Honey Sweetened Grape Jelly

Ingredient List

1 Package Sure-Jell, for low/no sugar recipes

3 C Unsweetened Concord Grape Juice

2 3/4 C Honey

Makes 6- 8oz. jars of jelly

I was very fortunate that I was raised with a family that canned. My mom canned. My Grandpa canned. And my Grandma canned. My Grandparents always had a HUGE garden. It had all kinds of amazing things in it. But, my favorite were the Concord Grapes. They were so sweet and juicy! One of the things my Grandparents did was instead of canning the grape jelly right away, they would process the grapes and freeze the juice for when they had a bunch of juice ready to go at one time. I think this is incredibly smart. 1- If you don’t have enough for a batch, it is a big mess to have to make multiple times. And 2- If you can in the winter, you don’t have to heat the house in the summer. When my Grandparents passed away, I inherited their Canning Supplies. Fruit, Juices, Jars, Canner, Tool….everything! I used the last of the grape juice to make the jelly today.

NOTE- The pictures are of 2 batches of this recipe. When you are making more than one batch, DO NOT COMBINE IN THE SAME POT! Jelly and Jam recipes are not to be doubled. Always keep the recipe as is. It can effect the way the recipe/pectin set up.

I did 2 batches, so I could benefit from a full canner!

I wanted to first talk about the Sure-Jell that I used for this recipe. I went with this one, the pink box, because it is made for the no-less sugar recipes. Sugar is pretty important in the Jelly making process. It helps with thickening the jelly. So since I used honey, I decided to go with this type of pectin.

The first step to making the grape jelly is to mix the grape juice and the pectin together and start heating it up. You want the pectin to dissolve. Stir the combination pretty regularly, and bring the mixture to a rolling boil.

Next you add the honey to the mixture. Combine the honey with the juice and stir regularly so the honey doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan and the honey is fully mixed into the juice. Bring it back to a boil for 3 minutes.

While the jelly is cooking, make sure to sterilize your jars, lids, rings, and other tools. When the jelly is ready to be canned, take a HOT STERILIZED JAR and fill it to 1/2-1/4 inch head space. Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp towel.

Then take a hot lid and ring and screw them onto the jar. You don’t want the lid TIGHT, just snug.

Next place the jars in the water bather. You will want hot water already in the pot. This way the jars aren’t going through shock going from HOT jelly on the inside of the jar into COLD water…..Best canning rule I can give you is HOT HOT HOT!

Once the jelly is all canned up, fill the pot with more HOT water until it covers the jars by 1-2 inches. Bring the water to a hard rolling boil and bath the jars for 5-10 minutes. Times may differ depending on your altitude.

After the jelly has boiled for 5-10 minutes, remove them from the bath VERY CAREFULLY and place them on a folded towel about 1-2 inches apart. Now, My favorite part…..listen to the PINGS! Leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Once the jars are all sealed you can place wipe down the outsides of the jars and remove the rings. Date and label the jars and store in a cool, dark place.

If you don’t have enough for a full jar, that is ok! Just place some plastic wrap on top and use a lid to screw it shut. Keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it!