Best Fresh Fruit Jellies Recipes

FRUIT JELLIES

Steps:

• Place 2/3 cup juice in a small bowl or measuring cup and sprinkle with gelatin. Let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine remaining 2/3 cup juice and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, 5 minutes. Add preserves and whisk to combine. Return to a boil and cook until thick and syrupy, 2 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and whisk until gelatin dissolves. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into an 8-inch square baking dish. Refrigerate until set, 3 hours (or up to 2 weeks).
• Place remaining 1 cup sugar in a pie plate or shallow bowl. Cut fruit jelly into 1-inch squares. Toss in sugar to coat just before serving.

BASIC JELLY

Steps:

• Combine fruit and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, mashing occasionally with a potato masher, until fruit is very soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a fine sieve set over a heatproof bowl; let drain without pressing on fruit, 4 hours. Strain again through sieve lined with damp cheesecloth. Measure juice; you will have 3 to 4 cups.
• In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring juice to a boil. Add 3/4 cup sugar for each cup of juice. Add lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Return to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, 8 to 12 minutes. To test if jelly is done, dip a large metal spoon in, lift it horizontally above pot, and let mixture drip back in. Jelly is done when mixture has thickened slightly and drops of it slide together off spoon in a sheet. (Temperature should register 221 degrees on a candy thermometer.) Skim foam from top.
• Ladle jelly into clean containers, leaving 3/4 inch of headroom. Let cool completely. Cover, label, and refrigerate up to 1 month, or freeze up to 1 year.

ORANGE JELLY CANDIES

Steps:

• Butter a 9-in. square pan with 2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the pectin, baking soda and water (mixture will be foamy). In another saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Bring both mixtures to a boil. Cook until foam on pectin mixture thins slightly and sugar mixture comes to a full rolling boil, about 4 minutes. Gradually add pectin mixture to boiling sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. , Remove from the heat. Stir in orange oil and food coloring. Immediately pour into prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature for 3 hours or until set. , Sprinkle waxed paper with sugar; invert pan onto sugar. With a knife dipped in warm water, cut candy into 1-in. squares; roll in additional sugar. Place on a wire rack. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature overnight. Store in an airtight container.

FRESH FRUIT JELLIES

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then place a 4 1/2 by 8-inch flan form in the center of the foil. In a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat the raspberries until they begin to release their juice (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the raspberries into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. With a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, press through as much of the raspberry juice as possible. This should yield 2/3 cup raspberry juice.
• In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the cold water. In a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the raspberry juice, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the corn syrup, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Add the dissolved gelatin and stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately turn the mixture into the prepared flan form. Let the candy set up completely at room temperature (2 to 3 hours).
• With the blade of a large chef's knife, loosen and remove the flan form. Cut the candy into eight 1-inch strips, then cut each strip into 4 pieces, forming 1-inch squares. Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a round cake pan, roll each square in the sugar to coat it completely, then place each square in a paper candy cup. Between layers of waxed paper in a tightly covered container, the jellies will keep for 1 week at room temperature or 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
• VARIATIONS
• Substitute blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries for the raspberries. Substitute 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice for the raspberries.