I’ve been dying to try out canning for a few years now. It seems so wholesome and self-sufficient and all that, doesn’t it? I recently had the chance to try out a complete Home Canning Starter Kit from Bernardin and now I think I’m hooked. I even discovered a fun recipe perfect for beginners that made me feel like such an old pro at this canning stuff in a matter of minutes!
They gave me one of their starter kits to try out and I have to say it was just perfect. It’s everything a beginner needs to get started, but it has all the tools you need to take you through as you learn more and more about canning and get more and more adventurous.
Of course I had to come up with a fun recipe to try, even though it was only my first time. I mentioned the idea of this jelly recipe to Kennedy and she was so excited! So that settled it. This is a perfect no mess, no fuss type of jelly for when you’re just getting your feet wet.
I also think it’s perfect for this time of year. It has great end-of-Summer-and-into-Fall flavors and now I’ve got a whole batch just waiting to be enjoyed once the weather starts to cool down.
Here’s the easy-peasy recipe!
(Adapted from Taste of Home)
4 cups of Apple Juice
1/2 cup Cinnamon Heart Candies
1 package of Bernardin Pectin (57g)
4 1/2 cups of Sugar
That’s it!
In a large saucepan, mix the juice, candies, and pectin. Bring it to a full boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the sugar and bring it back to a boil. Boil for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Place the new lids on top of your jars and close them up with the metal bands until they’re just finger tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes. See how easy that was?
I only made 4 jars because I had these really pretty little jars that came with my kit, but I could have probably made 6-8 little jelly jars from this recipe quite easily. I just put the extras in the fridge to enjoy right now.
It really only took about 45 minutes including clean up! I can’t believe I waited so long to learn about canning!
Here’s how it all went down:
The kit arrived just like this all together in a big happy box.
Really simple, straightforward instructions were included. They really made it seem easier than anything else I’ve read online. Look how happy those ladies are on the front! It can’t be that hard if they’re laughing like that!
They also included a whole bunch of goodies for decorating the jars for gifting with my kit. Bernardin will be selling jar decorating kits at Canadian Tire stores in Canada starting in the fall. That’s how I managed to get my jars looking so cute, in case you were wondering. No decorating skills needed!
These cute jar labels are included in the kits too!
Speaking of jars, here’s a close of up the jars included with the kit.
I washed them and then warmed them up in the canner just like it said to in the instructions.
And speaking of the canner…
Isn’t it a beauty? I thought I was a little strange for being so in love with a big pot, but then Kennedy came home from camp and said “Oooo! Pretty! Did they really give this to you?” So the love of canning must be genetic.
I mixed up my simple recipe and got my canning complete in no time flat.
I may have stolen a candy or two along the way…
Here’s how it looked when it was all done! It really looks like it was done by someone who knows what they’re doing, doesn’t it? That’s the power of having the right tools!
Thank you so much to Bernardin for sponsoring this post and for providing me with the kit to help me fulfill all my canning dreams! Make sure you give the recipe a try. It’s a good one!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.