Oregon Grape Jelly Recipe

Oregon Grape Jelly is a new-found favorite recipe! I love foraging wild foods whenever possible, and this one was so fun! I have seen these wild berries for the past several years during my outdoor adventures, and after some searching I discovered that they were called Oregon Grapes. But they grow on very small plants in our harsh climate, and I never could find enough to harvest. 

This fall, I finally discovered an area just covered in wild Oregon grapes! I took my son one day and we picked nearly a gallon of berries. We packed some snacks and water bottles in a backpack, grabbed an ice cream bucket with a lid, and headed out into the wilds. What a gorgeous day to spend outside! 

I showed my son which berries to pick -- don't worry, they are very easy to identify and there are very few other berries in this area. He easily picked out the Oregon Grapes, and enjoyed picking them... for awhile. But soon he tired of picking and started playing in the dirt and sticks. Haha! 

Oregon Grapes are native to the Northwest and typically grow on large bushes. But here in the harsh Wyoming climate, the plants only grow about 6-8 inches tall! They are tiny plants, most of them have 2-3 fruit clusters on each plant. But they are easy to pick, and if you can find a large patch, it is easy to pick a gallon for jelly! 

The berries are easy to identify, because the leaves are similar to holly leaves, and the berries are a frosted blue, they stain your fingers dark purple when crushed. They also have mouth-puckering astringent qualities that makes them unpleasant to eat raw.

How to make Oregon grape Jelly

Prepare the berries

First, wash the berries and pick out all stems, leaves, and other debris. Then place them in a kettle and add water. Use a potato masher to crush the berries a bit, then boil them for 10 minutes. Strain the berries through double layer of cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer. Discard the pulp, and measure the correct amount of juice back into the kettle. 

Cook the Jelly

Add the sugar to the Oregon grape juice, and stir. Bring to a boil, then add the pectin. Stir well, boil one minute, then remove from heat. 

Bottle the jelly

Pour the prepared jelly into jars and screw on the lids. Just screw on with your fingertips, so you don't get them too tight. Place jars in hot water bath and bring the water to a boil. Boil jars 10 minutes, then place on a rack or towel to cool. Do not disturb for 24 hours. 

 

Note: I have a friend who says you can make this jelly without added pectin. I want to try that next year! But this year I used some liquid pectin and it turned out the perfect consistency, so that is how I am writing the recipe. If you have experience with Oregon grape jelly, please leave a comment with your tips and tricks!