The Jelly Queen of Gasconade County

Missouri wild plum jelly, made by the Gasconade County Fair Jam & Jelly Queen *heehee*

Once upon a time, there was a City Girl who fell in love with a Country Boy.  She longed to please him and acquire his Country skills, so she learned how to hunt, fish, garden, and make jelly.  Of all the City-Turned-Country Girl's skills, jelly making was the one that pleased the Country Boy the most.  He encouraged her to enter her jelly in the County Fair, and lo and behold . . . she won the giant purple ribbon!  The Ball Award/Best of Show in Soft Spreads.  It became an inside joke between the Country Boy and his City Girl ("Ball Award Soft Spread Queen") but when he bragged to his friends, he called her The Jelly Queen of Gasconade County. This made the City Girl smile, for she knew her Country Boy was proud of her Country skills.

One day, the City Girl started a jewelry business. Soon the jars of delicious homemade jellies that once lined the shelves of the Country Boy's pantry disappeared until there was nothing but an empty space.  The Country Boy pleaded with the City Girl to work up the wild plums in the freezer and the gallons of tart pie cherry juice in the pantry and turn them into jelly.

One day the City Girl decided that she would surprise the Country Boy and spend the day making jelly.  The Country Boy was so happy, that he took jars of the sparkling jelly to share with his friends at their weekly Country Boy Shed Party/Washer Tournament.  He bragged and bragged about his City-Turned-Country Girl Wife, and they lived happily ever after.


*giggle*

Here's my jelly making day in pictures . . . . Enjoy!!

Everything you need to make the perfect jelly, right here: juice, sugar, pectin, big ole dancing jelly pan, long wooden stirring spoon, wire whisk, spatula, big ole measuring cups, hot pads, dark towels (juice stains!) and jars.

Missouri wild plums. Cover with water, bring to a boil until the skins start to split.  Foaming is normal - they're loaded with pectin!

I use an old potato masher to smash them up a bit to release more of the juice and to make the sieving process a bit quicker.

Ladle the hot juice/plums into the sieve and mash to release the juice.  Don't worry about the pits, there will be plenty of good juice without removing them.  I try not to get a lot of the orange-ish pulp in the liquid.  You'll definitely have some unless you use a cheese cloth or a jelly bag, but I like a little pulp. Too much of it ruins the good wild taste - in my opinion.

After all the mashing is finished, I transfer the leftover pulp and pits into my steamer pan. I add 1.5 to 2 cups of water and let it run through the mash again.  I don't squeeze or mash or anything, just let the water run through.  It gets the last bits of juice out of your mash and gives you some extra liquid in case you're short on a full batch.

Isn't it gorgeous!?!  I mix all the juice together to get the pulp distributed evenly, then separate into 5-cup batches.  Jelly is always a 4:6 or 5:7 ratio of juice to sugar so it makes the process run smoother to have batches measured in advance. 

I add the juice to the big ole dancing jelly pan (see the video clip to watch it dance!) and whisk in a package of pectin before it heats up. 

Once it gets near boiling, I start whisking in the sugar a little at a time until it's all added and dissolved.  Then I switch over to stirring with my big ole long handled wooden spoon.

I stir constantly in a rotating figure eight motion the whole time, with the heat on high.  Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil that will not stir down, I start counting.  Two full minutes into this rolling boil I do my first plate test. I also watch for the mixture to turn "glassy" as an indication that it's time to test consistency.

I use the plate test to determine when the jelly is the right consistency.  You want your finished (cooled) jelly to move as a whole unit inside the jar.  Watching the run of the jelly on the plate tells me if I'm at the right stage yet.  I'm looking for it to move very slowly - a creeping run rather than a dripping run. 

Once it reaches the right consistency, I pour the batch into my big ole graniteware pourer.  I bought this piece especially for making jelly and I rarely use it for anything else.  It's the perfect size for a batch of jelly and it's sturdy enough to withstand the heat of the liquid and multiple scrubbing between batches.  Here I'm removing the foam that forms on the top.  I think it's the high pectin that produces the foam.  Anyway it's unattractive, so I remove it.  I don't throw it out though.  I add spices and a little olive oil, rosemary, sage, thyme, garlic and liquid smoke and use it as a glaze for pork - HEAVENLY!

Ready for lids and a hot water bath for 20 minutes, then pop! pop! pop! to make sure they seal.  Once they cool, they'll line the shelves of the pantry once again!!

And here's the dancing jelly pan, doing its happy "I get to make jelly" dance: