Preserve a bumper crop of strawberries by turning it into jelly.
Glistening homemade jelly is preserved by all the sugar it contains. While it will resist mold, it's not immune to it without a seal. Don't waste your jelly or your time by improperly sealing the jar. Use fresh lids and screw bands for every batch of jelly. The jelly must be hot when processed.
Instructions
1. Sterilize the jelly jars in a water bath for 10 minutes. Remove with tongs and place upside down on a clean towel right before you plan to fill them. Otherwise keep the jars in the hot water. Put the lids and rims in a bowl and pour boiling water over the lids.
2. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the jelly jars with at least 1 inch of water. Place the canning rack on the bottom of the pot. If you don't have a canning rack use a round cake cooling rack. Bring the pot of water to the boil over high heat.
3. Make the jelly according to your favorite recipe. Take the jelly off the stove and put the pot on a heatproof cutting board on your work station.
4. Turn one jelly jar over and put it into the small bowl to catch any drips. Fill the jelly jar to within 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe off the rim of the jar with a paper towel to remove any jelly that may have landed there. Place the lid on the jar. Screw the rim onto the jar over the lid. Tighten but not as hard as you can.
5. Finish filling and placing the lids and screw tops on all the jars. Using the tongs so you don't burn yourself, place the jars into the pot filled with boiling water. The jars should not touch each other or the sides of the pot. Water should circulate freely around and over each jar.
6. Keep the jars in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove. You may hear a pop when the jelly is sealing because the lid is forced down by the vacuum caused by the water bath and hot jelly. Test the seal by pressing on the lid when the jelly has cooled. The lid should stay down once pressed. If it pops back up the jelly is not sealed. Put in the refrigerator or use immediately.
Tags: boiling water, water bath, bath minutes, bath minutes Remove, canning rack
