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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.
(To top of second
column)
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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.
- 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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