Grape Jelly

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds Concord grapes
1/2 cup water
7 cups white sugar
1/2 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin

Directions

1.Sort and wash grapes, and remove stems. Place them into a large kettle and crush them. Add water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and extract juice. Allow the juice to stand in a cool place overnight to prevent the formation of crystals in the jelly.

2.Strain the juice through a double thickness of damp cheesecloth. Measure 4 cups of the juice into a large pot. Stir in the sugar. Quickly bring to a full rolling boil. Stir in pectin, and allow to boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and skim off foam. Pour into hot sterile jars, and process for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

1. In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry.

2. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C).

4. Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal.

5. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

Footnotes

To test for jelling Place three plates in a freezer... after about 10 minutes of boiling place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate... if it doesn't try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger) it's ready to be canned!