When cooking, you don't always know what you'll end up with

At the market I found this case of Tayberries (a cross between raspberries and blackberries) so I decided to try making a jelly for the first time. What I ended up with is a Tayberry Syrup! Now, I know that berries don't have a lot of pectin in them so I added apples to the mix (they are high in pectin) because I wanted to be "natural" and not use the store bought pectin. Which I would guess is why I ended up with syrup instead of jelly. Oh well, it was nice on top of my rice pudding!

Tayberry Syrup or not very jelled jelly

4 pounds tayberries (or blackberries)

1 pound cooking apples, unpeeled and chopped

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup water

about 3 cups sugar

Combine 3 pounds of the berries with the apples, juice and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 min, skimming any froth from the surface. Pour the contents into a jelly bag (I couldn't find one, so I used a clean hand towel set in a cone) and let it drip into a bowl overnight. DO NOT press on the contents - you want it to come out clear and not cloudy. Measure the liquid and for every 2 cups add 1 1/2 cups sugar - I ended up with a little more than 3 cups of liquid. Bring to a boil in the pan again with the sugar then add the remaining pound of berries and let cook about 45 min, or until it is at the jelly stage (didn't happen for me!) next time I'll try the temperature gauge instead of the cold plate theory. Ladle into sterilized jars and can using the water bath method for 15 min. Pour over pancakes, ice cream, rice pudding...

Post Note: Actually, I'm not sure I'll bother trying to make jelly again, it seems like it took a ton of fruit for not that much in return - I had to throw out all the pulp. I think I'll just be sticking to jam or a butter in the future.