Making Jams & Jellies

How to Use Pectin in Jams and Jellies

When there is a recipe on the Sure Jel insert, use it. I have tinkered with these recipes and usually have good results. What you don’t want to tinker with is the amount of lemon juice the recipes call for. The lemon juice is what adds acidity to your jam or jelly and keeps the botulism at bay as well as other nasty bacteria that will ruin your jam and make you sick, very, very sick.

This is for when there is not a recipe on the Sure Jel insert. If you need to figure out how much lemon juice to use in your recipe find a similar fruit to see how much if any lemon juice to use.  I have not found any general rule of thumb for this one. A lot of times I will simply stay away from jams and jellies that I feel are not acidic enough to prevent spoilage.

The old school method of making jams and jellies without pectin was simply equal amounts of sugar and fruit, cooked down until they were thick and coated the spoon. This is still the preferred method for ‘butters’ usually made out of apples although I have recently found one made from pumpkin that was pretty good. If you are using this method but want to assure a nice thick jam or jelly, there is always no sugar needed pectin (Sure Jel, No Sugar Needed). This is not a sugar free pectin but a pectin that can be used without adding any sugar OR adding the amount of sugar you want to add. I am thinking I will probably be using this type of pectin exclusively from now on.

Anyway, that is my take on making jams and jellies. Below is a site that talks more thoroughly about making jams and jellies.