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And we have home canning, preserving, drying and freezing directions. You can access recipes and other resources from the drop down menus at the top of the page or the site search. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to write me! Also make your own ice cream; see How to make ice cream and ice cream making equipment and manuals. Have fun, eat healthier and better tasting, and save money by picking your own locally grown fruit and vegetables, and then using our easy directions
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Yield: 7 to 9 pint jars
Click here for a PDF print version
Making and canning your own
Ingredients
Equipment
Directions - Step by Step
Step 1 - Pick the pomegranates! (or buy them already
picked)
It's hard to find places to pick your own pomegranates, so most people will use store-bought . You can use frozen or bottled Pomegranate juice and skip the steps about preparing the pomegranates and making the juice, sieving, etc.
Step 2 - How much fruit?
Pomegranate Jelly can ONLY be made in rather small batches - about 6 cups at a time - like the directions on the pectin say, DO NOT increase the recipes or the pomegranate jelly won't "set" (jell, thicken). As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use either 6 to 8 fresh pomegranates or 5 cups of pomegranate juice (either bottled or reconstituted from frozen concentrate) without added sugar. Using pomegranate juice is especially useful if you want to make some pomegranate jelly in December to give away at Christmas!
Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids
Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.
NOTE: If a canning recipe calls for 10 minutes or more of process time in the canner, then the jars do not need to be "sanitized" before filling them.
But really, sanitizing them first is just good hygeine and common sense! See this page for more detail about cleaning and sanitizing jars and lids.
Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 10 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.
Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jelly.
Step 3 - Measure out the sugar
Check the directions with the pectin; typically, with regular pectin, it is 7 cups of sugar to 5 cups of pomegranate juice and one box of pectin. I prefer to use the no-sugar-needed pectin and then reduce the sugar to 4.5 cups. That produces the best taste, set and color . I also usually add an additional 1/4 box of pectin because I like a firm set. Mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar and Keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. If you are not using sugar, you will just have to stir more vigorously to prevent the pectin from clumping. Set both aside until step 8.
Step 4 -Wash the pomegranates!
I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the pomegranates in a large bowl under running plain cold water.
Step 5 - Cut cup the pomegranates!
Step -
Step 9 - Get the lids heating
If you didn't do so already, put the lids into a pan of hot water for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.
Need lids, rings and replacement jars?
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Step 10 - Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil
When the
pomegranate-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the rest of the sugar (about
6 cups of sugar per 5 cup batch of pomegranate juice; 4 cups of sugar if you
are using the low or no-sugar pectin) and then bring it back to
a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
Step 11 - Testing for
"jell" (thickness)
I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jelly is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1/4 to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute.
Step 12 - Fill the jars and put the lid and
rings on
Fill them to within 1/4-inch of the top, wipe any spilled jelly off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put the filled jars into the canner!
This is where the jar tongs come in really handy!
Step 13 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath
Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water
boiling. In general, boil them for 5 minutes, which is what SureJell (the
makers of the pectin) recommend. I say "in general" because you have
to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you
use larger jars, or if you did not sanitize the jars and lids right before
using them. The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you
exactly - and see the Table below for altitude differences. The directions on the pectin tend to be
pretty conservative.
Note: Some people don't even boil the jars; they just ladle it hot into hot jars, put the lids and rings on and invert them, but putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLY helps to reduce spoilage! To me, it makes little sense to put all the working into making the
jelly and then not to process the jars to be sure they don't spoil!
| Table 1. Recommended process time for Pomegranate Jelly in a boiling water canner. | ||||
| Process Time at Altitudes of | ||||
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | 0 - 1,000 ft | 1,001 - 6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
| Hot | Half-pints or Pints |
10 min | 15 | 20 |
Step 14 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!
Lift the jars out of the water with your jar lifter tongs and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.
Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!
Other Equipment:
|
From left to right:
|
Canning Supplies Starter Kit - Canning Jar Lifter, Canning funnel, Scissor Tongs, more |
 |
Summary - Cost of Making Homemade Pomegranate Jam - makes 6, possibly 7 jars, 8 oz each** |
||||
| Item | Quantity | Cost in 2026 | Source | Subtotal |
| Pomegranates | 9 whole or 5 cups of juice | $6.00 for 1 quart bottle of juice | Pick your own | $7.50 |
| Canning jars (8 oz size), includes lids and rings | 6 jars | $8.50/dozen 8 oz jars | Grocery stores, like Public, Kroger, Safeway and sometimes, Big Lots, local hardware stores and big box stores | $3.75 |
| Sweetener - see step 4 | 4.5 cups | $2.00 | Grocery stores, like Public, Kroger, Safeway and sometimes, Big Lots, local hardware stores and big box stores | $2.00 |
| Pectin (no-sugar, low sugar or regular, dry) | 1 and a third boxes * | $1.60 per box |
Publix, Kroger |
$2.08 |
| Total | $15.33 total or about $2.55 per jar |
|||
| * pectin use varies - blackberry
jam needs very little, raspberry a little more, strawberry the most.
** - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles,, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars! Many products are sold in jars that will take the lids and rings for canning. For example, Classico Spaghetti sauce is in quart sized jars that work with Ball and Kerr lids and rings- some authorities do not recommend these, saying they are more prone to break, and while I have found that is true of mayonnaise jars, I have found the Classico spaghetti jars to be pretty sturdy. |
||||
Feedback and Comments
- A visitor writes on October 07, 2013: "I have recently gotten access to pomegranates & wanted to thank you for this web site. I have been an avid canner for years but never knew the secret to testing the jelly before canning it. This will save me an incredible amount of time & energy. Your instructions were clear and very easy to understand. I will use it as a wonderful tool for all my canning needs. Thank you again. Kelly"
- Comments from a visitor on November 09, 2012: "Just wanted to say that I have canned jams for years and finally have access to pomegranates. So I look at the internet and came upon your site for pomegranate jelly. Your directions are spot on and so helpful to me in preparation to making my jelly. I just wanted to say thank you b/c I feel this is becoming a lost art and your information would help someone who would want to try this and had no one to show them what to do. PS.....do you know that all these years I have grabbed those stupid lids out of the small pot with tongs!!! I never thought of a magnet and haven't had to buy equipment in years so I never noticed the magnet idea. LOL!!! Anyway. Thanks from this country at heart but citified California girl."
Picking Tips
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about apple varieties - which to pick and why!] [Picking tips for Vegetables]
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Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes
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