So I discovered this recipe on an obscure recipe sharing site. Some guy named Ed shared it and one of the people who made it says it is ... "Real jelly, not the gelatinized stuff other recipes call coffee jelly - this is something to use with PB&J. Not an easy recipe for the preciseness of measuring and rigor of following instructions. It's got to be done this way or it will not work, at least by my experience it will not work. Experience and/or knowledge of canning is required if the jelly is to be stored at room temperature.Observe the precautions, or keep all the jelly in the refrigerator"  Well, I figure if you are reading this, you have a working knowledge of jelly making and canning. If you are a first time canner I recommend you make a few easier recipes to get some experience and then come back to this one later. That way you can store it on the shelf and not have to eat coffee jelly every day for the next 6 months to keep it from spoiling. Ed's Re...

Did you know? According to the USDA Yearbook of Agriculture; " American housewives canned more than four billion cans and jars of food in 1943, and nearly three and a half billion quarts of food in 1944. The latter represents nearly one-half of the canned vegetables and two-thirds of the canned fruits that were available for civilian consumption that year." That's a lot of canning! Did you know? That during WWI the US government  promoted the cultivation of “war gardens,” and later changed the name to “victory gardens” after the war was won and in order to maximize the utility of war gardens, the Federal Government emphasized a number of food preservation methods, namely canning, as a patriotic venture.  Numerous posters were produced during WWII emphasizing the correlation between canning and victory. Like the example below found in the public domain and courtesy of University of North Texas digital collections. Did you know? That in 1943 the USDA ...

When you hear the name Napoleon Bonaparte the last thing you associate it with is home canning. But actually he had everything to do with the development of food preservation. In the late 1700s when he noticed the high number of his soldiers that were suffering and dying from malnutrition, Napoleon offered a prize of twelve thousand Francs to anyone who could come up with a practical way to preserve food. The call was answered by an innovative chef name Nicolas Appert in 1810 when he presented Napoleon with his method of bottling fruits, vegetables and meats using heat to preserve them by boiling the sealed bottles in water.  He used his reward money to establish a cannery and later changed his preferred packaging container to tin cans. This was the beginning of commercial food  canning which has become commonplace to us. Home canning did not become a common practice in America until later in the 1800's with the invention of the screw cap mason jar and the needs of a pop...

I've been designing a lot of things with lemon patterns at my Zazzle stores lately and it has really gotten me in the mood for some lemony goodness.  So when I tripped across this recipe I knew I had to share it.  The spring of 2020 has been the longest spring I can ever remember in my 58 years of life and it is not over yet. But maybe this summery recipe will add cheer to our taste buds while it helps us hang on through another few weeks of the new social distancing we are having to endure. I can't wait to try this one! Let me know if you did and how you liked it.  Honey Lemon Jelly Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups honey 3/4 cup lemon juice 6 tablespoons grated lemon zest 1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid fruit pectin Directions:   In large non reactive pan, combine honey, lemon juice and zest.  Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.  Stir in pectin.  Continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from...

No, this is not a recipe for canned weeds. I just wanted to write a short post about something I read about during my last search for unique jelly recipes to share. I ran across some historic recipe sites that talked about how things were in America during the great depression of the 1930's and in particular some families that endured living through the dust bowl right here in my state of Oklahoma. Times were hard then, I mean really hard, the only things that grew in the summer was weeds. People of all ages were dying from dust related respiratory illnesses and hunger and despair were widespread.  In order to feed their families, moms learned how to forage. They learned which weeds you could eat and they would can them up for eating in the long lean winter months. Tumbleweeds and lambs quarters were the weeds that kept them from starving, and many who remember eating them say that canned they tasted not much different than any other greens. I have actually eaten lambs ...

With the current events in the world caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and so many people facing uncertain times while also being confined to their homes, I have been searching out recipes that can be made on the cheap. I found many of them from the era of the great depression when moms had to get creative in how to feed their families on limited funds and supplies, and in addition to this one, I intend to share more of them in future posts. Canning is a great sheltering at home pass time that will keep you busy and at the same time provide you with delicious tasty treats to enjoy now and later. Biscuits and jelly is a classic comfort food and easy to make and we can all use some extra comfort right about now! In my search for budget recipes I ran across this unusual jelly that sounds delicious and thrifty!  Corn cob jelly!  So when you have a meal with corn on the cob save those cobs and try your hand at this recipe that is reported to taste like honey.  Whether you...

Let's face it,  no matter how much you enjoy canning it can sometimes feel like work and we can always use some advice and tricks to make things easier! So I have compiled a collection of eight handy tips to make things go more smoothly. You know? Less like work and more like a fun pass time! 1. Line your workspace with foil, wax paper or even old newspapers for easy clean ups...  2. DIY water bath set up: using a large stock pot and a homemade rack that you create by tying jar rings together with string... 3. Can in smaller batches and lighten your harvest workload by freezing part of it until you are ready to can it. 4.You can use store bought frozen fruits for jams and jellies. 5. Have all your ingredients and equipment gathered and prepped ahead of time 6. If you don't use a divided wire rack for your jars, you can wrap a large rubber band around the middle of each jar to keep them from bumping together and breaking in the boiling water bath. 7. When yo...