It's my day for cooking adventures. Hey eichin!

[cjsmith]

While the aforementioned chicken marinade was in the oven, I read kitiara's post about canning. She mentioned Mountain Dew jelly.

Yes folks, it's made from Mountain Dew.

This I had to try. As soon as the chicken was safely out of the oven I ran to the grocery store for the things I didn't have: Mountain Dew, sugar in case I didn't have enough, pectin, and jelly jars.

No, I've never made any kind of jelly before, nor canned anything at all, in my life. Funny you should ask. I spent some time stuck on the idea that I needed three really big pots. kitiara graciously told me I could do a lot of this in shifts.

Step 1: Sterilize the jars by boiling, then keep them hot until ready to use. I decided that my kitchen sink filled with almost-boiling water would make a fairly good heatmass. Finally all the jars were sitting in hot water, along with their lids, and the rims with the screw-threads were sitting on the countertop to dry. No, my countertop is not sterile. Quit asking distracting questions.

Step 2: Make the GOOOOOO. I had no idea Mountain Dew could dissolve more than its own volume of granulated sugar. I am now deeply disturbed by this knowledge.

Step 3: Into the jars! Yes, the jars that are sitting in water so hot I don't want to stick my hand in. I must have messed up somewhere along the line. I barely got five jars of jelly, while I think kitiara got twelve. I tasted the drippings. Lemony!

Step 4: Boil the jars again. I think this propitiates the gods of lid-sealing. I bowed to the pot a few times just to be sure.

Step 5: Use telekinesis to get the jars out of the boiling water and onto a towel to cool. I cheated and used oven gloves with plastic grocery bags around them.

So now I have pretty yellow jelly - caffeinated jelly, no less! - and a whole bunch of extra Mountain Dew I get to drink.

Comments

[kitiara.livejournal.com]

I am also very disturbed at the dissolving of the dew. I set aside my huge bowl of sugar and thought "no way is that stuff gonna dissolve." It did. I am afraid.

For step four, the heat is what seals the lids on. You'll hear them go "pop!" one at a time as they seal. To test them, just press on the lid. If it gives, they need to go in the fridge and be eaten. If it doesn't give, you're good for the apocalypse. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh good, THAT'S what those pops were! I was hoping they weren't UNsealing. But I can tell that all the lids are just a tiny bit concave.

Not that it matters much. I'm not good for five jars of jelly no matter how tasty it is. I know some friends who'll help eat 'em quickly. :-)