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Preserving tips for jellies and jams

[JULY 7, 2000]  Here we are in early summer. What a great time to enjoy the fruits of our gardens. Some fruits are already past season locally, but other fruits are yet to come. They’re all still available at fruit stands and markets at good prices. It is a good time to preserve those tasty raspberries, strawberries and blueberries.

The University of Illinois Extension office has the latest information on canning and preserving. They provided the following information:

Dial pressure canner gauges need to be tested for accuracy every year. University of Illinois Extension tests them for free. The next date set to test gauges will be July 12. Bring your canner at your convenience before then and pick them up after July 13.

Canning, freezing, and drying cards are available at the local extension office (located on the Logan County Fairgrounds). Anyone is welcome to stop and pick one up at no charge.

Recommended reading: "So Easy to Preserve" by Elizabeth L. Andress. Copies are available for sale at the local extension office.

University of Illinois Extension

980 N. Postville Drive

Lincoln, IL 62656

(217) 732-8289

 

 

Hints for making jams and jellies

  • For proper texture, jellied fruit products require the correct combination of fruit pectin, acid and sugar.
  • Pectins are substances in fruits that form a gel if they are in the right combination with acid and sugar. Because all fruits contain some pectin, knowing how much pectin to add is sometimes guesswork. The amount of natural fruit pectin determines if commercial pectin should or should not be added.
  • Do not substitute powdered pectin for liquid pectin; the two are not interchangeable in recipes.
  • If powdered pectin becomes brown or caked or if liquid pectin looks very thin and watery, don’t use it. Purchase fresh pectin each year. Old pectin may result in poor gels.
  • There are different tests to determine gelling point. The most dependable is the temperature test, using a jelly-candy thermometer.

  • It is important to use the proper size pan. The kettle should be enamel or stainless steel with a broad, flat bottom. This will allow the rapidly boiling fruit-sugar mixture to expand without boiling over.

  • Let jelly stand for a minute after it is removed from the heat; this permits a film to form. Then skim – circle the top of the hot jelly with a spoon, gathering up the foam and film (it traps oxygen which will support mold growth in jelly; it also makes jelly look cloudy).
  • New United States Department of Agriculture Canning Guidelines recommend that all jelly and jams be processed in a boiling water bath if they are not refrigerated. DO NOT USE A PARAFFIN OR WAX SEAL. The "old" method of paraffin or wax seal allows contamination of the jelly by bacteria or mold spores.
  • Jelly and jam jars should be sterilized by boiling for 10 minutes before the jelly is poured into the jars. This pre-sterilization allows the filled jars to be processed for five minutes in the boiling water bath. If the jars were not pre-sterilized, then the filled jars must be processed for 10 minutes. This longer process time may prevent the jelly from gelling.

Processing jams and jellies

  • Sterilize the clean jars by boiling for 10 minutes.
  • Prepare the two-piece lids as directed on the box.
  • Prepare the jelly according to directions on the pectin container. Test jelly for doneness using sheet test. In the sheet test, a spoonful of jelly mixture should flow from the spoon in a sheet rather than in individual drops.

 

 

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  • Remove jam or jelly from heat.
  • Skim off any foam on the surface.
  • Pour the jelly into hot, drained jelly jars, leaving one-fourth inch headspace.
  • Wipe the sealing surface of the jars with a paper towel dampened with hot water to remove any jelly or sugar crystals.
  • Adjust the lids.
  • Place in canner with boiling water deep enough to cover lids of jars with one to two inches of water. Rack so jars don’t sit on the bottom of canner.
  • Bring water back to full rolling boil.
  • Boil for five minutes.
  • Take jars out of canner and place on rack or cloth-covered surface.
  • Allow to cool upright eight hours or overnight.
  • Check seals. Remove ring bands, wash with warm water, label and store in a dark, cool, dry place.
  • Use water bath-processed jellies and jams within one year, for best quality.

Questions asked

Q. Can I make reduced and sugar-free jam, jelly or preserves?

A. Yes. Your local University of Illinois Extension office has directions for using sugar substitutes. Ask for "Reduced and Sugar-Free Jams, Jellies and Preserves." (EHE 664a).

Q. To save time, is it possible to double recipes when making jelly?

A. No, because it takes longer to cook, and the overcooking may break down pectin and prevent proper gelling.

Q. If mold appears on jams or jelly, can it be scraped off and safely eaten?

A. No, it must be thrown away. DO NOT EAT IT! Do not scrape off the top layer and eat the rest either. The aflatoxins that the molds produce can send "roots" down into the jelly, so even jelly at the bottom of the jar may be unsafe.

Q. Can powdered pectin jelly that doesn’t get firm be reprocessed?

A. Yes, measure jelly to be re-cooked. Work with no more than four to six cups at a time. To re-make with powdered pectin: for each quart of jelly, mix one-fourth cup sugar, one-half cup water, two tablespoons bottled lemon juice and four teaspoons powdered pectin. Bring to a boil while stirring. Add jelly and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil hard one-half minute. Remove from heat, quickly skim foam off jelly and fill hot, sterile jars, leaving one-fourth inch headspace. Adjust new lids and process five minutes.

Information on remaking the "light" powdered pectin, liquid pectin or without added pectin is available at your local University of Illinois Extension office.

Q. My jelly did not set; it is thick and sticky. What caused the trouble?

A. You used too much sugar or cooked the mixture too slowly and too long. Or there was not enough acid or pectin in the fruit.

Q. Why is my jelly soft?

A. Chances are it was not cooked enough. You may have used too much juice and too little sugar; or there was not enough acid in the juice. Soft jelly also occurs when you make too big a batch of jelly at a time, liquid pectin is old, or an incorrect "sweetener" substitution (honey, corn syrup) was made.

Revised: June 1999

[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences]

[United States Department of Agriculture*Local Extension Councils Cooperating]

 

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