One of my grannies favourite things was making marmelade every January when the Seville oranges came in, those are the bitter marmelade oranges.

And my sister's favourite trick is to make hers using MAMADE (that is the only brand I know that does this) marmelade concentrate to which you simply add your own sugar and water. (she buys it at Safeway in case lots every January, and makes hers as needed-- and they go thru it like wildfire, 2 quarts of marmelade a month)

Both make pretty decent marmelades but I have another winter jam winner for you!

Grape JELLY!!!! YUP!

OK one of the FASTEST ways to make grape jelly is using a good quality grape juice like Welches and following the pectin recipe on the pectin box.

Who says you have to squeeze your own grapes?

My sister (mother of 6, and dedicated to finding faster ways to cook for her brood) does this whenever her grape jelly supply runs low.

Recipes to follow! :groupwave

Interesting you should post this, because I was just looking at my strawberries and rhubarb in my freezer and thinking, I need to make that up into jam.

Winter is a great time to make jellies/jam because its not hot and you can replenish your dwindling supply.

Great topice Margery. :bananadan

From the Certo crystal pectin box. 57 gram size (who knows from oz)

Add 1 cup water to
2 cups Grape Juice
1 box certo pectin crystals

put in saucepan, bring to boil

stir in

3 and 1/2 cups sugar

Stir, bring back to boil,

boil hard, stirring constantly
for 1 more minute (from good boil)

Pour quickly into warm sterilized jars to 1/4 inch from rim. (get 5 cup size jars ready)

Makes 4 and 1/2 cups so one jar will only be half way. Use it up first, and don't bother canning it.

Clean rims with dampened paper towel

The full jars, seal with hot, boiled lids (I boil mine for 5 full minutes or I find the seals fail a lot), the sealant needs to be hot and gummy to work.

Put the screw bands on (rings)

and I like to water process mine by setting into my soup pot, covering with boiling water to 2 inches above the lids,

and bring back to simmering boil, and simmer them for 15 mintues or so. Not a rolling boil, you don't want to lose the contents.

Pull out with canning tongs, set on a tea towel and if the seals work, they will suck in with a ping, and be indented. They can do this up to a half hour after being pulled out of the water.

Cool (don't move freshly canned jars, it can disturb the seal) for a day or overnight and put in your canning cupboard.

Put any that don't seal in the fridge with the half jar, to be used up first.

just saw you reply CJ, you are so right.

canning in summer is hot and thankless. But in WINTER

well it just fills the house with the best smells and the heat is glorious. :bananadan

tomorrow I'll add Grannie's marmelade, I gotta get back into my own kitchen and do things. :cat:

I will have to try that grape jelly! My kids eat so much jam! Tell me, Margery...when you say 2 cups of grape juice, do you mean the fropzen kind or the bottled one? :)

the bottle kind, but I can't see why the frozen wouldn't work too. Just haven't done it. :)

I will get my grannie's marmelade in here, but I'm running a bit short of time today again.

We used to have grape vines galore at our old place and I miss making grape jelly! Now I can....as I read your post I thought, "Yeah, why couldn't I have been doing that all along". Thanks Margery!! (again!)