I would like to make jelly that actually sets. The batch I tried was a bit of a disaster although we now have saskatoon syrup for pancakes. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

-- susan banks (susan.banks@sait.ab.ca), December 10, 2001

Answers

Susan, Did you use a powder or jell pectin? Either one works well IF you follow the recipe exactly. Sounds like you may have used too much fruit. Also, my grandma told me that you should always use pure cane sugar. (The bag will say Pure Cane). I'm not sure why but I have always used cane sugar (not beet sugar) and have only had trouble when I used too much fruit/juice. What kind of Jell are you making this time of year?

-- Belle (gardenbelle@terraworld.net), December 10, 2001.

Are you using a product like Sure-jell or are you trying to get it to jelly without it?

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), December 10, 2001.

I have found that it helps if I cook my jelly longer than the the directions call for. Sometimes, also, you may need to add a little more acid or sugar than the directions call for. Personally, I think that I am now getting better results from the sugar-free pectin, as it is not at all fussy about the acidity of the fruit or the amount of sugar added.

If you would like to, you could re-cook a jar or two of jelly, possibly adding a little lemon juice or sugar to see if you get a better set. I like to drip a little jelly on a refridgerated plate to see how well the jelly has set.

By the way, runny berry jelly makes HEAVENLY ice cream topping!

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), December 10, 2001.

Well, Belle and I must have had the same thought at the same time. I was also thinking.....how long did you let it set up after you canned it. Some jellies take a week or two to actually set. I have had grape jelly not set until 2 weeks later. Maybe saskatoon is the same way. Don't give up on it if it hasn't been very long yet. And yes....I agree....strawberry jam is GREAT on icecream! Any berry would be! YUM! The grape jam that didn't ever set for me was used in a recipe in place of the blueberries in blueberry buckle. I just swirled the grape jelly around on top BEFORE I cooked it and before the struessel topping and it was great! Sounds weird, but it worked. Good in muffins too!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), December 10, 2001.

I'm not familiar with what saskatoon is, but different fruits have different levels of natural pectin in them. When cooking the fruit add some crabapple or green apple to the fruit as this was an old timey way of hardening fruit jelly (before store-bought pectin).

I no longer use pectin but cook down the jelly more. I am very frugal so don't want to buy additional products and also am partial to the natural taste without pectin.

Cook it down until you can see "jello" forming on the spoon when you pour it off. Not "jello" as when it is set, but "jello" as it is set"ting". Does that make sense, It won't look fully set on the spoon, but not runny either. Kind of globs off.

Good luck. What's saskatoon? Must be a Canada thing. Please teach me.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), December 11, 2001.

BTW: I always wondered why there were all these crabapple trees around anyway. Now I know. Ladies did it for the pectin!

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), December 11, 2001.

Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) is a North American native shrub. It is also called juneberry, serviceberry, and shadblow. It has beautiful white flowers in early spring followed by dark purple fruits in early June (even in cold places like Saskatoon). The berries make great preserves (usually). Birds also love it as a spring food.

-- diane greene (greenwitch@catskillnativenursery.com), December 11, 2001.