1 kg fresh rowanberries
200 ml water
sugar (for quantity, see instructions below)
(2 - 3 tbsp cognac)

Rinse and clean the fresh rowanberries. If they taste very tart, wrap them in plastic bag and freeze for 12 hours  —  this will make them taste sweeter.

Line a large sieve with a clean, damp cheesecloth. Put the water and the berries in a saucepan and bring the mixture to the boil. Cook the mixture for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Pour the mixture in the sieve and let the juice slowly run through the cheesecloth, for about half an hour or so. Measure the juice and add 800 grams of sugar for every 1 litre of juice.

Slowly cook the juice and the sugar, without stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, about 10 to 20 minutes. During cooking, carefully skim any foam forming on the surface with a slotted spoon.

Test the jelly to see whether it is ready for canning: pour a little jelly on a chilled, small plate and let it cool for a while. Then draw your finger or a spoon across the jelly  —  if it leaves a clear path and does not run, it is ready for canning. If it is still very runny, continue cooking for a couple of minutes longer  —  yet no longer than 30 minutes in all.

If you like, season the jelly with cognac before canning. Pour the hot jelly in hot jars sterilized with boiling water. Close with sterilized lids and let cool. Store the jelly in refrigerator.

Serving suggestion:
Serve rowanberry jelly with game and other meat dishes, like steaks and roasts. The jelly may also be used in various desserts, like pastries and as a filling in cakes.

Note:
Sometimes when cooking jellies, they will not set, but remain runny, no matter how long you let them cook. This happens because the fruit or the berries used do not contain enough pectin. If a jelly made according to this recipe still will not set after it has been cooked for 30 minutes, some commercial fruit pectin should be added to it. In this case, follow the instructions in the pectin package.

Also jam sugar, already containing added fruit pectin, may be used instead of regular sugar. Follow the instructions in the jam sugar package.