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Do you know you can turn your favorite summer snack into watermelon jelly?
Summertime is here. When I imagine summer, I think of my blooming garden, hours swimming at the lake, picnics, and watermelon. Watermelon is, by far, one of my favorite fruits. It is juicy, sweet, and messy, the perfect combination for a treat.
Connor absolutely loves watermelon. He can eat so much of it, I swear he will BECOME a watermelon!
A year ago, I knew I wanted to preserve watermelon, but how? Canning watermelon slices won’t work. Then I realized, why not make a jelly out of watermelon? It is amazing.
You do need a juicer or at least a way to get the juice out of the watermelon without the pulp. That could mean blending and straining the watermelon.
We just happen to have a juicer, which makes the process easier. If you plan to make a lot of jellies, I suggest you get a juicer. You can use it to make grape jelly, strawberry jelly, and so much more!
Start to finish, it takes me less than an hour to make watermelon jelly.
*It is important to note that watermelon is higher on the acidity scale, which means you must add acid to the recipe to safely water bath this recipe.
Watermelon Jelly
A sweet and delicious jelly made from watermelon juice is a treat your whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Watermelon Juice
- 4 Cups Sugar
- 1 Box Low-Sugar Pectin
- 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
Instructions
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Juice the watermelon or blend then strain the mixture. Put the juice into a pot and turn on medium/high heat to boil.
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Allow the watermelon juice to boil, stirring frequently. Since watermelon contains so much water, you need to cook it longer than normal. Make sure you stir so that it doesn't burn.
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Next, Mix the box of pectin with one cup of sugar. I use low sugar pectin because 8 cups of sugar for the regular pectin is just too much. You'll lose the flavor of the watermelon.
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Stir in the pectin and sugar mixture. Then, slowly add the rest of the sugar, stirring well after each cup.
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Let the liquid come back to a rolling boil and boil for 1-2 minutes while stirring continuously.
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Remove from heat and ladle into jars. You will typically get 7 to 8 half-pint jars with one recipe.
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Finally, water bath can for 5 minutes. Remove from the canner and place on a dry towel on the counters. Let cool for 12 hours before disturbing.
Have you ever tried watermelon jelly? It is a top seller for me because my friends and family love it for its unique flavor.
Supplies to Make Watermelon Jelly
For a complete list of canning supplies, take a look at my guide to gather canning supplies!
- Breville Juice Fountain Juice Extractor
- Norpro Canning Essentials – 6 Piece Set
- Granite Ware Preserving Canner
- Kraft Sure Jelly Light Fruit Pectin
- 15-Pack Mason Jars
Are you excited to make watermelon jelly this year? I am!
It tastes real good but it didn’t set. I used a half a water melon and I got 10 cups. I’m going to try again using only 4 cups.
When you used 10 cups of watermelon juice, did you also add double the amount of pectin and sugar? The amount of pectin used is based on the amount of liquid or fruit. So, you have to increase those if you want to increase the liquid amount.
The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of lemon juice but I can’t find anywhere in the instructions that says when to add it. I am assuming you would add it to the watermelon juice?
Yes! I thought I added it to the recipe, so I need to change that. Thanks for the heads-up!
I’m looking to try this but I’m confused when it says a box of pectin as there are many different size boxes. How much do I need to add as in measurement – like how many tablespoons or how big of a cup or oz, etc.
So, when I use a box of pectin, I use the Low-Sugar by Sure Jell. It’s in a pink box that you can find in almost any grocery store. It’s usually around 6 tablespoons
Great recipe. Tried it loved it! Tried a couple others on Pintrest this one is the simplest most straight forward instructions. And I thought it was the best one. A lot of them the sugar overpowers the watermelon flavor. Great job!
Thank you! I’m so glad that you tried it. I tried several other recipes too, and the amount of sugar overpowered the taste of the watermelon. Watermelon flavor doesn’t stand up well in too much sugar, and I wanted that flavor to shine. I love straightforward recipes – we don’t have time for complicated, right?!
How long are you suppose to cook watermelon juice before adding sugar and pectin.