Sour Cherry Jelly

Ingredients: • 4 lbs pie cherries • 7 cups sugar • 1 bottle Certo pectin Wash cherries and heat slowly on stove in a small amount of water. Simmer, covered, until soft, then mash with a potato masher (do not crush the pits). Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into a jelly bag and strain the juice out. You can squeeze the bag for more juice, but then the jelly will not be sparking clear. Measure the amount of juice you have (should be 3 - 4 cups) into a very large pot, … [read more...]

Marionberry Jam Recipe

My husband, David's number one, favorite jam is this Marionberry jam. The only thing he likes better is Cascade Berry jam, but Marionberry jam is just so, so good you can't really think that anything could be better while you are eating it. At least that's what David says. The two types of berries are very similar, so you can use this recipe for either. You will probably not be able to make Cascade Berry jam, since the berries are only grown by me and a small circle of our friends, I believe- But … [read more...]

Homemade Apple Butter

It wasn't until two years ago that I had my first taste of homemade apple butter. I was visiting my grandmother who was cleaning out her refrigerator for a road trip across the country. Since I just happened to be there that day, she sent me home with a bag full of refrigerator goodies. There were various fruit preserves, pickles, condiments, and among them, the apple butter. Between my fiancé and me, the jar didn't last very long. We loved it, and ate it on toast every morning. After it was … [read more...]