North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Bob Randall <YearRoundGardening@comcast.net>]

I don't know the answer for sure, but based on years doing marmalade, it is possible you didn't get the boiling correct.  Many recipes say this or that about how long or much.  If you didn't learn this from someone who had it figured out, the best way is to use a "candy" thermometer which will tell you when you have reached the jelly stage.  If it still doesn't jell, then its pectin or sugar is the problem. But for certain if you didn't get it to the right temperature, you won't get it to harden just right.  If you do it too long, you will get something more like peanut brittle.  All three types taste good.

 Bob Randall

On Aug 27, 2008, at 12:59 PM, Mark & Helen Angermayer wrote:

This may be a question asked before, but was wondering what went wrong with our jam making?  Made a batch of peach jam and used 75% of the sugar that the recipe called for.  Used "Ball" brand pectin and followed all other instructions, which called for boiling the jam hard for one minute.  Then hot packed the jam.  Problem is, the jam didn't set up as firm as I thought it should.  Although the flavor is excellent, it's the consistency is thinner than I'd like.  About the consistancy of thick honey.  Thought maybe using less sugar caused it not to jell.  But then we made another batch of jam, this time with some strawberries left over in the freezer.  This time we used the full amount of sugar on the recipe.  Again the jam didn't firm up real good (although it's slightly firmer than the peach jam).

 

My question, what caused the jam not to jell well?  I know a lot of folks recommend Pomona's pectin, which is what I should have used, but we used what was available at the time.  Is Ball pectin a really bad product?  Would it have helped if we would have boiled the jam longer?

 

Mark

KS 

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Bob Randall, Ph.D.

YearRoundGardening@comcast.net

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