Beautyberry jelly can be made from the 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.
The actual variety I have came from a gardening catalog and is Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst,” an Asian variety. However, many here in the US are lucky enough to have the native Callicarpa americana a very similar beautyberry shrub growing wild on their property.
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 as possible are removed.
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I followed the directions from the Sure Jell pectin
box, but you can find plenty of other recipes and videos about making your own beautyberry jelly online.
What you are doing is making juice, by boiling the berries in water and straining the liquid, much like making a tea or an herbal infusion.
Beautyberry Jelly
Once you have the "juice" it's simply a matter of adding the Sure Jell pectin
and the proper amount of sugar to create the jelly. I could not believe how well this jelly turned out. Such a pretty color, not purple, but a vibrant magenta. Next time I might increase the cooking time to make it a little firmer. Other than that I loved it and I hope you do too.
This recipe made 6 jars of jelly. Four - 8 ounces jars
and two - 4 ounce containers
.
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.
More Foraged Recipes
Beautyberry Jelly
Ingredients
- 1 quart beautyberry shrub berries
- 1 packet Sure Jell Pectin
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash and dry berries.
- Place berries in a heavy saucepan and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer on low to medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Strain berries from liquid.
- Add sugar according to Sure Jell's suggestion. I had 2 1/2 cups of juice so I added 3 cups of sugar.
- Add lemon juice and Sure Jell.
- 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.
- Pour into clean sterilized jars. Let sit for 24 hours or move to a canning bath container for a longer shelf life.
- Place in the refrigerator. Last for about one month.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
lydia
how many jars did this fill? also i cannot find those cute jars anywhere
Patti Estep
Lydia, Four - 8 ounces jars and two - 4 ounce containers shown above. The 8 oz are Ball Mason Wide Mouth Half Pint Jars
Melissa
I'm considering trying this since my Mother In Law has a LOT of these plants in her yard. She just likes the way they look. I've seen recipes calling for cheesecloths or muslin cloths. Do you have to strain them or can you use a food processor to simply blend them? Or will a food mill work?
Patti Estep
Melissa, I have not tried a food processor or a food mill so I cannot say if they would work or not. The berries themselves are not soft like a raspberry or blackberry so I would be concerned that there would be too much pulp for the jelly but it's up to you. Give it a try if you want and let me know how it turns out.
Jenny W
If anyone has even heard of Mayhaw Jelly, I read that Beautyberry Jelly is a close cousin to it. That's what caught my eye, as I love Mayhaw Jelly, and it is super expensive.
J toliver
Please refrain from eating the seeds, they will upset your stomach. I strain my infusion several times with cheese cloth and watch closely that no seeds are left in the infusion. I have perfected my recipe where I start with 16 cups of infusion. I make several recipes up each year. I get about 4 lbs berries from each of my plants. I put up and give away about 200 8oz jars of my jelly every year
I'm trying to find where I can get certified in bulk as that is the second largest expense in my recipe. Good luck
Patti Estep
Thanks for your input J. I love hearing how other readers make their recipes.
C.S.Standridge
If I recooked this would it change the color of the jelly? Should I add any extra pectin or just cook longer to let thicken?
Patti Estep
I really don't know if it will change color. It sounds like you are having a problem with thickening. Check the directions on the Sure Jell. You might need more sugar or maybe you haven't let it sit long enough. Don't forget the lemon juice. It will help with taste and color.
Sandra Peacock
I made mine today I did six qts of juice from the berries and six and a half cups of sugar .One box of sure jel.It hasn't thickened yet .I cooked it all for thirty minutes.The color is beautiful and my taster jar tastes wonderful.
Patti Estep
Sandy, that sounds great. I assume you mean 6 cups so the jelly should continue to thicken over the next 24 hours. Enjoy!
Dawn Winn
Sandra Peacock, if you had 6 actual quarts of juice, and 6.5 cups of sugar, but only ONE BOX OF SURE JELL, your jelly may not jell. I think you needed more pectin.
JoAnn
How much juice
Patti Estep
Joann, if you asking about lemon juice then it's 2 tablespoons.
Jane McGinnis
Do you have to use so much sugar? I just finished my first small batch (about 1/3 size). It does not look like it’s going to set. I only used 1 cup of sugar.
Patti Estep
Jane, as far as I know, you do need a high level of sugar when using the Sure Jell. I believe that there are pectins out there that require less sugar for the jelly or jam to set up but I haven't tried them.
Donna
When we make jellies we put the Sure jel in first and boil and than add the sugar. So you put all the ingredients in first and than boil for 15 minutes.
Patti Estep
That's good to know Donna. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Theresa Park
I am curious as to why you state to dry the berries, then cover them with water....can I just repeat the washing .
Patti Estep
Theresa, you don't really need to let them dry. A good rinse and fresh water would be fine.
Robin
I’m making this tomorrow with a little variation. I have some vanilla sugar I made and I’m thinking of using it for 1/2 the sugar needed.
Patti Estep
Robin, I think that will be great. The berries, though beautiful, do not have much taste so the vanilla sugar should be a great addition. Thanks for sharing.
Nk Campbell
Followed your recipe, sort of. Grandma always used one cup of sugar to one of juice. The final product was delicious and beautiful. I’d post a picture, but it won’t let me.
Thanks for the info!
Patti Estep
I'm sure it was beautiful Nk. So glad you liked the way it turned out.
Nana Royer
Here in north Florida I've got plenty of beautyberries in my yard. Tried making the jelly for the first time today, using a quart of berries. I boiled them for about 30 min. rather than 15, and it never got what I would "thick"--just slightly. After pouring into the glass jars, however, it did firm up....passed the taste test with flying colors. Since I had a quart of juice, I used 5 cups of sugar; I think I could reduce that for next time--it's not exactly a food for diabetics! They have been transferred into the refrigerator and now just need to find some takers!
Patti Estep
Nana, It sounds like you had a lot of fun making it. I'm sure everyone will love your jelly.
Angel Bartlett
If I was close enough I'd be BEGGING for a jar! Instead I'll have to cross my fingers & hope to find enough berries locally that I can make some for myself...
Sandragaunt
I just finished boiling my berries but the juice isnt red/pink/magenta...it's brown?? 🙁 Not sure what happened as I followed the steps. Oh well, try try again
Patti Estep
Sandy, I'm not sure why the liquid was pink/magenta. I hope it works better for you next time.
Sarah
Did you add your lemon juice? I am making this right now and at first while cooking, the liquid looked a muddy color, and as soon as I added the lemon juice it turned pink.
Patti Estep
Oh yes. That may do the trick!
Angela Lamont
Thanks for the recipe! I had a few extra berries and therefore a little more liquid. I used 2.5 cups for the jelly and added a little sugar to the rest of the liquid for a nice cup of Beautyberry tea while I canned the jelly. 🙂 The jelly was delicious and the color was beautiful! Thanks again.
Patti Estep
So glad you liked it Angela. Thanks for sharing.
Susie
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
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.
mickie
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
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.
Carole
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
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.