THE ANNUAL BLACK RASPBERRY JELLY-MAKING ENDEAVOR

I've been busy picking black raspberries (and later blackberries) from my fencerows during the last month.
Here is a picture of the first step in jelly-making--dripping the cooked berries to obtain clear juice. They are being strained through an old piece of cloth and only the juice will be used, making the difference between jelly and jam. Whole fruit or partial fruit is used for jam or preserves.

This is a picture of the juice in the cooking stage. It must be brought to a full rolling boil. There are several other steps to this process, but I didn't get pictures of each stage and so this post is a sampling of some of what happens during jelly-making.

I heated the clean jars, lids, and rings in a hot water bath before filling the jars with jelly.

Here is a picture of the prepared juice plus a few beans from the garden. It takes a lot of berries to make this much pure juice. We didn't get many green beans. I have a hard time making my garden yield enough of anything. The soil is depleted and quite compact. I've worked with it, but am tiring of the job. I am looking forward someday to gardening on our other farm where the soil is sandier.

Don't know the technical name for this device, but it is invaluable to me for canning. It sits atop the jar and then you pour the product into the jar through its large opening. Saves lots of spills and messes.

Here the jars are heating in the boiling water after being filled. This is a hot water bath designed to help the jars seal and remain preserved for the shelf-life of the product.

A picture of various tools used in the canning process. I wouldn't want to be without the "jar-grabbers" shown here. They save a lot of burnt fingers and slippery handling of wet jars. I use the tongs to retrieve the can lids from the water bath.

This is the finished product! Completely seed and pulp-free jelly! It is delicious if I do say so myself. I've been canning this jelly for over 30 years from the wild berries that grow in the thickets around here.  It is a family favorite that we do not like to be without. This year I also made a batch of jam--probably a first for me. Haven't tasted it yet. These wild berries are quite "seedy" and so I've usually preferred to make them into jelly. I took several jars of this to Colorado Springs this week for my son and his family to enjoy. I hope it will bring a taste of home to them while they are so far away. Blessings, LORI