I said if I ever made beautyberry jelly that I would post a picture. Well, here it is seven years later and I finally got around to making that jelly.

I do not have Callicarpa americana, but I do have Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst', which is an Asian variety. From all reports I read, it is not poisonous, but eaten raw, any beautyberry may cause upset stomach for some people.


I was able to get 8 cups of berries, which when cooked and strained produced 6 cups of juice.


I used 3 cups of the juice for one batch of jelly, which is what the recipe I used below calls for. I followed the recipe exactly as it is, but I used 4 T of Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin instead of a box of Sure-Jell. I will freeze the other 3 cups of juice for another day. Using 3 cups of juice made 6 half-pints plus an extra 1/3 cup (6 1/3 cups jelly). I used that little extra to try on a piece of toast and it was very good, although it doesn't have that strong berry flavor like grape or blackberry jellies do.


I have been disappointed with using old links not opening up recently, so here is the recipe with the link included. It calls for Elderberries, but beautyberries worked just fine:

SURE.JELL Elderberry Jelly
https://www.myfoodandfamily.co...

3 cups prepared juice (buy about 6 qt. or 3 lb. fully ripe elderberries)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
1/2 tsp. butter or margarine
4-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl

Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

Remove and discard large stems from elderberries. Crush fruit thoroughly; place in saucepan. Cook on medium heat until juice starts to flow, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 min., stirring occasionally. Place 3 layers of damp cheesecloth or jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 3 cups prepared juice into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. (If necessary, add up to 1/2 cup water for exact measure.) Stir in lemon juice.

Stir pectin into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)