Raspberry Jelly

This week I was invited to pick raspberries near the local nursery where I have worked part time this summer.  I love fresh raspberries so this was a special treat.  I asked my visiting family if they wanted to help me pick a bunch so I could make jam and away we went.  The picking didn't really take that long.  We picked 22 cups of raspberries in about an hour or so which was good since the rain started falling shortly after we were finished.  That afternoon I turned about 15 cups of raspberries into jelly.  Another 2 cups became a delicious raspberry cobbler and the rest went into the freezer for later use.

The fifteen cups of raspberries were cooked for about ten minutes to release the juices from the berries.  They were then carefully poured into a jelly bag lined with cheese cloth where they dripped juice for the next three hours.  When the majority of the juice was done dripping from the pulp it measured out to about 4 1/2 cups.  This was leveled off to just four cups so I could match the recipe in the Ball Book of Home Preserving.  (I think it is wise to stick to the recipe if you want to be sure of the finished product.)  To the four cups of fresh raspberry juice I added four tablespoons of lemon juice and one package of pectin.  I stirred this until the pectin was dissolved and then I began to heat the mixture on the stove.  When it just began to boil I added 5 1/2 cups of sugar and stirred until the sugar dissolved and the mixture began to boil again.  Once it had boiled for only a minute I skimmed the pink foam off the top and started adding the mixture to prepared jars.  I processed the jars for twenty minutes (adjusting for altitude) and the final product was beautiful.  I was able to fill seven half pint jars and still had a little left over for fresh eating.  It tastes like summer.  The jelly gelled perfectly and the color seems unreal to me.  The deep ruby red of the jelly glows if you hold it to the light.  For a first attempt at making raspberry jelly I must say that I am quite pleased with the results.