Plum-perplexed!

Our plum crop having given out--and been given out--I juiced the ones I kept until I had enough for two batches of jelly. Saturday afternoon I set about the task and found an old movie on Turner Classic to watch while I did so.

I had on hand from last year a box of Ball pectin. The date was still good so I bought a box of Sure-Jell for the other batch. I really like to use the less-sugar versions of these products, but I could find neither. Could find neither last year either. (Try saying that out loud a few times.) I could find the no-sugar, but yech!

I laid out all my utensils first: big pot for the juice, bowl to pre-measure the sugar into, whisk, funnel, measuring cup, spatula, old kitchen towels on two counters--one for the jars to be filled on and the other for them to rest upon--the approximate number of half-pint jars, which went promptly into the dishwasher to be clean and hot, and the pot for bringing all the bands and lids to simmer.

Then I looked at the recipes. Well, wasn't this interesting. While both products called for 5 1/2 cups of juice, Sure-Jell used 1 cup less sugar! Both jelly methods were the same and no lemon juice was needed.

Skeptic that I am, I then proceeded to divide the jars so that one product went into one kind and the other into another. I surveyed the other recipes. They lined up exactly only on currants. Sometimes, juice and sugar varied, other times, only one.

Both jellies were bright pink, but the Ball, which used the most sugar, was setting to a jell before I had it all poured in. That will be what's donated to the Library fall bazaar. The Sure-Jell has taken a bit longer, but appears to be setting. Gifts for understanding friends and family.