DIY // Grape Jelly

I´ve recieved tons of e-mails after my "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" post, asking on how I made the grape jelly. It´s really easy! So here goes a little tutorial!

Step 1: Make your own grape juice!

I bought about 3.5 lbs of fresh red grapes. Make sure you pick flavorful ones! Seedless or with seeds doesn't matter, as the strainer will remove them.
Wash the grapes and put them in a pot. Add about 1,5 cups of water and start boiling them. After a while, the grapes will pop open. That´s when I start mashing them with a potato masher.  Let them boil a little longer, until all the liquid comes out of the grapes. Get a big bowl and a strainer to sieve the cooked grapes. You will have some nice homemade grape juice in your bowl now! Put it back into a big pot and put it aside until you have your jars ready.

Step 2: Wash the jars and lids!

Now is a great time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.
NOTE: If unsanitized jars are used, the product should be processed for 5 more minutes. However, since this additional processing can result in a poor set (runny jelly), it’s better to sanitize the jars.

Step 3: Jelly Time!

The jars are ready, so now it´s time to make the jelly! I always use canning sugar, 1:1 or 2:1. Plus a few tablespoons of lemon juice. Add both to your grape juice and start heating it up. Keep stirring! As soon as it boils, let it boil for about 4-5 minutes! You can take a spoon to get some of the jelly out of the pot, put it on a little plate and see if it thickens already. It does? Great! Time to fill the jelly into the jars now! Fill them up all the way, then put the lids on them really tight, and leave the jars upside down for about 10-15 minutes. Done! Ain´t that easy?