I love a great jelly/jam/preserve/spread --- but, until this weekend, I had never tried making them myself. My grandma makes amazing strawberry rhubarb jam, but that whole process seemed too complicated for me.
Simple and straight forward. That's what I'm looking for in a jelly recipe -- and this one is both.
Fresh or frozen berries, a little sugar, and an apple, for natural pectin {love that!}.
We'll be making jams/jellies/preserves/spreads again -- I can't wait to try out other combinations!
Cherry Blueberry Spread - Inspired by Kuzak's Closet
{Print Recipe}
16oz (~3 C) dark sweet cherries*, pitted and sliced
3 C blueberries
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 apple, diced
~1 T water
*Fresh or frozen berries work fine!
Rinse the berries with water. Then, place them in a large kettle and toss with sugar. I used only a little sugar because the cherries were really sweet -- you may wish to increase the amount of sugar if your berries are tart. Taste and see!
Then, add in the finely diced apple.
Place the mixture over medium heat and stir until the berries begin to cook. You may need to add in 1 T of water (or OJ) to give the berries some liquid to help the cooking process begin.
Secure a candy thermometer to the side of the pan such that it's touching the berry mixture and not the bottom of the pan. Heat to boiling, and continue heating and stirring until the mixture reaches 220 degrees. You may also wish to use a potato masher to squish the berries while they cook.
When the mixture reaches 220, remove from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Then, pour into sterilized jelly jars and refrigerate.
This recipe filled 2 and a half jelly jars. And, yes, they are almost gone already. You can also freeze the jelly for later consumption.
This will be a great way to use up berries that are "on their way out"!
Enjoy!
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