Pyracantha Berry Jelly Recipe

Edible Landscaping with Pyracantha Coccinea, Scarlet Firethorn

Nov 10, 2009

Red Plants for Edible Landscaping, Maria Blanco

Pyracantha berries are not just, "for the birds." Contrary to a common myth, they are not poisonous. Pyracantha, a relative of apples and roses, is entirely edible.

In late fall beautiful evergreen pyracantha shrubs bearing abundant pommes in festive reds, oranges and yellows adorn home landscaping and wild woodland areas, alike. Although thought to be native to Asia, pyracanthas have become valuable plants in the west as well.

Pyracantha is a favorite shrub choice for home landscaping, wildlife gardens, and natural barriers for home security. They boast beautiful and densely borne white flowers for bees in the summer and abundant fruit for birds and other wildlife during the fall and winter.

Edible Berries or Poisonous Berries?

In fact, pyracantha truly provides edible landscaping because according to Dr. Jerry M. Parsons, of Texas A&M University, the tempting red pommes of the pyracantha plant are entirely edible.

He says, “if you have a surplus of pyracantha berries this fall and would just as soon the birds did not rob you of them, you might enjoy the taste of pyracantha jelly. It is quite tasty, much like apple jelly in appearance and flavor,” but even prettier and with a bright little tang.

Pyracantha Jelly Recipe

Yields approximately 10 half-pints of jelly

Ingredients:

2 quarts pyracantha pommes
6 cups water (or enough to cover berries)
7 cups sugar
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 box powdered fruit pectin, such as Sure-Jell
5 tablespoons white vinegar

Instructions:

Pick pyracantha pommes (berries) in the late fall when they are a very deep red. Plants bear the most flavorful and juice yielding berries at this time of year.
Wash them well and remove any leaves and stems.
Place pyracantha berries and water in a large pot and bring up to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat and allow berries to continue cooking until they have popped open; approximately 20 minutes. Much of the berries’ color will have transferred from the berry hulls to the stock.
Drain contents through a colander into another container, pressing berries with the back of a spoon to release additional juice.
Strain the juice once more through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheese cloth to remove any remaining small pieces of berry hulls or other debris. This is the juice that will be used for the jelly stock.
Place the juice (which will have reduced to about 3 or 4 cups), sugar and lemon juice in a stock pot and bring it up to a boil.
Stir in the powdered fruit pectin and vinegar.
Bring this up to a rolling boil; cooking and stirring for two minutes.
Remove from heat and immediately ladle into sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving about ½” head space.
Cap the canning jars and make sure they have properly sealed before storing in the pantry. Note: Any jars that do not properly seal must be stored under refrigeration.

Jelly and Preserve Recipes in Southern Cuisine

Southern Muscadine Jelly and Syrup Recipes: How to Make 3 Scuppernong Grape Condiments from Homemade Jelly Stock
How to Cook Muscadine Grapes for Jelly Stock: Make Juice, Jelly and Syrup from Scuppernong Grapes
A Southern Thanksgiving - Celebrate Muscadine!: Scuppernong Grapes Highlight a Thanksgiving Feast

Reference:

Jerry M. Parsons, Ph.D., Professor and Horticulturist, Texas A&M University
Vidrine, M. (1973) Quelque Chose Boucoup Bon. Claitor’s Publishing, Baton Rouge, LA 70821

The copyright of the article Pyracantha Berry Jelly Recipe in Fall Recipes is owned by Maria Blanco. Permission to republish Pyracantha Berry Jelly Recipe in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.