pulp and worked it through with a big rubber spatula. Periodically, scrape off the seeds and then scrape the juice off the bottom of the mesh disk. Doing this yields about half of what you started with, but now without seeds.
Great ideas. I ended up getting a bag from the wine making supply store. It will hold a large amt and has very small pores. Much easier to deal with than cheese cloth. I’ve also used muslin I buy at the fabric store. In either case to sterilize before use I get the fabric or bag wet, wring it out and place it in a plastic bag and microwave for about 30 seconds. It is steaming hot then and as soon as it cools it is ready for use. I also use this to drain yogurt to make yogurt cheese.
splatter screen worked good… need something curved maybe big sieve with larger screen opening? 2cups bberries made 1 1/2 cup pulp, screening made about 3/4 cup. not bad…thanxs
Haven’t tried yet but have 25 lbs of raspberries in the freezer from last year. Here’s a tip. When making jelly I use an old pillow case for a jelly bag. Pour in the whole hot brew, tie up with string and leave to drip over a large pot. When it is cool enough I also sqeeze out. Works great.