Best Sour Cherry Jelly

Liquid Pectin allows you to make the freshest jelly possible, retaining more flavour and nutrition than with any other method of jelly making.

Ingredients

• 4.4 lb (2 kg) sour cherries
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) water
• 4 tbsp (60 ml) lemon juice
• 7 cups (1750 ml) granulated sugar
• 2 pouches (170 ml) BERNARDIN® Liquid Pectin

Instructions

• Place 7 clean 250 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat SNAP LID® sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.
• Wash, stem, pit and pulse cherries in a food processor or finely chop. Combine with water in a stainless steel saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.
• Pour prepared mixture into dampened jelly bag or cheese cloth-lined sieve suspended over a deep container. Let juice drip undisturbed, at least 2 hours or overnight. For quicker results, squeeze bag; juice may be cloudy.
• Measure 3-1/2 cups (875 ml) prepared juice into a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Stir in lemon juice and all the sugar. To reduce foaming, add 1/2 tsp (2 ml) butter or margarine. Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add liquid pectin, squeezing entire contents from pouch. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and quickly skim off foam, if necessary.
• Quickly pour jelly into a hot jar to within 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) of top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more jelly. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining jelly.
• When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 10 minutes.*
• When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.
• After cooling check jar seals. Sealed lids curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

Makes about 7 x 250 ml jars.