whiteraven, I made Elderberry jelly last year for Dad. I found that I needed to use the jelly bag/pillow case to keep the little seeds out. They get under Dad's false teeth, LOL. I simply put the berries in a pan, covered them with water and let them cook a bit, then mashed them up with a potato masher and poured them into my bag where they drained for several hours. If you squeeze the bag you'll get a thicker, cloudier product. I did find that I needed a little water to keep the berries from sticking, but I just barely covered them. Then I used the Sure Jell recipe for Elderberry Jelly: SURE.JELL® Elderberry Jelly Makes: About 5 (1-cup) jars or 80 servings, 1 Tbsp. each 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 1/8 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.) Annie

I knew about pillow cases , but when I tried wrining one out , to squeeze the juice out to the last drop ,the pillow case ripped. So muchy for those .. My nyon ( bought new at dollarama ) worked great.. Another thing I found is when I dumped the 16 cups of nanking cherries that were boiled etc. into the nylon, I only got a bit of juice , but the next 16 cups I scooped into a sieve and caught the juice below , then set the pulp aside , I poured all the juice that had come trhough the sieve ( pulp removed ) into a nylon and got at least 4 times the juice. I think the pulp when not first strained , is to much mass for the inside juices to find their way out of the bag.. Anyway it seems that way.. I have let the juice sit for a few days and the sediment settled at the bottom. nice and clear on top.. I'm thinking of drawing the clear off with a turkey baster thing..

What you're talking about is really more a seedless jam than a jelly. The main issue is the pectin is in the cell walls of the fruit and the seeds, so once that is removed, the pectin level is lower. If your fruit was dead-ripe then the pectin level has further degraded and that will really make it difficult. However, I have made true raspberry jelly and seedless berry jams like those you describe without commercial pectin. The set will probably be slightly softer, not a syrup but not super-firm. If you get too eager for a firm set, there is a risk of overcooking, but it can be done and the preserve may further firm up over time. There are some parts of the country where this is easier to achieve due to differences in growing conditions which result in a higher natural acid level. So how well it will work in your case I do not know. If you use 1/4 underripe fruit, add lemon juice and cook the mixture with a bag which includes the lemon seeds and whatever pulp you have, the odds will improve as citrus has a lot of natural pectin. Just don't overdo it or the lemon flavor will predominate. The other option would be to add some natural homemade pectin from apples (i.e. an apple pectin or apple jelly base). Carol

I'm surprised no one mentioned using nylon stockings in this old forum thread. I've used my wife's "retired" nylon stockings since the late 1970's to make dewberry/blackberrt jelly. I cut the legs into 12 inch or so long segments, tying off the ends if not using the foot, and putting them 3 or 4 thick to make the bag. A canning funnel helps to keep the bag open to load it with mashed fruit. I'm in the group that likes to squeeze the bag to shorten the collection time. Althouth, this does make the juice cloudy as noted above.. I will empty and clean the nylon bags using a garden hose nozzel for the final step in cleaning the nylon segments. and then reassemble the nylon segments and repeat the juice collection process. It usually takes about 5 to 6 collection cycles to get 6 to 7 qts of juice. After collecting the juice I put it in the refrigerator in 48 to 64 oz clear plastic bottles. In 24 or so hours, the cloudy juice settles to the bottom of the bottles and clear juice remains above. I then make as many recipes of clear jelly as I can and then finish with cloudy jelly to not waste any juice. No difference in flavor of clear vs cloudy jelly...it's only the look. Having said the above, I'm not sure nylon stockings are available anymore. They don't seem to be in fashion today. But luckily, I happen to have an old stash/supply that ceased to be replinished about 15 or so years ago.