Blueberry Jelly Recipe
This blueberry jelly recipe turns strained blueberry juice, powdered pectin, and sugar into a smooth, seedless spread. Use fresh berries or bottled juice and boil hard for 1 minute for a silky set.
Equipment
- Water bath canner
- Canning Jars, Lids, and Rings
Ingredients
- 4 cups blueberry juice purchased, or extracted from fresh berries
- 5 cups sugar
- 1 box powdered pectin 1.75 oz box, such as Sure-Jell
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice fresh or bottled, optional
Instructions
Extracting Blueberry Juice
- Combine the berries with 1 cup of water per quart of fruit in a large saucepan, then cook over medium heat at a simmer for about 10 minutes while crushing them. The berries should collapse into soft pulp and release deeply colored juice.
- Drain the cooked fruit for at least 2 hours through a jelly bag or a colander fitted with several layers of damp cheesecloth, gently squeezing the bag if desired. Measure 4 cups of collected juice, using a little apple or cranberry juice to complete the measure if needed.
Making Blueberry Jelly
- Ready the jars and lids, along with a water bath canner if following a verified canning formula, and hold the prepared equipment hot until filling. The containers should be ready before the jelly reaches its final boil.
- Whisk the powdered pectin into the measured blueberry juice and optional lemon juice in a deep pot, then heat on high while stirring frequently. No pectin clumps should remain when vigorous bubbles spread across the surface.
- Pour in the entire measured sugar quantity, stir until dissolved, and bring the mixture back to a rolling boil before timing exactly 1 minute of hard boiling with constant stirring. Bubbles should continue breaking across the surface even while the spoon moves through the jelly.
- Take the pot off the burner and skim away the surface foam. The liquid beneath the foam should look glossy and uniformly purple.
- Fill the prepared jars with hot jelly to 1/4 inch below the rim, clean the rims, and attach two-piece lids; for a matching verified canning formula, use the 10-minute boiling-water processing time only with its required altitude adjustment. After processing, switch off the heat and leave the jars in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them, keeping the filled jars upright.
Notes
Ingredient tip: Measure all 5 cups of sugar before heating the juice so you can pour it in all at once without losing the boil, and do not reduce the sugar when using standard powdered pectin.
Boiling cue: Start the 1-minute timer only after the mixture returns to a full, vigorous rolling boil that continues bubbling even while you stir it.
Texture tip: Powdered-pectin jelly looks fluid while hot and develops its gel structure as it cools, so wait until it cools completely before judging the set.
Batch size: Cook only a single measured batch at a time, as doubling the recipe in one pot changes heating and evaporation and makes the boil less predictable.
Storage: Without a matching tested canning formula and altitude schedule, treat this batch as refrigerator jelly and keep it covered and chilled.
Nutrition information is an estimate based on common ingredients and serving sizes. Values may vary depending on brands, portions, and substitutions.