Why Your Jam or Jelly Didn't Set and What to Do About It
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- Опубліковано 28 жов 2024
- To read the full article go to preservingswee...
In this video, Anne James discusses what to do if your jelly doesn't set properly. You can use it as a sauce, topping, or ingredient or you can fix it by reboiling it for a few minutes.
This answered quite a few things I was wondering! Especially regarding using larger jars (the big jars didn’t gel)
Glad to help! Yes, I found out that the larger jars don't gel the hard way.
Writing this for myself later because this is the only video I reference when I need to remake jars: Half cup of sugar and two tablespoons bulk pectin.
THANK YOU!!
Soaking up your wisdom. Thank you!
Many thanks!
Thank you for this! Just had a batch not set for me last night.
Hey, Jennifer! Sorry to hear your batch didn't set. I hate when that happens, all that work... Are you going to re-do it, or use it as is? I'd love to hear.
@@jellygrandma1945 I will be re-doing it. I can't really see us using it as a syrup.
good information and thanks for the written info. a question I have is why should we add additional sugar? Will it not work with the pectin alone? My "syrup" is sweet and hoping I don't have to add more sugar but will if it won't work otherwise. Thank you!
I'm attempting to make homemade apple scrap jelly and I'd like to ask you a couple questions.
So this is my first attempt at making jelly... do I keep the pot at a constant rolling boil? Or turn it down a hair to an easier boil?
Should I use a whisk the entire time or wooden spoon or does it matter?
I have other questions... (as I'm actively in the kitchen making this)... but I'll hold off until I hear back/IF you're able to respond.
Hey, Jackie! I do keep the pot at a constant rolling boil, but I do turn it down just enough to keep it from boiling over. You don't have to stir much during this time, and I would recommend a wooden or stainless steel spoon. Thanks for the questions, and I hope you will ask your other questions. If I don't know the answers, we'll find someone who does. Hope the apple jelly turned out good.
I was given a couple of pint size mason jars of fresh strawberry jam and it's very liquidity. I'm unsure how it was made, recipe wise. Would cooking it more help it to thicken perhaps with adding sugar/pectin to it? I'm eager to have this gift on my toast while one will be used for topping purposes. I'm very grateful to have found your channel and any help as I appreciate the advice you offer. Thank you.
Thanks for the comment and question, Connie! I would empty the one pint of jam into a pot and add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of pectin, bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, then put into a sterilized jar. If you are going to use it right away, you can reuse the lid. The insert in packaged pectin boxes recommends 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of a pectin mix for each cup of jam you are remaking, but in my opinion that could make it too sweet. Good luck, and I'd appreciate your letting me know how it turns out!
Thank you. I appreciate your reply and how you explained what you would do. I was very unsure as to how much sugar to add, knowing it's a tasty sweet treat already. I will have to try it out. Yes ma'am, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Very good advice.
Thanks, Peggy!
How do I know how much bulk Pectin to use with my liquid jelly?
Hey, Veronica! Thanks for the question. When I started using bulk pectin, the recommendation was 2 tablespoons of the bulk pectin for a batch of jelly, but I found the 2 tablespoons didn't give me the firm set that I prefer. So, I use 3 tablespoons per batch now on a regular basis. And that is what is use for any kind of jelly or jam.
I just started water bath canning and I guess I need some fail proof recipes. I have blackberries growing in my yard which I harvest and freeze and made jam that looks good but the amount of sugar called for seems excessive. I made hot pepper jelly which turned out great and then tried Pineapple Jalapeno jelly which didn't set and blackberry pie filling which is questionable at best. I love berry pie but keep ending up with soup so I was hoping the pre-made filling would do the trick. Anyway,I enjoyed your video very much and will now decide between pineapple syrup or reprocessing.Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for commenting, Melinda! You are fortunate to have blackberries growing in your yard. Most people have to go looking for them. One of my sons has recently bought some land that is covered in them, so come this spring, I will feel like I'm in heaven! The recipe I always use for blackberry jam and jelly is 3&1/2 cups of juice for jelly or crushed berries for jam and 5 cups of sugar along with 1 package of pectin. It is pretty sweet, but if the recipes are adjusted any, the gel bond might not be achieved and it won't thicken. You can pretty much go by the jam and jelly recipes that you find in the fruit pectin packages as far as amounts of ingredients. I don't follow their directions exactly in some cases. Also, another good resource if you are not familiar with it yet is the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. It has a ton of information and many many recipes for just about everything. I use it all the time.
Guess I hit the wrong key. I was just about to give you the link to the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning which is available for free download at www.healthycanning.com/wp-content/uploads/USDA-Complete-Guide-to-Home-Canning-2015-revision.pdf Sorry to be so longwinded, but I get all excited when I hear that someone has started canning, and I'm a retired librarian so when someone asks for information, here I go. lol But, welcome to canning, and I'd say you definitely know what you are doing if your hot pepper jelly turned out great. I have a batch now and then that turns out a little loose and not a firm set. I hope these resources are helpful to you and that you enjoy canning as much as I do!
@@jellygrandma1945 Thanks for the USDA information, I really like their info. I have successfully re- made my Pineapple Jalapeno jelly but am still on the "thinking about it" stage with my pie filling. I think using an aluminum pot might have been the cause of my runny goods.
@@melindawallin3713 I go to the USDA website often. Good luck with all your canning!
Thank you
If you use liquid pectin that has set up, can you melt it down in the jelly? will it still work?
What if your not using sugar at all. I’m using Apple Cider (which is already sweet) how do I know how much pectin to use??
thanks this was amazing
Thanks, fafafaj!
You're welcome! Thanks so much!
Thank-you
You're welcome!
You didn’t mention if you re-water bathed it? So I don’t think I’ll try your recipe because I think it’s incomplete. One minute you’re boiling at the next minute it’s all gelled up. But did you waterbath it?
Hey, Christena! I did not re-water bath the batch of jelly. As a matter of fact, I always water bath jam, but rarely do I water bath jelly. I normally boil the jelly for 7 minutes and do not water bath. I have the jelly boiling when I pour it into the jars, which are sitting in a pan of boiling water and have been boiling for at least 10 minutes to sterilize, and the lids are sitting in hot water, so everything is at the boiling point, sterilized and safe, and I don't often have a lid that does not seal. Also, my jelly stays good unopened for at least 5 years. This was my mother's method, and she was the family jelly maker for many years.
Very nice. You are so sweet. Thank you
Thanks for the comment!
Is there a way to test if it’s going to set befor canning ?
Hey, ilovebrean! Good question! There are a couple of ways to tell whether your jelly is going to set. One is the plate method where you put a saucer or two in the freezer when you start your batch of jelly so that they are very cold. When your jelly is done, take one of the cold saucers and put a teaspoonful (more or less) of the jelly on the cold saucer and wait a minute or two. Then push a spoon into the small amount of jelly to see whether it appears to have a film on it and is beginning to set. If the test jelly still seems to be watery, it probably will not set after processing. The other method is called the sheet test where you stir the jelly and lift a small amount of the jelly out of the pot, then pour the jelly back into the pot and see whether it pours like water or whether it "sheets" off the spoon as a thicker liquid. These are the only advance tests that I know of, except the main thing I look at is whether the jelly on the spoon after I stir the jelly and place the spoon back on the spoon rest is getting firm and sticking to the spoon. I'm not sure whether any of these tests are foolproof, because even if jelly (or jam) seems to be beginning to gel, the set may be a soft set and not a firm one. What I do is just follow the recipes that I have used many times and measure exactly and 95% of the time it turns out right. Once in a while, though, I'll have a batch that doesn't set and I quite often never figure out what happened. To be perfectly honest, the old tale about the weather affecting some types of cooking is true. The humidity can affect how the jellies and jams turn out. Also, if you are in a different area and the elevation is different from where you usually make jelly, adjustments must be made to the cooking time and temperature for the different elevations. Having said all that, I would love to hear what other people do to test their jelly before processing. I hope this helps.
I am going to make Jalapeno and Pineapple Jelly....I can't find Pectin...so I could use Gelatine...or lemon juice...add more sugar...reboil it but I have decided to add Chia Seeds....will look pretty and hopefully works to thicken the jelly👍....
Regards from Sunny South Africa
Sounds delicious! Thanks for the comment and let me know how the chia seeds work. I love hearing what other folks are working on (and where they live)! I'm in southern Virginia in the United States.
Hi Anne.....I did add Chia seeds and it did thicken the syrup and reduced the spiciness.
Regards from Sunny South Africa
@@francesvandenbergh3118 Great! Glad to hear the Chia seeds worked for you. I have only used them in refrigerator jam and wasn't sure what kind of set they would produce in jelly. Chia seeds are supposed to be one of the healthiest options for a thickener. Thanks for the info and hope you have a great day!
Pancake syrup yes