Picking Currents

"Come, help me pick." I looked up and she handed me a bowl. Off to the garden we went to stoop and peer under leaves, delicately plucking tiny scarlet berries. I love current jelly and my sister is growing them with the hope of one day having enough to make some. It takes 7 quarts to make one batch, so, this is going to take years, even though she now has 3 bushes. She picks them a bowl at a time, washes and freezes them. I have fond memories of picking currents and gooseberries at my aunt's place. She sold out years ago, I hope the new owners didn't pull those old bushes out.

Queen Anne's Lace Jelly

I opened the envelope from my aunt to find a yellowed newspaper clipping with a recipe for Queen Anne's Lace Jelly. I love old-timey recipes, so I had to make it. It is has a very light lemony flavor and is the palest of pink. Everytime I see these flowers I think of her and this recipe.

2C. very firmly packed flower heads cut from the stems.
4 3/4 C boiling water
3 1/2 C sugar divided
1 Pkg powdered pectin (SureJell)
4 1/2 T strained lemon juice

Slosh the flowers through cold water to remove all of the bugs. (There will be lots. I ended up letting the flower heads soak in cold water.) Drain and cover with boiling water. Cover the container and let steep for 15-30 minutes. Strain. (You are basically making a tea.)

Measure 4 1/2 C of the strained infusion into a large kettle. Mix 1/4 C sugar with pectin and stir in remaining sugar. Boil 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. skim the foam from the top of the jelly with a metal spoon. Immediately pour into hot, clean jars and cover with lids. Cool, then refrigerate.

To make the jelly shelf-stable process the jars for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

The jelly is very soft, so the last time I made it I used 2 pkgs of SureJell instead of one.