Does anyone else think that the price of jelly-making is too high? I bought a package of surejell today for 2.29. I bought this in addition to the sugar and the canning lids. I picked the grapes for free, but many people buy their fruit for jelly-making. I read in the instructions that one package will make 8 cups of grape jelly. I read on the ingredient label that what I am buying (1.75 oz) is Dextrose (some kind of sugar), fumaric acid, and fruit pectin. 2.29 seems way too high for what I'm getting.
Hi, My grandma in law makes jelly and she does not pay the 2.29 at the regular stores she goes to our local Save-a-lot if you have ever heard of it. It is like an off brand store that sells groceries for cheap. She said that she can buy it there for like .59 which is a lot better but she said that they only have it during canning season in the summer so she goes and buys a lot of it at one time and puts it up. If you have a local grocery store and is like a bulk or discount store because Save-a-lot is a discount grocery store you will probably find it a lot cheaper there.
Save-a-Lot stores have pectin for 59 cents a box. I buy it there by the case.
You can also do it the old fashioned way. You don't even have to use SureJell. In the days before SureJell they simply used sugar and boil it down to where it was thick enough and poured it in the jars.
Some fruits have more natural pectin in them than others. Apples for instance have lots of pectin. You might try a tiny batch using apple for the pectin and see how it sets up before you make a big batch.
-Susan
You can make your own pectin from apples!! Wash, peel and slice the apples and boil for 15 min-1 pint of water/pound of apple slices. Strain off the juice thru cheese cloth(don't squeeze the pulp). Add 1 pint of water to each pound of remaining pulp and simmer for 15 min. Let stand for 10 min and then repeat the straining, without squeezing. Allow pulp to cool and then squeeze out remaining juice by pressing on cheese cloth. Combine all of these.
I make jams using a 6oz. box of jello instead of pectin....and since I'm a diabetic I used splenda and sugarfree jello.
Is the amount of homemade pectin (4 cups) used to replace 3 oz of liquid pectin correct? If it is correct, how do you compensate for the extra 29 oz of liquid? I avoid recipes with liquid pectin because of the price.
You can use 6 crushed, dissolved in water vitamin c tablets.
This works great.
Deb
Since apple juice is so cheap has anyone tried adding it to the fruit for sweetner as well as Pectin? Also we just made a batch of Jaboticaba jelly and it was jelled on the spoon and in the pan and yet when it was pouring into the jars it wasn't. Is this unusual? I even commented to mom that I had never seen anything jell on the spoon so well. I microwaved the jars so maybe cool jars?
I want to open up a family business out of our house...where should i get bulk pectin from. I have made freezer jam for 18 years and normally give away half of what i make to family and friends and this year many people have been asking us to make some more for them. Please help..this would be a great opportunity for my family!
Editor's note: Here's a source. www.pacificpectin.com/
I searched on Bulk Powdered Pectin in Google and found this link. There are others.
Try Pacific Pectin. They sell pectin in bulk & a fraction of the grocery store prices. Good luck!
For the pectin from apples, does it matter if they are tart or not? My apple tree makes tart apples, which I may mix with pears for sauce, and I am planning on making plum jam from the plum tree. Would the tartiness of the apple adversely affect the plum? This will be my very first try at preserves and I am planning on doing freezer jam.
UNRIPE APPLES!!! My DH "pruned" our tree, so I salvaged the little green apples. I found an article in the Oregonian, (lost the date!) by Vern Nelson (the hungry gardener) and here is a brief rundown:
Select only hard fruit with a strong sour taste. If they start to sweeten, there will not be enough pectin;
Wash and cut apples (quarter large, half for small) but do not core or peel. Add water until almost covered, place lid on pot and cook on low (I set 2 on electric) stirring every 15 minutes until it breaks down into a thin sauce. (Mine took 5 hours)
Strain sauce with cheesecloth, or teeshirt inot another large pot/container and let it set overnight dripping. DO NOT force it to strain, as this will make it cloudy and adversely affect the outcome.
Test the liquid when cooled by putting a spoonful into a small glass with one inch of rubbing alcohol. Use a fork to retrieve the clump. If it remains clumped on the fork, it is a perfect gel. If it sags or hangs, it will be a little loose. This depends on the cooking time.
You can freeze it or fill hot, sterilized jars and process at 185 degrees for 15 minutes.
To use: Use 4-6 tablespoons per cup of juice or fruit. For each 5 cups of pectin/fruit mix, add about 7 cups of sugar.
For more information: Vern Nelson: the Hungry Gardner, PO BOX 16945 Portland OR 97292 anewleaf1@aol.com
It was a blessing to find this! I used a grocery bag full of apples and made 18 oz of pectin, but I also used the pulp to make 12 cups of applesauce with 2 cups of sugar and some cinnamon...YUMMY
I still need to wait for the rest of the infamous NW blackberries to ripen, as I am making my very first batch of freezer jam with this,,,I'll keep y'all posted!
Would very green mangos work the same way little green apples do? Have a Salvadoran friend making candy for a living who asked me if I could find a more economical source of pectin.
I managed to find a clearance sale at a local store, MCP for 1.39 which I think works better than surejell..also I used one cup of pineapple juice for each 2 cups of berry juice (I made blackberry today) and it tastes awesome. Also you can add a little water to the fruit juice if you don't have enough for a full batch and it will taste just fine, if you have bought jelly at any supermarket you know that it is VERY watered down. Also scrape any leftvers from the batch into a cup, cover and refrigerate, it will taste just the same and you will have a lot of jelly that would have otherwise gone down the drain. Good Luck
The problem with using no fruit pectin and letting it cook down is that you only get about half as much jam to put up.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am about to embark on a jelly making frenzy so as to start a business. Anyone have any advice? Is there a way to make really large batches at a time?
Most states require you to have a certified kitchen to sell home canned foods. Contact your local county extension office to have them come and certify your kitchen.
Here's some information for Washington State, what state are you in?
SELLING HOMEMADE JAMS & JELLIES
Home prepared fruit-based jams and jellies may be sold by the producer directly to the public at places like farmers' markets, holiday bazaars, your own premises or business, or on the premises where the product is made.
The following information will guide you through the requirements for preparing, testing and labeling these products for sale to the public. Our Jam & Jelly Flowsheet will also help you understand the process.
Read more...
www.clallam.net/
Thank you, I have been looking for some help with starting a small jelly making business. Just the 2 feed backs I read has helped me with vital information.
Does anyone know how I can go about getting my kitchen certified and what the requirements are? I would really appreciate any advice. Also, I have a stationary company if anyone would like a discount on business cards and such. Please email me at slystx @ aol.com (remove spaces)
i am thinking of starting a jelly making business. I have no idea on where to start from, i need some help.
We made some concord grape jelly and it didn't set. I think there were maybe about 2 cups too much liquid for the amount of pectin we put in. Does anyone know whether we can re-heat it and add more pectin? Or do I have to settle with 10 jars of grape syrup? Many thanks!
Can I make a jelly recipe, add water to make a syrup and then can it?
Karaof4 from MN
Kara,
I don't know if it can be done that way or not; however, a lady on a crafting group I belong to said that she was making jelly and it didn't set properly so she was going to use it for syrup. She said what she did was that she didn't use the right amount of sugar so the jelly didn't set properly.
Hope that helps some?
You can do as the previous person said-- however, I believe the sugar amount is figured to preserve the juice-- which then allows canning--
I too have had "apple jelly syrup"- and it isn't bad at all-- however-- In lieu of changing the formulation for jelly to get to the syrup stage-- go ahead and can for jelly-- and when you want syrup, add water to your jelly and nuke it in the M/W-- get the best of both worlds-- without risking your good homemade jelly!
good luck
I wouldn't cut back on the juice or sugar, but
just use 1/2 a package of certo.
That's what I do for chokecherry syrup.
Good Luck
The stuff that causes jelly to 'jell' is a substance called 'pectin', a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in ripe fruits and berries. Many jelly recipes call for adding pectin in case the fruit doesn't have enough to allow it to congeal. (Kraft's 'Sure-Jell" comes to mind, but there are probably other brands available.) If your recipe calls for adding pectin and you don't want it to set, the first thing I'd do is leave that stuff out. I don't know what to do about the naturally occurring pectin in the fruit; if it's good and ripe fruit often has enough to make the jelly set.
Good luck, and happy Labor Day, everyone!
How can I fix jelly that does not set up after it is done?
By barbara from Zenda, KS
That is a tough one I learned from my mother-in-law and it used to seem so easy.I made 24 pints of plum jelly last year 12 set up so thick and hard. I had to heat to get it out of the jar, the other 12 was like a thick sauce. I used the recommend amount of sure-jell,I would like to find out if anyone has suggestions also, It was all cooked in the same pot.
Several years ago I made mulberry jelly that did not set up. I called the 800 number on the box of sure jell. She told me that if the sure jell was out of date that could be the problem. That is something that you really need to watch. I told her that was not the problem. She said that I should go through the whole cooking process again but not to add more sugar, but to add the amt of sure jell that was required. I was disgusted and thought it was too much work. So my husband had some very good mulberry syrup for his pancakes. Now, every time I make jelly he hopes it won't set up so that he can have some more flavored syrup. LOL!
Margaret from Denton, Texas
Im trying to find the same answer
I would like to make jelly without sugar. I buy "Simply Fruit" from town but would like to make my own if I could. Any ideas?
Mona from Lumberton, MS
Ball brand has jelly making products for sugar-free jelly and jams. check in your local grocery store with canning jars and jam making products.
IF you are looking to make jelly for a diabetic, ask the person's doctor if fructose would be all right to use. NOT the high fructose corn syrup, but the fruit sugar. I make many canned items for a diabetic using fructose and it is acceptable. I buy mine from an Amish bulk food store and it isn't too very expensive. I know that there are several Amish in Missouri. Try one of those. The only thing that you can't use fructose successfuly in is regular baked goods, such as cakes and cookies. For some reason, those come out like sponges!!
I make freezer jam all the time with splendia and love it. Some people don't like the sweetners but it's fine for me. It's sweeter than sugar so try 1/2 the amount called for and taste test from there.
I made cherry jelly with tart cherries. It is much too tart even with plenty of sugar. Would a little bit of baking soda ruin it or stop the pectin from working? Other ideas?
By Jean M.
Baking soda would ruin it. Add more sugar.
You can add more sugar or an apple
What will happen if I forgot to add lemon in my canned jelly?
By marjee from Enoch, UT
Some jellies taste better with the lemon but it doesn't hurt if you forget it. No one will know unless you tell them.
Quite often the lemon is required to level out the pectin according to the fruit being used, which makes the jell process work, so if you have made it without the lemon, and it has not set up, (jelled well) within a week or two, it is possible you will have to call your jelly a pancake and waffle spread, which i do frequently, on purpose. If it tastes good, just enjoy it. From Loretta in Alabama, who raised 7 by using every means possible to not waste anything edible.
I made raspberry syrup, but it is way too thin. I'm thinking of making it into jelly. Any ideas how much pectin to use and any other ideas to make this process easy as possible?
Simple! You can just boil the syrup down to reduce the water content.
Getting the right consistency takes some trial & error, because the sauce thickens as it cools. Boil it for a bit to reduce, allow it to cool, test it and boil again if too runny. If too thick, mix in a bit of water.
How much juice, sugar, and pectin do I use to make mulberry jelly? Last time I made it, it did not set right.
By Carol
This is a page about making jelly from fruit juice. A quick way to make jelly even if you don't have a lot of seasonal fruit is to use fruit juice.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I made elderberry jelly last night, it didn't set up. I used two pouches of liquid pectin. Any suggestions?
