Wild Plum Jelly

Source: Brenda Schultz

Ingredients:

5.5 lbs wild plums

- Yields 5 1/2 C plum juice

7-7.5 C sugar

1 box sure-jell fruit pectin

Directions:

1. Rinse and remove stems from plums. Can pit plums, or, add whole plums directly to large stock pot and cover with water (this yields approx 4 C juice per 5.5 lbs plums)

2. Bring to a boil for 30 minutes. Use a potato masher to help break up the mixture even more

3. Place cone strainer over a larger owl and run all plums/juice through it to remove pits and peelings

4. Pour juices into cheesecloth/jelly strainer and let juice strain into the bowl. This can take up to a few hours

5. Pour 5 1/2 C plum juice into a large pot. If you did not get 5 1/2 C of juice add in some water to make a total of 5 1/2 C liquid

6. Add 1 box pectin and stir well, then bring mixture to a boil

7. Add in 7 C sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring consistently

8. Remove from heat and skim off any foam

9. Ladle into hot sterilized jars making sure to leave 1/4" head space. Add lids and rings and process in hot water bath for 5-10 minutes

Yields: 10, 8-oz jelly jars