How to Make Easy Homemade Jelly: Basic Jelly Recipe With Tips, Ingredients, and Flavors

Jelly is made by extracting fruit juice and cooking it with sugar and pectin (natural or commercially made) to thicken it to a firm, but spreadable consistency. It’s often used with whole fruits that have seeds in them or skins, like grapes, cranberries, and raspberries. Homemade jelly will have a complex flavor that you may not find in the generic jars at grocery stores.

1. 1. Fruit: If it’s your first time making jelly, use high pectin, high acid type of fruits like tart apples, crabapples, cranberries, blackberries, gooseberries, lemons, concord grapes, and currants. The high pectin content ensures a smooth and proper gel.
2. 2. Sugar: Sugar works with the pectin and fruit acids to create the gel texture in jelly. Beware that using less sugar can keep your jelly from setting, and adding too much can result in stiff jelly.
3. 3. Pectin: Pectin is the most crucial ingredient in making fruit jelly, it’s what creates the gelling effect that you’re aiming for. Fruit contains natural pectin but if you’re using low pectin fruit (like fresh strawberries), you can supplement it with commercial pectin (powder or liquid), or you can add a high-pectin ingredient like fresh lemon juice.

1. 1. A heavy-bottomed large pot or saucepan: Using a heavy pan keeps the fruit from scorching over heat, while also providing a larger surface for evaporation. The key to making jam is reducing water in the fruit, helping it to thicken with the sugar, so a thick-bottomed pot will let you cook for a longer period without burning the contents.
2. 2. Jelly jars: Use heat proof sealable glass pint jars (easy to sterilize) for storing jam after cooking. When using the canning method, jam has to be hot when it goes into its sterilized jar and sealed, otherwise it can become moldy. Part of the preserving process is for all the air in the jam to escape and for the lid to then be sucked down into the vacuum, creating a strong seal.
3. 3. Heatproof spatula or wooden spoon: Heatproof cooking utensils don't quickly heat to high temperatures or chemically react with acidic foods as their metal counterparts do. They don't melt or release chemicals into hot food as plastic does.
4. 4. Jelly bag: Although not totally necessary, it makes the task of straining your pieces of fruit for juice much easier and neater. If that’s not available feel free to use a cheesecloth.

Generally the more tart the fruit, the higher the natural fruit pectin will be. Preferred fruits for making jelly include:

• Apples
• Crabapples
• Grapes
• Cranberries
• Berries

Jam has fruit chunks and a thicker, spoonable texture while the fruit solids are strained out when making jelly, resulting in a smooth, clear, and firm spread.

You can make jelly without pectin by using high pectin fruit such as apples, blackberries, and plums. For those new to the jelly making, try using tart granny smith apples. Use a candy thermometer while cooking and make sure to reach a 220°F setting point, otherwise you might end up with runny jelly. To make a low-sugar jelly, you’ll need to increase the amount of pectin used.

Use fresh fruit and skip the frozen fruit juice. Using peak-season fruit will let you enjoy this sweet treat all year round. Look for in-season farmers’ market fruit without damages or dents. Overippened or spoiled fruit can impact the flavor and lifespan of your jelly.
Trying using a jelly bag. Jelly bags are specifically designed to strain the pulp, skin, and seeds from your fruit juice, leaving a clarified liquid perfect for jelly making. When finished using, rinse right away.
Use a non-reactive pot. Cook your fruit in a stainless steel or copper pot; other metals (like aluminum or cast iron) may react with the acid in the fruit and infuse your preserves with a metallic taste.

When jelly is cooled and stored covered in clean, sterilized jars, it can last up to a month in the refrigerator or up to a year in the freezer, depending on the sugar content. Sugar is not only used as a sweetener, but also as a preservative that helps maintain the color of your fruit and prevents mold from developing. If you process by canning in a boiling water bath, you can expect up to two years of shelf life when stored in a cool, dry place. Learn how to can here.

• To make cranberry jelly, combine 4 cups or cranberry juice with 6 cups sugar, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in 4 tablespoons dry pectin, boil for another minute, stirring constantly until thickened.
• To make raspberry jelly, combine 5 1/2 pounds fresh berries (strained into 3 1/2 cups juice), ½ cup of water, 2 ½ cups sugar and ½ cup lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer the liquid for 8-12 minutes until thickened, stirring constantly. You can skip the pectin because raspberry has enough natural pectin on its own.
• To make red pepper jelly, combine 1 ½ pounds red bell peppers (deseeded and finely chopped into 2 ½ cups), 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 3 ¼ cups sugar, 1 cup white-wine vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in 3 tablespoons dry pectin, bring to a boil, stirring for another 1-2 minutes until thickened.