Gudalupe Mountains with alfalfa in the foreground.
Who says you can’t teach an old dog (me) new tricks? My mama is experienced at jelling and preserves and all, and so when my brother’s pomegranates were ready, we picked them, seeded them, juiced them, jelled them, and jarred them. SHHH – I’ll tell you a secret: it’s not that hard! You need pomegranates, of course, pectin powder such as Sure-Jell, sugar, jars and lids and a canning funnel, and one or two large pots. For juicing … well, I will explain what I did for there are many routes you can take, and the items you need will depend on the method you choose. I’m sure you can use commercially produced pomegranate juice as well. If you do, let me know how it turns out!
First, we seeded the fruit. What I did was cut off the end, and then score the rind in quarters, cutting just deeply enough to get through the rind without slicing through the seeds underneath.
Then we just pulled them apart and gently removed the seeds into a bowl. ALERT! Wear an apron and keep the area clear, it’s a messy job. We turned the fruit so the seeds were facing away from us as we worked, to help reduce the splattering. But you’re going to get it no matter what!
Beautiful, ain’t it?
These three large bowls are what we ended up with on the second batch (about 5/8 of the total harvest). We yielded 7 to 9 pints and 29 half pints from this.
Now comes the part in which you have to make your own decision. I searched the internet and read what other people do to juice these and spoke with Mama about her experience. Her maid used to juice them by cutting them in half and using the juicer attachment on the Kitchen-Aid mixer, just like an orange. I’m sure she strained the juice after. I didn’t try that, but here are the different methods I tried. I put the seeds through my Omega juicer which has a worm gear. It gets a lot of juice but adds bitterness from the seeds, which are crushed in the process. I pulsed them in a blender just till the seeds yielded juice, and then pressed them into a sieve to squeeze the juice out. It left too much flesh on the seeds for my taste, and also imparted a little of the bitterness. I also tried that combined with squeezing them by hand in a fine towel which gave us much more juice. I tried heating them just until they began releasing the juices, and then squeezed or ran them through a food mill. Surprisingly, the fresh seeds gave more juice than the heated ones. I even tried putting them in the Kitchen-Aid mixer with the standard attachment and running it for a while, then through the cloth and the food mill. I also tried the food mill alone. I still wasn’t all that happy. Then I came upon the method I preferred best. Though it’s slightly more labor intensive, all taste testers agreed that it imparted the best flavor and color, and I am thoroughly convinced that the yield was far and above all the other methods. So here goes:
Use a fine cotton cloth. Mine is a flour sack dish towel. (It will have to be sacrificed, unless you find another use for the stained towel.) I cut mine in quarters to make it more manageable and because I had helpers who needed towels. You will also need a heavy-duty type freezer bag, gallon size, a rolling pin, and a container for the juice. I laid the cloth flat on the counter and put a large handful of seeds on it.
Next I pulled up the corners and sides so the seeds were contained as if in a pouch, but not too tight, and inserted it into the plastic bag. I then pounded the seeds with the rolling pin until it felt as if all had been juiced, after which I rolled over it thoroughly to be sure and squeeze out every last drop.
Gettin’ juicy!
After I was satisfied the seeds had given up all the juice they could, I took the cloth and carefully (so the seeds didn’t come out) wrung it tightly.
I thought a good test for whether this method yielded well was the dryness of the seeds after wringing. Daddy agreed, and since he is very wise, I was quite satisfied! I shook the spent seeds out of the towel over the trash can (give them to your chickens, if you want), and poured the contents of the bag in the container. I did have to replace the bag once when it sprung a small leak, and I ripped one of my pieces of towel, but overall it worked well. The Millionaire thought it was too much work, but I pointed out that it only happens once a year and once the process is internalized, it becomes well organized and efficient. Further, the juice can be kept several days in the refrigerator, so the big jobs are divided over a few days. We seeded fruit one day, juiced them the next, and then made jelly over a couple of days. It makes the jobs manageable.
Once you are ready to make jelly, have all the supplies on hand that you need: washed jars and lids, a large pot (I used two, one for the jelly, one for sterilizing jars), spoon, and ladle for cooking, Sure-Jell or your brand of pectin, sugar, a canning funnel, and hot pads and tongs for handling hot jars. After washing the jars and lids, sterilize the jars in boiling water, completely covered, for five minutes. Turn off the heat and put the lids (not the rings) and the ladle and funnel in. Your jars can stay hot in there.
Now for the fun: measure out your pomegranate juice into the pot and add the Sure-Jell, stirring to thoroughly dissolve. Only AFTER adding the Sure-Jell will you turn on the heat, bringing the mixture to a full rolling boil. At that point add your sugar all at once and stir to dissolve.
Return to a full rolling boil and when it’s reached that point, set the timer for 5 minutes. I’ll discuss how to determine the set point a little later, but I’m no expert and inexperienced, so you might do better to look it up somewhere else. I know some instructions say to boil 2 ½ to 3 ½ minutes, but that was not enough.
Once the timer goes off, take it off the heat and skim the foam off of it.
Then begin filling the jars. I put a jar on a plate, put the funnel in the top, and ladle the juice into the jar to within ½ inch of the top (as demonstrated by my lovely assistant) (Her name is Hot Rod).
If any gets onto the rim or the threads, wipe it off with a clean damp cloth. Then put the lid on and screw the ring tight. Set it aside to cool as you continue to fill the rest of your jars.
Regarding the jelling point: Mama showed me how to pick up the spoon and observe how the jelly runs off the spoon and forms the last drop to determine whether it is right. Holding a large metal spoon, dip it into the boiling jelly and then lift it and pour it off the spoon while holding it horizontally. When the last of the jelly is running off of it, it will come from both ends of the spoon to meet in the middle and form a final drop. When the jelly’s about ready, the drop will form slowly and appear to be congealing on the spoon. From what I’ve read, this can be really tricky. The great thing about this recipe is that the five minute rule worked every time – EXCEPT when I had to use liquid pectin because the store ran out of the Sure-Jell. DISASTER! I’ll never do that again. Just to play it safe, though, I do drop a little bit on a saucer and quickly put it in the freezer. I begin doing this after about 2 minutes and I can see how the jell is forming. It’s a good learning experience if nothing else. My jelly is not as hard as the grape jelly you buy at the store, but it’s spreadable and holds together.
Delicious on a piece of English muffin toast with butter! The recipe is below.
POMEGRANATE JELLY
5 cups pomegranate juice (or 4 ½ cups plus 1 cup water)
1 package Sure-Jell or 6 tablespoons powdered pectin (I don’t recommend liquid pectin)
7 cups sugar
Mix Sure-Jell thoroughly into the juice in a large pot. Once it is completely dissolved, heat the juice on high, stirring frequently until it comes to a full rolling boil. Add the sugar all at once and stir well. Bring back to a full boil. Once a boil is reached, cook for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Working while the jelly is hot, skim the foam off of the surface. Ladle into sterilized jars to within a half inch of the top rim. Top with a lid and screw the ring on tightly by hand. As the jelly cools, you will hear the lids “pop” as they seal. If you press down on a lid after it is sealed, it will not pop back up because it is vacuum sealed. Store the jars in a cool dark place.
(For a large batch, I used 10 cups liquid (9 cups juice, 1 cup water), 2 packages Sure-Jell, 14 cups of sugar.)
Tip O' Texas Catholic 