How to make and preserve watermelon jelly: A summer delight

Jars right out of the canner

When the watermelons in our garden all ripen at once, there’s only so much fresh watermelon we can eat ;) Turning some of it into jelly is my favorite way to keep that summer flavor for the rest of the year. It’s sweet, a little tangy from the white balsamic, and such a pretty color in the jar. It’s an easy one, too, so it’s great if you’re new to preserving.

Why make watermelon jelly?

It’s a great way to use up a big watermelon when you have more than you can eat fresh. I love it on toast, swirled into yogurt, as a glaze for chicken or pork, and on a cheese board. And a jar makes a lovely little gift. If you grow melons too, my homemade melonchello is the grown-up way to use them ;)

What you’ll need

Ingredients

• 2 cups watermelon juice (from about 6 cups chopped watermelon, rind removed)

• 5 cups granulated sugar

• ½ cup white balsamic vinegar (white wine or apple cider vinegar also work)

• 4 tablespoons bottled lemon juice

• 2 pouches (3 oz / 85 ml each) liquid pectin

Makes about 6 quarter-pint jars.

This is the tested Ball/Bernardin Zesty Watermelon Jelly, just without the lemongrass. That’s only for flavor, so it’s optional: if you like, add a chopped stem with the sugar and take it out before filling the jars.

Equipment

• Water bath canner (or a deep pot with a rack)

• Quarter-pint (about 125 ml / 4 oz) mason jars with new two-piece lids

• Canning funnel and ladle

• Jar lifter

• Fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth

• Blender

How I make and can watermelon jelly

Freshly harvested watermelon from the garden

1. Make the watermelon juice

I use a ripe watermelon from our garden. Mine have seeds, so I pick them out as I cube the flesh (no rind). Then I blend the cubes raw until smooth and strain the juice through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove the pulp (this takes about 2 hours). Measure exactly 2 cups of juice. If you’re a little short, blend a bit more watermelon or top it up with up to ¼ cup of unsweetened white grape juice.

2. Cook the jelly

Pour the watermelon juice into a large, deep stainless steel saucepan and stir in the lemon juice, vinegar and all the sugar.

3. Add the pectin

Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring to a full rolling boil that can’t be stirred down. Stir in the liquid pectin and boil hard for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off the foam.

Tip: Jelly made with liquid pectin keeps setting as it cools, so don’t worry if it still looks runny when you fill the jars. It can take a day or two (sometimes longer) to fully set ;)

4. Prepare the jars

While your jelly is cooking, wash your jars and keep them hot in simmering water until you fill them. Get your lids and bands ready, too.

5. Fill the jars

Use a canning funnel to ladle the hot jelly into hot quarter-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, then place the lids on and screw the bands on fingertip-tight.

6. Process in a water bath

Place the filled jars on a rack in your water bath canner with at least 1 inch of water over the tops. Bring it to a rolling boil and then start the timer: 15 minutes for quarter-pint or half-pint jars if you’re between 1,001 and 3,000 feet (I’m at 2,273 feet, so 15 minutes it is), 10 minutes at 1,000 feet or below, 20 minutes between 3,001 and 6,000 feet, or 25 minutes between 6,001 and 8,000 feet. More on that in my altitude chart.

7. Cool and store

Turn off the heat, take the lid off the canner and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes. Then lift them out with a jar lifter onto a towel on the counter and let them cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours (you’ll hear the lids pop as they seal ;), then check the seals (the lids shouldn’t flex when you press the center). Take the bands off, label your jars (I use removable labels) and store them in a cool, dark place. For the best flavor, use them within a year. Any jar that didn’t seal goes in the fridge; use it within a few weeks.

Enjoy your homemade watermelon jelly

Spread it on toast, drizzle it over ice cream or pair it with a strong cheese. A little jar of summer on even the coldest winter day ;)

More jams to try: my strawberry jam with a splash of rum, my grape jam, a simple pear jam, my apple cinnamon jam with local apples and a spicy tomato and jalapeño jam.

Happy preserving!