Guava Jelly
Why I Love This Recipe
This is my Mama's recipe for Guava Jelly but my Grandmothers and Great-Grandmothers also made Guava Jelly in the days before fruit pectin was readily available and a long, slow boil was needed to thicken up the fruit and sugar. I'm a 5th generation Floridian and guavas were an important staple of Florida-style Southern cooking. The guava bushes often grew wild and plentiful near orange groves and river beds. The fragrant, tropical fruits were eaten fresh, made into jellies and cobblers, and even canned whole for later. My family's favorite way to eat guavas is the jelly and so I continue the tradition and make it almost every year.
Submitted by: "Laura Strickland"
Ingredients You'll Need
About 2 lbs of ripe guavas
2 1/4 cups of water
1/2 cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar (3 pounds)
1 envelope of Certo Fruit Pectin (or 1/2 a bottle)
Red food coloring, if desired (makes the jelly pink)
6 pint jars (or a dozen half pint jars) with lids and rings, sterilized
Paraffin wax, melted
Directions
Prepare the guava juice: place thinly sliced guavas and water in a pot and simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes. Cool. Crush fruit, place in cheese cloth or bag (a clean pillowcase will work) and squeeze out the juice until you render 3 1/2 cups of guava juice. Discard the fruit.
To make the jelly: Put measured juice, lemon juice and sugar in a LARGE pot. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it comes to a full boil, stir in Certo. Bring to a full, rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute (and it WILL swell as it boils so this is why a big pot is important). Remove from heat and add 2 or 3 drops of red food coloring, if desired. Skim off foam and quickly pour into jelly jars. Cover at once with 1/8 inch of melted paraffin and place lids and rings on jars tightly. Let stand until cool and jars seal (you will here them "ping" as they seal and the lids will be suctioned down on the jar). Refrigerate any jars of jelly that don't seal.
