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–+ servings
fresh cherries
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Chokecherry Jelly

Chokecherry Jelly is a low-sugar or low-honey cooked jelly made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.
Servings 5 cups

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chokecherry juice
  • ¼ cup lemon juice bottled
  • 4 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
  • ½ cup up to 1 cup honey or ¾ cup up to 2 cups sugar
  • 4 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder mixed with sweetener
U.S. - Metric

Instructions

  • Before you begin, prepare calcium water.
    To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.
    Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
  • Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small saucepan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
  • Prepare chokecherry juice.
  • Measure juice into saucepan.
  • Add calcium water and lemon juice and mix well.
  • Measure sugar or room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sweetener. Set aside.
  • Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
  • Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.

Notes

You can taste the jelly after the pectin has dissolved and the fruit mixture has come back to a full boil. Once the pectin is dissolved, you are free to add extra sweetener above the range given in the recipe. Stir in the extra sweetener well and bring the mixture back to a good boil before turning off the heat and canning your jelly.