Beautyberry jelly can be made from the native American Beautyberry shrub. It makes a gorgeous sweet gift for everyone on your list.
I’ve had this gorgeous beautyberry shrub for several years. If you’ve been a subscriber for a while, you may remember me talking about it. Every year in the early spring we cut it down to about 18 inches, and every year, it grows back to about 5-6 ft. tall and wide, filled with the most beautiful purple berries by early October.
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The stunning purple berries, though numerous, are pretty small. The birds eat them in the winter, mostly I think, because there’s not much else outside. However, I have read that people make jelly from these berries, so I had to try making some myself.
Picking a quart of berries wasn’t too hard. Just place a bowl under the branch and rub the berry clusters between your fingers. They easily pop right off and into the bowl. Then you need to wash them up to make sure all the bugs, dirt and as much of the extra stems are removed.
I followed the directions from the Sure Jell pectin
What you are doing is making juice, by boiling the berries in water and straining the liquid, much like making an herbal infusion.
Beautyberry Jelly
Once you have the “juice” it’s simply a matter of adding the Sure Jell pectin
This recipe made 6 jars of jelly. Four – 8 ounces jars
Finally, I did not preserve the jelly jars by using a canning kit. Instead I gave away most of the jars and I instructed everyone to keep it in the refrigerator, and eat it up within a few weeks.
Beautyberry Jelly
Ingredients
- 1 quart beautyberry shrub berries
- 1 packet Sure Jell Pectin
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
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Wash and dry berries.
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Place berries in a heavy saucepan and cover with water.
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Bring to a boil and then simmer on low to medium heat for 20 minutes.
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Strain berries from liquid.
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Add sugar according to Sure Jell's suggestion. I had 2 1/2 cups of juice so I added 3 cups of sugar.
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Add lemon juice and Sure Jell.
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Bring to a boil and stir until thickened. About 15 mins or more, making sure to stir so that it does not burn on the bottom.
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Pour into clean sterilized jars. Let sit for 24 hours or move to a canning bath container for a longer shelf life.
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Place in the refrigerator. Last for about one month.
Carole says
In my travels searching for land we ran across this bush in the wild several times and it caught my attention. I had no idea you could do something with it and the color is amazing, both fresh and once cooked. So what did it taste like and could you incorporate an herb?
Patti Estep says
Hi Carole,
The jelly turned out pretty sweet with a slightly tart flavor, very different than anything I’ve ever tasted. The closest it came was prickly pear syrup I’ve had to make margaritas. It also has that beautiful color so maybe that’s why it comes to mind. I’m sure you could incorporate an herb in the infusion too. Let me know if you try it.
mickie says
This is an interesting post today. I have a couple of these bushes but sadly they have never produced an abundance of berries like your photos show. I have never cut them back, so will be doing this in the spring to see if I an encourage growth and therefore get enough berries to try this. Thanks for sharing.
Patti Estep says
Hi Mickie,
I’m almost 100% sure that will do the trick. I attended a garden symposium years ago where the speaker suggested cutting back beautyberry shrubs. I’ve done it every spring and they always grow right back with tons of berries.
Susie says
I would love to try this jelly. I was thinking about it on cream cheese or baked brie. Sounds divine, Patti! ~~ Susie from The Chelsea Project
Patti Estep says
Hi Susie,
I’m so glad you like the jelly idea. It tastes good but looks better so I really love your ideas about serving it with cream cheese or baked brie. Thanks so much for the suggestion.