Hello August! Holy smokes, what happened to July!? I feel like this summer has been a blur of activities, driving from here to there, mixed with sunny days chilling in the back yard. I can’t believe the countdown for school has begun. (One month to go!) I have welcomed August with a horrendous head cold. We are talking the works here. I mean really, who gets sick this time of the year? Apparently I do. I hope, that after I get back on my feet (fingers-crossed I don’t pass it on to the kids), I have SO many recipes to share. Probably a million. At least.
I have totally been slacking with the whole blogging thing this summer, I apologize. And I really hope some people still have late rhubarb around, because you are not going to want to miss some upcoming recipes! I transplanted all of my rhubarb this spring, so it has been late picking for me.
Speaking of rhubarb, let me tell you about this pretty darn awesome jelly. To start, this is my first time ever making jelly. I make TONS of jam every summer, but never jelly. Mostly because it requires making juice from delicious fruit, which I hate to “waste”. And, I really like chunks of fruit in my jams. Anyway, isn’t this jelly just gorgeous!? And that is just pure natural color too, no food coloring added! It is the perfect spreading consistency for toast or sandwiches. And, this jelly is super easy to make. All you do is, grind up rhubarb in your food processor, let it sit in cheesecloth until you have the right amount of juice accumulated (which only takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour), throw the juice, sugar and pectin into a pot and let boil for a few minutes, then put in canning jars. Voila! Try it out with the straggles of rhubarb in your garden!
Recipe barely adapted from Taste of Home
Rhubarb Jelly
This smooth jelly is made from rhubarb juice which makes it sweet and wonderfully spreadable.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- 2 pouches (3 oz. each) liquid fruit pectin
Instructions
- Place the rhubarb chunks in a food processor (I had to do this in stages since I didn't have enough room), and process until finely ground. Line a strainer with 4 layers of cheesecloth. Place the strainer over a large bowl. Place the ground rhubarb on the cheesecloth. Let sit for about 45-60 minutes, or until 3 1/2 cups have accumulated in the bowl. I did squeeze mine a little at the end to really get the juices out, even though you aren't "supposed" to do that. It didn't bother my jelly at all!)
- Meanwhile, get your hot water canning bath going. Sterilize 8 half-pint jars and have two-piece tops ready.
- In a large, heavy bottomed pot, pour in the rhubarb juice and stir in the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Once the liquid is at a rolling boil, stir in the pectin. Bring to a rolling boil again. Stirring constantly, boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat, skim foam, if necessary. Pour into prepared jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece lids and process in the boiling-water canner for 10 minutes. Refrigerate any unsealed jars.
