How To Turn Your Leftover Wine Into Multi-Purpose Jelly

Picture this: You're cleaning out your fridge, and as you toss away boxes of food and vegetables long past their prime, you find a bottle of wine that somehow made its way to the back of your fridge. It's not full, but at the same time, it's not quite empty. There's too much of it for you to pour into a glass and drink yourself, but there's too little to share with anyone else. It's a good bottle of wine, so you don't want to waste it by pouring it down the drain. What do you do?

An obvious and simple solution would be to use the wine in cooking. Wine can make a very versatile ingredient, able to serve in pan sauces, glazes, or for flavoring certain roasts. If you want to preserve the wine for a different date, but have no more room for the bottle, you can freeze the wine in ice cube trays to store it in the freezer for when it's needed. You can even make confectionaries with your wine, such as lollipops, by combining wine, corn syrup, and sugar.

But how about making some jelly with it? While you understand that both wine and jelly can be made from grapes all the same, it's hard to imagine how you can take a beverage that you serve in a glass, and turn it into something you'd expect to see on a sandwich with peanut butter. But it is possible!

In case you're wondering what pectin is, it's a complex starch that is commonly derived from plants and is used a gelling agent in many types of jams, jellies, and gummy candies. While it can come in liquid form, it can also be sold as powders or gels at your local supermarket. 

It's this gelling agent that is key to turning wine into wine jelly. A very simple recipe for wine jelly involves taking your favorite wine, some sugar, and dry, powdered pectin and boiling them in a pot over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to "jell" and a foam appears on top. Once the jelly is done and has a consistency to your liking, you can skin off the foamy substance and pour into your choice of mason jar, container, or dish. If you plan on storing your wine jelly, you can follow your preferred method of canning for preserving the jelly for later use.

Wine jelly also benefits from the addition of several other ingredients, such as lemon juice, berries (such as gooseberries or raspberries), and even fruits like kumquats or peaches. You can also experiment with different types of wines, such as red wine jelly with raspberries and strawberries, or white wine jelly with currants and lemon peel. As long as you have wine and pectin, you can make a very basic jelly at home quite easily.

Now you've followed the recipes and you've canned enough jelly to last you a couple months — what can you do with all of this wine jelly you made? One option is to serve it alongside fruit and whipped cream. The Historic New Orleans Collection tells us that this was how wine jelly was served in New Orleans during the 1880s, as gelatin was a relatively new, but a somewhat common staple in American cuisine. In fact, there was a point where wine jelly was served at estates like George Washington's Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Jefferson even wrote his own wine jelly recipe!

Another simple suggestion is to serve wine jelly with your next charcuterie board. The richness and sweetness of the jelly would pair very well with smoky meats and cheeses, as well as the salty crackers and nuts. The only drawback, however, is that it may not be a good idea to let young children consume a lot of it, considering that the alcohol in the wine may not have fully boiled off when making it. Yet, for adults, it's sure to be a delicious and surprising treat at your next party or dinner event. Wine jelly packaged in little jars also make for great gifts during the holidays, for birthdays, and any other occasion.