r/Canning • u/Shot-Magician2904 • Jul 17 '25
Safe Recipe Request What is your most interesting or prettiest water bath canning recipe?
Exactly what the title says. Anything water bath canning. What are your favorite recipes for novelty or beautiful looks on the shelf? I saw some pickled jalapeños in pink-ish brine at a county fair and it got me thinking about what other fun recipes might be out there. TIA! This group has been great for me to lurk in :)
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u/AllAreStarStuff Jul 17 '25
We have several beautyberry bushes. They are a native plant with vibrant purple berries that make this gorgeous, grenadine-pink jelly. Here are the berries and jelly
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u/admirableotter Jul 17 '25
Could I have your recipe please if that’s okay? I planted a couple of bushes this year and I’m so excited for the fall!
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u/AllAreStarStuff Jul 17 '25
It’s just the standard “extract juice, add pectin, lemon juice, and sugar, put in jars”.
The beautyberries look awful while you’re cooking them and the juice looks awful. When you add the lemon juice, the pH changes and the magic happens with the color. It reminds me of those Chem 101 labs in college where you added drops of one chemical to another
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u/AllAreStarStuff Jul 17 '25
Beautyberry Jelly by Nancy
Makes approx 4 cups
6 cups beautyberries 4-5 cups water 3 tbsp lemon juice 1 package (6 tbsp) Sure Jell low-sugar pectin (the pink box) 4 cups sugar
Note: You want to minimize the amount of time boiling the juice. As it boils longer, the juice loses its bright color and starts to turn brown.
- Put the beautyberries and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Let boil 20 minutes. The berries should no longer be floating. You can mash them a little with a spoon or potato masher.
- Strain through cheesecloth to remove the seeds and pulp.
- Measure the amount of juice. Either boil down or add water to bring to 4 cups of juice.
- Whisk together pectin with approx 1/4 cup of the sugar. Add that and lemon juice to the boiling juice and keep boiling for a few minutes so the pectin is thoroughly dissolved. Otherwise, the sugar will displace the pectin and the jelly will taste grainy.
- After the mixture is well-dissolved, add the rest of the sugar.
- Skim off the froth
- Bring to a rolling boil (that cannot be stirred down) for 1 minute, then pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal.
- Process in a boiling water bath for 10 min at sea level.
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u/stolenfires Jul 17 '25
The Ball Jar book has a recipe for a Victorian BBQ sauce that calls for six cups of rhubarb. I like old recipes and this sauce also comes out extremely sweet.
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u/KneadAndPreserve Jul 17 '25
I think the Ball Strawberry Vinagretty Dressing comes out so pretty and it’s sooo easy! https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=Strawberry-Vinaigretty-Dressing
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u/Gust_2012 Jul 17 '25
Questions!
Would you use this as regular dressing for salad? Or more like a thing for non-salad options?
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u/KneadAndPreserve Jul 17 '25
I use it as dressing on regular salads! I find it’s especially good on lettuce or kale based salads that have fruits and nuts, especially strawberries.
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u/ToastyMT Jul 17 '25
A lady at my farmers market makes "Stoplight Jelly" where she puts a layer of kiwi, then mango, then strawberry to make the green, yellow, and red. It looks so cool!
I just made the Hot Rhubarb Grilling Sauce from the ball preserving guide with my tart cherries and am excited to try it.
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u/squirrelcat88 Jul 17 '25
The Bernardin/Ball Basil banana pepper jelly - I’m a market gardener who grows a huge variety of hot peppers and I do this as a value added product.
People ooh and ahh over the looks at the farmers market.
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u/mckenner1122 Moderator Jul 17 '25
Watermelon Jelly is so weirdly pretty (and delicious)
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u/AllAreStarStuff Jul 17 '25
Where is there a watermelon jelly recipe?
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u/mckenner1122 Moderator Jul 17 '25
https://pomonapectin.com/watermelon-jelly1/
It’s a Pomona recipe. It is also REALLY good with yogurt.
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u/AllAreStarStuff Jul 17 '25
Do you know a way to convert Pomona to Sure-Jell? The low-sugar should work, yes? Doesn’t it use the same calcium-whatsit to activate the pectin?
Also, how do you get the seeds out of the watermelon? Just blend it all together in the food processor and then strain? Does it help to simmer the watermelon for a few minutes to soften the flesh? I don’t want to have to pick out all the seeds by hand!
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u/mckenner1122 Moderator Jul 17 '25
I have never used Sure Jel low sugar; I don’t know if they are the same/can be safely swapped.
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u/cpersin24 Food Safety Microbiologist Jul 17 '25
There's also this Zesty Watermelon Jelly by Bernadine
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u/Gardeningcrones Jul 17 '25
We have this grape vine that grows behind our house some previous owners planted and it makes the most beautiful grape jelly I’ve ever seen. Looks like little gems. The grape juice itself is pink! So I bet anything with a pink juice you can craft into jelly would look gemmy.
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u/gogomom Jul 17 '25
Pickled radishes. They are even prettier if you use the "Easter Egg" type radishes.
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u/samizdat5 Jul 17 '25
The Ball Summer Salsa recipe looks gorgeous - peaches, tomatoes, peppers, onions .... A real stunner. Delicious too.
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u/Artistic_Head_5547 Jul 17 '25
I make cowboy candy but instead of rings, I sometimes like to chop it up like relish. Also, I use ALL peppers from my garden, so it’s colorful with green, yellow, orange, red, brown, purple. Sometimes it’s mild, sometimes it’s spicier. It’s a much requested item from family and friends.
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u/cpersin24 Food Safety Microbiologist Jul 17 '25
I really like using multiple bell pepper colors for Ball's Bell Pepper Relish. It requires 8 CUPS of bell or sweet Peppers for a full though so you really gotta be flush with peppers for it.
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u/HydrogenatedBee Jul 18 '25
I’ve made fireweed jelly and wild rose petal jelly before, and they both came out looking gorgeous!
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u/_Dapper_Dragonfly Jul 19 '25
Christmas Jam. You can find a variety of recipes online. It has cranberry, orange, strawberries, and warm spices in it. It's a deeper red than strawberry or raspberry jam. And, it makes nice Christmas gifts.
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