Red Currant Jelly

I'm so lucky!  My amazing Aunt Sherry gifted me a big bucket of red currants and her recipe for jelly!  I had to tweak it a tiny bit to get the sugar out but I think it turned out great. 

Just look at these things.... they are so beautiful.

Currants are kind of a pain to stem and clean.  At least they don't stain your hands.

Ingredients:

3 pounds of red currants, cleaned and stemmed
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
a piece of ginger root, bruised
3 cups water  (I substituted apple juice)
1 cup white wine vinegar (I used 1/2 cup rose vinegar and 1/2 half cup orange juice)
6 cups sugar  (I took this out completely and added some sure jell pectin instead)
 (butter If using pectin)

 Put the currants and spices into a saucepan with the apple juice and simmer until the currants are soft.  give them a spin in your blender to separate the seeds.  Strain the mixture through a jelly bag.  It will take an hour or two.   

Add the vinegar to the juice and bring to a boil.  (If you are using sugar add it now and stir until it is dissolved)  Add the pectin and about 1 T unsalted butter.  Bring to a rapid boil until the setting point is reached- about 20 minutes. 

Bottle in jars immediately, and seal.   This is a little work but it is SO worth it!  Not only is the color just spectacular, it made my house smell great for days.

Thanks Aunt Sherry!