Another wonderful off-season recipe. From the recipes I looked at, you can pretty much use any wine. I imagine the better the wine, the better the results. I used an inexpensive Rioja because A/ it's what I had on hand and B/ it's an easy-drinker, so I figured there was no way it wouldn't be delicious. It absolutely is, and it's gorgeous.
You'll need:
750 ml bottle of wine
3 1/4 cups white sugar
3 T lemon juice
1 pkg (57 g box) pectin
4 half-pint (250 ml) Mason jars or 8 125 ml jars, or whatever combo works for you
Equivalent number of snap lids and rings
Directions for cooking and canning:
Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well.
Fill your canning pot halfway-ish with water and put it on to heat. Put your jars in there to get all sterilized and hygienic while you do the rest. (Don't skip this step with this recipe because your jelly won't be in the boiling water bath long enough to compensate.)
Put 1/3 cup of water in a small pot. Eyeball it to see about how much 1/3 cup of liquid looks like in this pot. Okay, you're done with this water. You can use it to water a plant, maybe?
Put 1 1/4 cup of the wine into this same small pot and boil it down over med-high heat until it's about a 1/3 of a cup. No measuring required. Set it aside.
Combine your packet of pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small bowl and mix it together well.
Bring remaining wine, lemon juice and sugar/pectin mix to a boil in a large pot, stirring frequently.
Add remaining sugar and reduced wine, and bring back to a hard boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat.
This is a good time to fish your jars out of your water bath and set them up to fill. Put the snap lids in the hot water to soften. It doesn't have to be boiling.
Continue to stir frequently, skimming foam, for about 5 minutes. Do not discard the foam. It is delish.
Quickly ladle hot jam into hot jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace.
"Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.
Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and return to the boil for 5 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling.
Remove jars from the canner or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down. Ta da!
