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Hi there! What a helpful blog you have ! I’m curious what your thoughts are on expired liquid pectin? I found a huge deal on pectin that was close to its expiration date on the package and am curious if this is something that can still be used after the exp date? Any experience with this?
Thanks, Michelle, and my apologies that I’m just getting to this. Expiration dates often mean nothing when it comes to food products. I have used pectin that is a year or even two past the expiration date and it worked fine. Older pectin can be very thick, so it may work better if you mix it with well with some warm (not hot!) water before stirring it into your jam. As long as the package is intact, it should be safe to eat,
Ok, this is my problem!! I made 28 half pint jars of peach preservers Saturday, August 08, 2020. I forgot to process them in boiling water and now they are not setting up. Can I reprocess the jelly and put it back in the jars? I used two boxes of pectin. Can someone plz help me?
Sometimes a recipe takes a little longer to set up – generally speaking, at 24 hours, it’s as “set” as it’s going to get. You can reprocess, although taste and texture may suffer a bit. Always use the exact quantities of fruit, sugar and pectin in the recipe; fiddling with ingredients can increase the risk of runny jam. When I have a failure like that, I just call it syrup and use for waffles or ice cream.
Happy to find your blog. I’ve learned so much in just 2 days. I’m new to making jelly and have a question. I have 4 cups of blackberry and blueberry juice. I need another 1/2 cup to make a batch. Is it ok to add grape or another juice to top it off? I’m out of berries and hope to be able to finish. Thanks
Sure; those kinds of mixed juice jellies often have a unique flavor.
yaaaay! I just found you!!:)) I have been “jamming” for years, enjoying finding new combinations. Water bath? never!! I do turn jars upside down as each is filled. Love hearing the popping after they are right side up and cooling. I have fresh cut rhubarb sitting and waiting right now. Interesting to learn about the benefit of lemon juice. Wouldn’t oranges do the same? I will probable put some of the latest cut with blueberries (saved in the freezer) to make some of my much loved “bluebarb.” Will be back to this space to learn more stuff. good night! PK (pony lady)
Patty, glad to have you with us. Orange juice and lemon juice are not interchangeable for canning purposes, due to different concentrations of acidity (lemons are higher in acids). There are probably tested recipes out there that use orange juice; I would go for one of those rather than trying to experiment.
Hi! I am so very happy to find a voice that matches my own—no water bathing for my jams in my almost 40 years of canning.
I am, however, a novice jelly-maker. Tried my first batch of crabapple jelly last week and didn’t use pectin, according to my recipe. But it didn’t set, even after 3 days. So I used another “saviour” recipe guaranteed to salvage unset jelly. But, alas, it also hasn’t set and it’s now 3 more days later.
Any suggestions?
Thanks and I am planning on keeping this blog on my toolbar!
Little Leftie, nice to have you stop by. I suspect your crabapples didn’t have enough natural pectin; the usual recommendation in the old recipes is to use about 1/4 of the batch unripe, but a lot of recipes out there don’t tell you that. I don’t think there’s any way to salvage it now, at least not as jelly. You might try whipping up a batch of half and half cream and cream cheese (say two cups whipped cream to eight ounces cream cheese), drizzle in the unset jelly (I’d start with about one cup) and then freeze it. It’s similar to the old ice-box pie recipes, so if it works, you could try it in a baked pie shell next time. I wouldn’t use the pie shell the first time, as I’m really shooting in the dark here and it may not be successful. You could also try drizzling the unset jelly over pound cake, ice cream or fresh fruit. If you followed all the usual directions about sterilizing jars and got a good seal, the non-jelly should still store well, just as jelly would.
Excellent! That was my own thought—not enough natural pectin.
I plan on trying your suggestions. Thanks so much.