Port Wine Jelly - Really, truly, very good....

Even jerks have good ideas sometimes.  I went on a few dates with a guy who ended up being weird, but I was telling him about my hobby one day (with a bit of embarrassment, people in Southern California think canning your own food and making jam and jelly is a bit hokey) and he being a self-important, self-described "oenophile" suggested I try making jelly out of port wine (Imagine him saying this whilst sipping on a Pinot Noir with his pinky pointing outwards and his jaw clenched as he spoke).  Now, I am not much of a port drinker, but I thought with its sweetness that it was a great idea.  And it was.  I thought I was rather clever, in fact, making port wine jelly.  Then a quick google search brought me down to Planet Earth when I discovered dozens of recipes for port wine jelly.  Well...la-dee-dah!!  Mine turned out amazing, I must say I am quite proud of it!

I used the recipe from Mes Confitures, by Christine Ferber, "Pinot Noir Jelly."  I simply substituted the port wine in place of pinot noir.  I am wondering if other people have tried some of her recipes?  The apple juice never seems to be enough pectin for the jelly to gel.  I always end up having to add commercial pectin.  Thoughts?  Can I save a bunch of time by just using pectin in the first place?  Skip the whole apple-cooking, straining, waiting overnight thing?  I have a feeling it wouldn't taste as good or be as delicate...but I don't know.  At any rate, this jelly is one of my favorites, the port is on the nose as soon as you open the jar, but berry flavors take over with the perfect amount of sweetness on the lips.  It went great with whole grain toast.  I believe this would also be delicious on dinner crackers with a mellow cheese and a glass of red wine.  I could credit Mr. Jerk-face with this recipe, but I won't.  It's way too good for that!  Enjoy! xo, AB

Mes Confitures Gewurtztraminer Wine Jelly

Heaven on Earth.  Once it is done, and you have exorcised your jam and jelly demons, that is.  For my birthday last month, my beautiful friend Midget gave me a lovely book called Mes Confitures by the renowned pastry chef, Christine Ferber, who is equally well-known for her exquisite jams and jellies.

Stunning

It is a good thing that this jelly turned out stunningly beautiful and absolutely the most interesting and tasty jelly I have ever placed on my tongue because if it hadn't...I may have cried.  But it did and it was.  This recipe popped out to me (and I will be using more of the elegant recipes from Mes Confitures to experiment and learn) because it sounded fresh, crisp, and delicious, just like the apples and white wine required to make it, and because...who can go wrong with some good wine as an ingredient?

The recipe called for 1-3/4 pounds of Granny Smith apples, wine, water, sugar, orange zest, and juice from one lemon.  Sounded easy enough, but after cooking 1-3/4 cups of apples and sifting them through a sieve laced in cheesecloth, I had exactly 1/2 cup of juice and the recipe goes on to say you need 2 cups + 1 ounce of juice to complete the recipe.  I went back to the store twice to get enough apples to create that much juice...3 days later, I make my mixture. 

Apples cooking

Next day, it hadn't set.  In fact, it looked like liquid.  Argh!  I worked too hard to make another syrup, so I popped off the lids, threw them away, re-boiled the mixture with pectin, re-sealed the jars...and voila!  8 perfect half-pints of paradise...okay, second time around it only filled seven 8-oz. jars + one 4-oz jar and I ate the remaining 2 ounces with a spoon like it was Jell-O.  Mmmm....

You know you want some.

In re-hashing my experience with Grandma Irma, she informed me that if I had just left the poor little jars alone that the jelly would likely have set and I wouldn't have wasted my time or my lids or pectin (Granny Smith apples have a very high pectin content).  I chalked it up to a learning experience.  I am no Christine Ferber, and I am surely no Grandma Irma. 

My only suggestions if you undergo this recipe are these:  1)  Buy at least 10-15 Granny Smith Apples.  If you have more than enough, bake a pie with the remaining or eat with hot caramel; and  2)  Buy 2 bottles of wine, not 1, and drink one while you work.  This will keep you calm when things don't go as planned.  xo, A.

One for me, One for you.