Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Strep

Sorry for the absense!

And this post isn't going to be long either.

We have been hit hard in this house by strepthroat. First William, then Victoria, now Julia.

Lets just hope I don't get it or you may never see me again ;)

Monday, February 01, 2010

Pomegranate Jelly

I love pomegranates. Who doesn't? The yummy tartness of the seeds are just perfect for making Jelly. Now pomegranate jelly isn't that hard. It can be extremely time consuming though. At least the way I used to do it. I have a new and improved way!

First you are going to need about 10 pomegranates. I am lucky enough to have in-laws with a tree, so I don't have to purchase them, because they can be pricey.

Now the time consuming part is getting the seeds out of the pomegranates. The outer layer is pretty bitter so you don't want to try pressing the seeds out. You want to scoop them out. I used to soak the whole pomegranate in water, and while wearing gloves remove the membrane from the seeds. This would take forever. Now, thanks to a friend watching a cooking show. I simply cut the pomegranates in half, and pound the back with a large spoon. Its that easy. De seeding one pomegranate takes about 3 minutes, vs 20-30 minutes of the old way.





Once you have all of the seeds you are going to need to crush the seeds to get the juice. I used to put the seeds in a cone shaped colander (I'm sure there is a fancy name that I don't know) and pound and push and crush the seeds with a long tool that looks like a rolling pin. Again, not sure of the fancy name. Recently I have found that you can put the seeds into a food processor, run that baby for a few seconds. Then put your seeds/juice into a cheese cloth and drain the juice.




Once you have your juice (about 4 cups) Your ready to start cooking the jelly. Now would be a good time to place your canning jars into the heating cycle of your dishwasher. The hotter the jars, the better the seal. Also start boiling your water for the lids.



Place the pomegranate juice, 1/4 lemon juice in a large pan. Add some pectin. Stir over high heat. Keep stirring, or your jelly will burn. Once the rolling boil comes, a boil that cannot be stirred down, add 5 cups of sugar. Let boil hard for about 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Your going to notice a film over the top, just remove that with a spoon, and then start filling up your jars. Leave about 1/2 an inch from the top.

Allow the jars to cool, and soon enough you will hear the seal of the jars. Enjoy!