Pomegranates are perfect for the holidays. They ripen in November just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pomegranate salad was a tradition in my home growing up. One tradition I have tried to keep up. But… pomegranate jelly was was my favorite! It’s beautiful ruby red color is perfect for the holidays. And it tastes amazing! My all time favorite jelly!
Pomegranate Jelly
Just as beautiful and delicious is pomegranate syrup! This syrup is wonderful on waffles with butter milk syrup, pancakes, French toast or crepes. It’s also great added into your favorite shake or used to flavor a vinaigrette dressing for your favorite holiday salad.
So the recipe is an adaption from the Strawberry Syrup recipe in The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving .
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| Always bring to a full rolling boil that can’t be stirred down |
Pomegranate Syrup
Makes 5 pints
6 cups pomegranate juice
6 cups sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup bottled lemon juice
Combine juice, sugar, corn syrup, and lemon juice. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute.
Ladle hot syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe jar rims. Center the lid and adjust lids to finger tip tight. Process jars 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. At my altitude, I had 10 minutes. After processing for given time, turn off heat, remove lid and leave the jars in the canner for 10 more minutes. Then remove jars and allow them to cool. Before storing, remove the rings. Label and enjoy!
Juicing Pomegranates
You can use unsweetened pomegranate juice from the grocery store. You can also juice your own pomegranates. My brother has 40 pomegranate bushes and juices every year in November. Gratefully he shares the juice with me. You can freeze the juice in smaller portions for use later. If you are going to use the juice then allow it to rest for 24 hours. You will see the sediment or solids settle to the bottom. When measuring the juice do not pour or use the sediment. The sediment will produce a cloudy jelly or syrup. To be safe pour juice through 2 layers of cheesecloth when measuring.
If you have only a few pomegranates to juice you can use a heavy duty citrus juicer. Juicing is messy. I recommend doing it outside. Pomegranate juice stains clothes and your hands, but fresh juice is worth the effort or your brothers efforts.
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| My brother juices into recycled plastic which you can freeze in or repackage in canning jars in smaller portions for use later. You can freeze in wide mouth pint jars just leave 1″ headspace. You could also freeze in freezer bags. |
