Grape Jelly from Grape Juice

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I wanted to teach my kids the basics of canning (like I am an expert…) so I started them with this easy recipe for grape jelly. Actually I let them choose what flavor they wanted and they chose grape.

For supplies you need:
Canning Jars (we used 8 oz jars – 9 of them)
Magnet Lid Lifter (helpful but not required)
Jar Lifter
Canning Pot with the canning jar rack
Strainer
Canning Jar Funnel
Additional lids just in case
A large spoon and a ladle

For the recipe you need:
Grape Juice (6 cups – unsweetened)
Sugar (5 cups) – you can use up to 7.5 cups but I wanted a little less
sugar
Sure Jell (2 boxes)

Measure out 4 1/2 cups of sugar into a bowl.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the two boxes of Sure Jell in another bowl. Pour grape juice into a pot and boil – once boiling add the Sure Jell/Sugar mixture and keep stirring. Bring to full rolling boil again for one full minute – stirring the entire time to minimize any clumping of the Sure Jell.

While waiting for the grape juice to boil – boil some water for the lids and jars. The jars need to be heated so the glass doesn’t crack when the hot grape juice mixture is added to it.

Scoop the very hot grape juice into each jar, one at a time, through the strainer, through the funnel. Add a lid to each jar and twist the cover on tightly. Place into the Canning Pot on the rack, covered with water, and bring to a boil for five minutes. The water should be boiling before you add the jelly – but it will need to return to a full boil.

It will be very hot trying to get the jars in and out of that boiling water – hence the jar lifter tool. Even with that I need gloves to avoid my hands getting burned.

After boiling for five minutes, remove the jars one at a time and place on a towel. Make sure the jars to not touch one another to avoid breakage. Make sure the vaccuum seal on the lids has worked – you test this by pressing in the center of the lid. If it moves up and down – the seal didn’t take. If it stays in – it took. If the seal doesn’t take you can either leave it as is – the jelly just needs to be refrigerated; or you can transfer the contents to another hot jar and a new lid and try the boiling process again.

I had one that did not vaccuum seal and that is fine since we will just eat that one first.

The jars will need 24 hours to cool and set up – once they are not so hot, move any that did not seal properly to the refrigerator. The others should last up to twelve months. The consistency may change a little between 6-12 months but they are still fine to eat. They are best in texture and taste during the initial 6 months though.