Soup not jam

[Katie85]

HELP!!! I am new to cannig and preserving and a giant Mess!!!!!

I have had no one to teach me and have been trying to learn on my own. Every batch of jam or jelly I have made is not getting thick enough. I have tried both with and without pectin and follow directions to a T. The only jelly I hot to thicken was pepper jelly and It got to thick (think jello wiggler molds).

Also,any advice, tricks, recipies would be welcome for all types of Preserves. I have a pressure canner (burnt a batch of suop so still figuring out and failing) and mastered the water bath!

 

[flowerbug]

HELP!!! I am new to cannig and preserving and a giant Mess!!!!!

I have had no one to teach me and have been trying to learn on my own. Every batch of jam or jelly I have made is not getting thick enough. I have tried both with and without pectin and follow directions to a T. The only jelly I hot to thicken was pepper jelly and It got to thick (think jello wiggler molds).

Also,any advice, tricks, recipies would be welcome for all types of Preserves. I have a pressure canner (burnt a batch of suop so still figuring out and failing) and mastered the water bath!

hi and welcome to TEG

i used to make a lot of jams/jellies, but in recent years i've switched to making just strawberry freezer jam because i love the taste of it so much more and it is pretty easy to do and good to not have to run the stove in the middle of summer.

i've not done any other kinds of freezer jam because i don't grow any other fruits to try.

for cooked jams/jellies there are several ways to check gel, thermometer is most accurate, but you can also do the spoon drip method, i'm sure youtube has vids of this, let me see if i can find one...

try this:

but if that one doesn't work for you just put:

jelly making spoon gel test

in your youtube search


my only disaster so far was that i tried to put up some strawberries without any added sugar or preservatives but they were on the edge of fermenting so they ended up doing a very long slow ferment in the freezer, so by the time i opened them up that next winter they were all a glop of sorta wine tasting strawberries. i ended up feeding those to the worm farm...

last year i didn't have many strawberries, but the freezer jam turned out ok as usual. with this cold spring we're having up here i'm not sure i'll have many strawberries this year again. i redid one of my strawberry patches last fall and it looks like most of my strawberry transplants aren't alive, but i'll give them another week before moving some other plants in there instead. i have plenty of others to use, but they are not inside the fenced gardens so the deer tend to mow them down.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What pectin are you using for jam or jelly? There are some recipes that don't call for pectin at all, and there are different forms of pectin. Some call for more sugar, some less. I use the full sugar sure-jell for almost everything. There is an insert that gives recipes for a lot of different jams and jellies using that specific pectin. I find other recipes on the Kraft site too, Kraft makes sure-jell.

You need to follow the recipes exactly. Measure out everything precisely, not too much and not too little. The timing has to be pretty precise too. If the recipe calls for lemon juice add the exact amount when it says to add it. The ripeness of the fruit might make a difference too so see if the recipe makes a comment about that.

I have failures too. I don't worry about it if it is a little too firm but I have had some I just tossed for that. Runny jelly or jam usually makes great syrup for pancakes or waffles.

Since we like photos on here I'll show what was in my Christmas basket for select friends and relatives last year.

 

[Katie85]

Thank you for the advice! I got the pectin from walmart. Ridgrunner those look super yummy!! I tried the spoon test method before and so far no luck. I may just have to break down and get a thermomiter.

 

[baymule]

There is no fail in jelly/jam. The runny stuff makes great pancake syrup. The firm wigglers stuff is great melted in a sauce pan with a little water and used as a glaze over meat. Yum! We all have made syrup and jello wigglers, don't despair, you will get this.

Welcome to the forum, we are delighted you joined. Jump in, join the fun, we are a friendly bunch of gardeners!

 

[ninnymary]

I think I've only made jam once and it was too thin. Sorry I can't help you. But Welcome! Glad you joined.

Mary

 

[flowerbug]

the directions for the pectin are usually with it. a thermometer helps, but that just tells you that you are in the ballpark. the cold plate or spoon drip test will tell you for sure. so keep watching youtube vids and reading up on the processes involved. some are better/clearer than others. just keep at it. everyone had to start somewhere...

as others have said, no real fails with this as it's all good for other things if not jam/jelly. i've made some great bbq sauces that way...

 

[Nyboy]

Welcome is there a difference between jelly and jam ?

 

[ninnymary]

Welcome is there a difference between jelly and jam ?

Isn't jelly where it's all clear and jam where there are pieces of fruit still in it?

Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Isn't jelly where it's all clear and jam where there are pieces of fruit still in it?

Mary

Exactly. You strain the juice through a jelly bag or cheesecloth to get rid of all bits and pieces of the fruit to make jelly. You want a very clear liquid to make jelly. For jam you normally chop or grind up the fruit and use that. Normally when you process, jams require an extra 5 minutes in the water bath because of the different densities of the product.

One trick I've learned to speed up the process when making jelly is to first strain the chopped cooked fruit or berries through a colander to get rid of the bigger bits before you send it through the jelly bag or cheese cloth to get it really clear. If I don't have enough liquid for the recipe when I do that (that happens a lot when you believe the amounts they say you need to get that much juice) I dump what is in the colander back in the pot with some water and simmer it for a while (with the lid on to stop evaporation) to get enough juice.