I usually, not always, use Certo Liquid Fruit Pectin for my jelly. The recipe booklet that I use is from 1975 when the liquid pectin came in bottles. Now the pectin comes in sealed envelopes and each envelope is equivalent to one half-bottle. As you can see, my recipe booklet is falling apart. The new recipe sheet that comes inside the packages now isn’t as comprehensive as the old one. I do not water-bath can my jelly. There is enough sugar in it to act as a preservative. Using canning lids keeps air from getting in. When I was a child, my mother only used paraffin to cover the jelly and many people still do it that way.

  • This is how I prep for a jelly-making session
  • Set out enough sanitized jars and rings to match the yield of the recipe, either pints, cups, or half-cups.
  • Put the appropriate number of lids into a small saucepan of water over low heat.
  • Set out canning funnel, ladle, metal serving spoon, and small dish.
  • Cut open the envelope of Certo and set it in the small dish.
  • [The small dish is for the foam (which is just as delicious as the jam, only foamy)]
  • Currant Jelly: Yield 7-1/4 cups (5-1/2 lb.)
  • 5 cups prepared juice (about 4 lb. fully ripe red currants)
  • 7 cups (3 lb.) sugar
  • 1 envelope Certo Liquid Fruit Pectin

First, prepare juice. Crush about 4 lb. (3 quarts) fully ripe red currants. Add 1 cup water; bring to a boil and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Place in jelly bag; squeeze out juice. Measure 5 cups into a very LARGE saucepan. Add sugar and mix well.

Place over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. At once stir in Certo. Then bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, skim off foam with a metal spoon, and pour quickly into jars.

Wipe the rims of the jars and screw on the lids. Turn the jars upside down for at least thirty minutes (or as long as hours and hours–doesn’t matter). Turn the jars right side up and let cool completely before marking and storing.

Many times it can take more than a day for jelly to set. Try not to worry. If it really does not set, then you have a nice batch of syrup or you can try to process it again. I have never done that, I just go the syrup route. C’est la vie.

Update 8/21/2021 . . . I picked 3 cups currants and smashed them with a potato smasher. Put them over heat with a splash of water and brought to a boil. Let them boil for a couple minutes. Smashed the remaining whole berries with a wooden spoon. Turned off the heat and poured into a sieve over a smallish bowl. Stirred and scraped, trying to get as much juice as possible out of the berries without the seeds. The final yield was 1-1/3 cups currant juice. Juice poured back into the pan. Stirred in 2 cups sugar. Boiled until it reached the gel stage. I eyeballed this, the gel stage. Yield 1/2 pint and 2 1/4 pint jars. It’s gelled so, no problem. Did not use pectin additive. Delicious!