Canning recipe of the Month: Watermelon Jelly

This post is all about summer in a jar! 

Now is the time to capture the taste of summer and keep it in a jar until some damp and dreary winter day when you need a lift in your spirits. Then you can open a jar of this beautiful summer flavor and spread it on some toast or a biscuit and feel like you can make it another day! 

Wow, how dramatic but it seriously does help. So go grab some watermelon while it is in season and make a batch of jelly. 

Note: There is controversy as to whether it is safe to water bath can watermelon. Women have been doing it for decades and the acidifying is the same for this recipe as it would be for watermelon pickles so I feel it is safe, but if you are not confident about it then you can store your batch in the refrigerator even after canning just to have peace of mind.

Watermelon Jelly

Yield: 5 half pint jars

This jelly can take up to a week to gel... patience is needed. 

You might also need a food thermometer.

Ingredients

• 5 C white sugar
  
• 5 T powdered pectin
  
• 6 C pureed watermelon (remove any seeds ahead of time)
  
• 1/2 C bottled lemon juice
  

Instructions

1. Whisk together sugar and powdered pectin until they are fully mixed. Combine watermelon puree, sugar/pectin and lemon juice in a large, non-reactive pot.
2. Bring to a boil and let cook until the temperature reaches 220 degrees. This can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of your pot, how hot your stove is and the weather you’re having can even make a difference.  You can check the gel set by how fast it runs down on a tilted plate, the slower the better.
   
3. Remove jelly from the heat and pour into prepared jars. Wipe the jar rims, apply lids and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from water bath and let jars cool. When they’re cool enough to handle you can remove the rings and test to see if they sealed. The store them on a shelf in a cool dark place and wait for it to gel, up to a week.  Give it time.
   

Here is a special custom jar label I created just for this recipe

to make your jars the cutest in town.

Make it yours HERE