

In a saucepan or kettle, mix the powdered pectin and water bring to boiling, stirring constantly. For each quart of jelly, measure and set aside 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and 4 teaspoons powdered pectin. “To re-cook jelly with powdered pectin: Measure the jelly to be recooked. Otherwise, you now have a tasty syrup for pancakes or ice cream!Īccording to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service: You may be able to immediately re-cook it and be successful. If your jam or jelly doesn’t gel, it could be due to not enough pectin, incorrect measuring, insufficient cooking time, or overcooking. Jelly recipes should not be doubled, as they usually won’t gel when this is done also.
#Jelly defense inexhaustible jar of jellies plus
(212 plus 8 = 220 degrees) Follow your recipe for how long to boil jam. You can also do a temperature test by cooking your jelly to 8 degrees over the water boiling point. You know it is time for safely canning jam and jelly when you dip a cool metal spoon sideways into the boiling jelly or jam mixture and it breaks from the spoon in a sheet or flake. Use the juice immediately or can it or freeze it for making jelly later.įollow your chosen recipe for adding sugar and pectin to your jam or jelly and bringing to a boil. Strain the juice through either two layers of cheesecloth or a jelly bag.ĭo not squeeze the fruit as this may add unwanted pulp to the juice and your jelly will end up cloudy. However, when using berries or grapes, you only need enough water to prevent scorching. When using apples and other hard fruits, add enough cold water to a large pot to cover the fruit. To make jelly, fruit is boiled in water to extract the juice or steamed. If pectin is used, sugar can be replaced by honey in a one-for-one ratio. In no-pectin recipes, honey can replace half the sugar. Honey can be used to replace sugar, but it’s best to use a light, mild honey. If you choose to make a low-sugar recipe, special “ low-sugar pectin” must be used to obtain gel formation. Not only does it improve the flavor, but it also works as a preserver. The natural acid in some fruits is enough for certain recipes, while others will call for the addition of lemon juice to add the necessary acid. Like pectin, it is also higher in underripe fruits. You will need a special low-sugar pectin for these.Īcid helps to add flavor and gel formation in your jams and jellies. Your jam or jelly will not turn out right if you do this. Use the kind of pectin your recipe calls for, do not substitute. Pectin is bought in either powder or liquid form. Apricots, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, peaches, pineapple, and rhubarb are very low in pectin. Tart apples, gooseberries, currants, Concord grapes, currants, sour plums, cranberries, and citrus fruit all contain a considerable amount of pectin. Slightly under ripe fruits tend to have more pectin than fully ripe fruit. Some fruits have pectin naturally, so they do not need extra pectin added to make a jelly. Some jams and jellies are made without pectin. Jams and jellies usually have only four ingredients: fruit, pectin, acid, and sugar. Preserves are whole or large pieces of fruit in a syrup with no gel to it. Marmalade is jelly, but with bits of fruit throughout.Ĭonserve is a lot like jam and is made from a mixture of fruits. It will not hold its shape like a jam or jelly. It should hold its shape somewhat like jelly, but not quite so much.įruit butter is made by cooking fruit down to a very thick consistency and spreads easily. Jam is made from crushed or ground fruits. It should hold its shape when scooped out of the jar. Jelly is made from fruit juice and is almost translucent. Every wonder just what the difference is between jam and jelly?

There are so many different kinds of jams and jellies, but all are made in a similar way with similar ingredients. When done incorrectly, canned foods can be deadly, but when done right, you have the satisfaction of providing healthy and safe foods for your family.

Since then, many studies have been done over the years to find the safest and best way to can foods. While the knowledge of just why this method worked wasn’t discovered until many years later, Appert was applauded by many, including Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1810, a French confectioner named Nicholas Appert discovered that by heating and sealing food in glass jars, he could preserve many things for months or even years. Canning is a wonderful way to preserve foods.
