Mayhaw Jelly

Grandma Frieda ALWAYS had mayhaw jelly....ALWAYS!! It is simply wonderful stuff, if you have never tried it, you have been missing out. A few years ago, when Mayhaws became hard to come by, my Dad planted some mayhaw bushes out by the canal on the farm. They are now mature plants and are making mayhaws like crazy! The freezer was still full of mayhaws from last year, and the fresh mayhaws will be getting ripe in a month or so, so it is time to make jelly! I do not have Grandma Frieda's recipe, so I went on-line and got a recipe from The Mayhaw Association. It comes out just as good as hers! It is really easy to make the jelly...it's getting the juice that is the hard work!

To get your juice, cook mayhaws in just enough water to get them going. Cook until the berries pop and release their juice. Smash the mayhaws as they are cooking, so you can get as much flavor out of them as possible! Once they have been cook and mashed, it is time to start straining. (this is the yucky part) I start with a collander over a large pot, ladle in the juice and berries, pressing down as you go to get has much of the juice out as possble. This step will remove all the large pieces, skins and stems. Now we strain again, this time through a wire mesh strainer, to remove any last bits of skins and stems. Now we strain again, this time through a wire mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth. You can also do this step with cone paint strainers. Now let you juice cool over night in the refrigerator and all the impuities will stettle to the bottom. Ladle off the juice trying to get only the clear juice at the top of the container. The part at the bottom can be strained again through cheese cloth. You goal is to get clear juice with as few impurities as possible, that way you will have clear sparkling jelly!!

There are other methods for getting the juice, this is just what I have found works best for me. My grandmother used what she called "a chinaman's cap". It is a large cone shaped strainer. Other people use a "hanging bag method". All the cooked fruit is poured into a large muslin bag, which is tied closed and hung over a pot so that the juice seeps slowly out of it, keeping all the impurities in the bag.

Now to make the jelly....

5 cups mayhaw juice
5 cups sugar
1 box sure jell
1/2 t butter

Stir sure jell into the juice, add butter. Bring to a full roiling boil, skim off any foam that forms(foam will make your jelly cloudy). Stir in the sugar and bring back to a full rolling boil. Boil 2 minutes. Ladle into steralized jars, and seal according to lable directions.