Twenty years ago, I moved from a town at sea level to 3300 feet above sea level. I had never made jelly before but decided it was something I wanted to try. I failed miserably time and time again over the years. I ended up with enough mint, apple, and chokecherry syrup to last a lifetime. I no longer could bake when we first moved either. I am not at an altitude that typically requires any adjustments in baking. However, through my persistence to bake as I once did, I discovered that both altitude and low humidity are factors in necessary modifications. I was stumped how that could affect jelly though. I followed the modified instructions on the pectin exactly for my altitude and still ended up with syrup.

Recently having a lawn full of untreated Dandelions and seeing a recipe for Dandelion Jelly by Gail Martin on eHow.com, I was determined to try making jelly again. I finally have figured out the secret to making jelly at 3300 feet and dry climate. This method “should” work at higher altitudes and for other types of jelly.



I have used the ingredients from Gail’s old family recipe but have changed the process drastically. If you are at sea level or below 1000 feet, are at a higher altitude but have experienced success in making jelly, and/or prefer to seal your jars with paraffin, please visit Gail’s recipe and method at this address How To Make Dandelion Jelly Gail writes primarily about how to do things “the old fashion way”, before the days of modern conveniences.

If all your attempts at jelly have produced syrup, read on.

What you will need:

Ingredients:

Wash jars and rings in hot soapy water or in dishwasher and air dry.

Pick large, healthy Dandelion blossoms while open for ease of removing petals. There are two methods to remove the petals. If you have a strawberry huller, grab the thick green base with one hand while holding the petals with your other hand. Pinch and slightly twist. You will feel the petals give way. Pull them from the base.











The other method involves rolling the base between your thumb and forefinger until you feel the petals give way and pulling the petals off. This method will give you some very sore and stained fingers by the time you have a quart of petals.





This is the base with the petals removed. It is edible but not usually used in wine or sweet recipes such as jelly or syrup as it can add a bitter flavor.


As you fill your container with petals, they will settle under their own fragile weight. When you have about 3/4 , fluff the petals with your hand to see how many you really have. You will probably be close to 1 quart.


Have your 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.

Add petals to a large pot with 2 quarts water. Bring to a hard boil. Boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and carefully strain juice from petals through a strainer or fine sieve.

Add 3 cups of Dandelion juice to the cooking pot. Sprinkle and dissolve the pectin.

From here on, instructions and times will vary from the instructions with your pectin.

Bring to a hard boil using the 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 can not be stirred down. When candy thermometer reaches 212F, boil for 1 minute and add flavor extract and food coloring.
CAUTION: If your extracts contain alcohol, syrup will bubble up drastically and spit hot syrup. Take precautions to avoid being burned from splattering hot syrup.
Return to a 212F hard, rolling boil for another 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Mixture will still be thin like syrup but you should notice that it coats the spoon.

Fill the jars to 1/4” from the top. Add lids and rings, tightening slightly.

Load 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 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 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 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.

Variations:

Try other flavorings. I used 1 tsp. unsweetened Kool-Aid to make Dandelion Grape jelly that is very tasty. I wonder how Watermelon or Kiwi-Strawberry Kool-Aid flavoring would taste.

The original recipe calls for yellow food coloring to brighten the yellow indicator of Dandelion blossom. After making both orange and lemon flavor, I wish I had thought to make the orange flavor orange color. Obviously, the grape Kool-Aid variation required no additional color.

It is not recommended to double the recipe or use pint 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 this recipe actually gives you enough Dandelion juice to make two batches of 6-7 8 oz. jars. I had enough juice to make six batches (36 8 oz. jars!) so I got brave. The first double batch pint jars came out okay but was a soft set. For the next batch, 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!