Goosberry jam cooked too long?

[sparkles2307]

Soooo I made gooseberry jam last night. The recipe I followed called for equal parts sugar and berries, plus a few tablespoons water.

It said that once I had a rolling boil I should cook it for ten minutes OR until it set on a cooled spoon.

It cooked for about fifteen minutes before it would set... so I poured it into jars, let them seal, and this morning its SO thick its almost hard.... like it almost got to the candy stage. Can I save it?

 

[wifezilla]

Was pectin added to this or was it just cooking it down that made it that thick?

 

[vfem]

I'm thinking maybe too much sugar. :/

Once too hard, I don't know how to fix that unfortunately.

 

[sparkles2307]

Was pectin added to this or was it just cooking it down that made it that thick?

No pectin. the recipe just said sugar and water and cooking. Iassumed that meant the berries had lots of their own pectin.... I hate making jam I always screw it up.... give me vegetables any day!

 

[wifezilla]

If you stir it up is it spreadable? I generally don't worry about jam being too firm. I HATE runny jam and would rather have the hard candy version.

 

[journey11]

I had that happen with wild blackberry jam a couple years ago. The recipe called for liquid pectin, but wild blackberries are already very high in pectin anyway (moreso than tame ones). It set up very hard. I dumped it all out in a pan and gently heated it on the stove, adding a little water at a time, and stirred it with my stick blender until it reached a spreadable consistency. If you've already canned it, just leave it as it is for now and do this to it as you open each jar to use. Not exactly the same as jam that has turned out perfect, but at least it doesn't go to waste. And on a PBJ, you'll never know the difference.

 

[sparkles2307]

Thank you!