Making Jelly

The entire cohort of Harty sibs (my family) were fortunate enough to grow up with parents whose life on the farm imparted to us certain rapidly disappearing skills, among them making jelly.  On his last visit here, my brother raided a neighbor's blueberry patch and left us two jars of his best jam (pictured)

The side of Little Cone, outside of Telluride, is covered with wild rose bushes that, in the fall, yield a bumper crop of rose hips.  Unlike their robust cousins from the East, these hips are small and hard to pick, buried as they are amidst thorns that have not been tamed for commercial purposes.  It takes hours to pick enough hips to make jelly and because I never remember gloved, my hands are left scratched an bleeding.

But what a joy to spend an autumn morning picking and the afternoon, especially if the mountains grace me with the gift of a storm, cooking up rose colored jelly to pass on to family and friends.    Here's a recipe if you want to give it a try:

4 quarts rose hips
5 quarts water (add more if needed to fully cover the fruit)

Wash and stem the rose hips, then boil until soft.  Mash (or process) the rose hips and strain through cloth to produce rose hip water.

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
1 cup golden raisins


Add the apples and raisins to the water and cook on reduced heat until the apples are tender and the raisins are plump

6 cups (or thereabouts) of sugar)
1/2 c chopped walnuts
Pectin according to box directions (1-2 pouches, depending on the acidity of the fruit.  Too little pectin will result in loose jelly)


Add sugar to the mixture and bring to a rolling boil and continue to cook for several minutes until mixture thickens a bit.  Add nuts and pectin and continue on heat for another minute.  Put into clean, sterile jars, close with lids and process in a hot water bath.