The following recipe is for everyone who has carefully followed high altitude directions of pectin manufacturers or other modified recipes but ended up with syrup instead of jelly.  After a lot of trial and error, I have finally discovered a method that really results in jelly and have incorporated it into this recipe for chokecherry jelly.  How to extract the juice needed for the jelly recipe is also included.

 Note: Quantity of chokecherries and water required to make juice modified on 8/24/09.  The amount of ripe vs. semi-ripe chokecherries will greatly affect the amount of juice.  Better to ensure you have enough or too much rather than too little. 

High Altitude Chokecherry Jelly Recipe

What you will need:

• bucket for picking chokecherries
• strainer, fine sieve, or cheesecloth
• large pot (6-8 quart) for making juice and for cooking jelly (preferably stainless steel)
• large spoon for cooking chokecherries and jelly
• potato masher (optional)
• timer
• container for strained chokecherry juice
• ladle for filling canning jars
• measuring cups
• candy thermometer
• 6-7 8 oz. canning jars with rings and new lids
• small pan to soak lids and keep warm until use
• large canning pot with rack
• labels  

Ingredients:

• 6-7 cups chokecherries
• 3 - 3 1/2 cups water
• 3 1/2 cups chokecherry juice (made from 6-7 cups of chokecherries listed above)
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 box pectin Wash canning jars and rings in hot soapy water or in dishwasher and air dry. 

Pick 6-7 cups of chokecherries.  For better flavor, mix both very ripe and semi-ripe chokecherries.  Wash in a container with plenty of extra space letting water overflow the bucket while swishing the chokecherries around.  Debris and insects will float to the top and be washed away.   Let soak for about five minutes and run fresh water through chokecherries again.  Drain.

Clean any stems from the chokecherries and rinse again. 

Making the juice: 

To extract juice from chokecherries, add 6 cups of chokecherries and 3 cups of water to a large pot or 3 1/2 cups of water to 7 cups of chokecherries.  Bring to a rolling boil.  You will notice the skins of the chokecherries starting to split.  Reduce heat to medium and slow boil for 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Use a potato masher to assist separation of pulp from pits if desired.  Be careful not to crush pits.  Strain juice from the pulp using a small holed colander, fine sieve or cheesecloth.  Do not squeeze the pulp as it will make your jelly cloudy. 

 Preparation:

Have your canning jars ready to be filled before you begin.  Also, pour hot water over lids and keep lukewarm until ready to seal jars.  Fill canning pot 3/4 full of water.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Water bath must be boiling when adding full jars of jelly.   Measure sugar in a bowl and set aside.  It must be added all at once during the process.

Making the jelly:

Add chokecherry juice and pectin in a large pot.  If you do not have a full 3 ½ cups of juice, add water to make 3 ½ cups (do not use more than 1/2 cup water).  Stir to dissolve pectin.    From here on, instructions and times will vary from the instructions with your pectin.  Bring to a hard boil using a candy thermometer to reach 212F.  It will visually boil at a different temperature depending on your altitude.  Once it reaches 212F, boil for three minutes. Add sugar all at once.  Stir until sugar dissolves.   Bring to a hard boil that cannot be stirred down.  When candy thermometer reaches 212F again, boil for 2 minutes.   Remove from heat.  Mixture will still be thin like syrup but you should notice that it coats the spoon.   You can also drop a few drops onto a plate and let cool for a moment.  When cool, it should already resemble a very soft jelly.  It will thicken more during the water bath process.  If it is still very thin syrup, return to heat, bring to 212F again, and boil for another 2 minutes.  However, be careful not to reach the candy stage or you will be making lollipops for the kids!  Fill the canning jars to 1/4” from the top for 1/2 pints (1/2" from the top for pints).  Add lids and rings, tightening slightly. 

Load canning jars into canning rack.  Lower into the pot of boiling water.  Water may stop boiling momentarily.  Start timing the water bath after the water is at a rolling boil again and is 212F.  Process with lid on the canning pot. 

The following chart is from the Ball Sure-Jell Pectin.  The adjustments did not work for my altitude and dry climate.  What DID work is to go up to the next altitude.  Also, it doesn’t matter what type of pectin you are using.  I have used several brands now that listed even less time for the water bath but I used the Ball schedule plus the next altitude scale and finally had amazing jelly instead of syrup. 

Base time is 10 minutes

Altitude Feet    Increase Processing Time
1000-3000    5 minutes
3001-6000    10 minutes
6001-8000    15 minutes
8001-10000   20 minutes

As an example, I am at 3300 feet.  I would process for 10 minutes plus 15 minutes using the next higher altitude instead of 3300 feet. At the end of the processing time, turn the heat off and remove lid.  Let jars stand for 5 minutes.

Remove canning jars from canner and set on a towel to cool, undisturbed for 12-24 hours.  Rings will be loose.  Do not retighten!   After cooling, test seals by pressing the center of each lid.  If a lid does not flex up and down, it is sealed.  If a lid is not sealed, refrigerate and use immediately within 3 weeks.  Label jars with type of jelly and date.

Note:  It is not recommended to double the recipe or use pint canning jars.  I would never have attempted anything different before I finally had a successful batch of jelly.  However, we go through the small jars so quickly and I had 10 cups of chokecherries.  I added another 15 minutes to the water bath to allow more processing time for the added amount of jelly in the bigger jars – perfect!