Food Preservation…

Jams & Jellies, Lesson 5

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Jams & Jellies

by Roxie Rodgers Dinstel

J elly, jams and preserves can add zest to

meals. They furnish an accent of color and
flavor and provide a good way to use surplus
fruits. Basically, these products are similar.
They are all made of fruit and sugar and are
jellied to various degrees.
Jelly is made from fruit juice. It should be
clean and sparkling and hold its shape.
Jam is made from crushed or ground fruit. It
tends to hold its shape but is generally less firm
than jelly.
Fruit butter is made by cooking fruit pulp to a
thick consistency that will spread easily.
Fruit provides the flavoring. Selection and
Marmalade is jelly with pieces of fruit sus- handling of fruit are critical to success. You
pended in it. should use top-quality fruit that is slightly un-
Conserve is a jamlike product made from a derripe or barely ripe.
mixture of several fruits. A true conserve con- Pectin, a natural carbohydrate, causes jelly
tains nuts and raisins. to gel. It is found in varying amounts in dif-
Preserves are whole fruits or large pieces of ferent fruits. Slightly underripe fruit contains
fruit in a thick syrup. more pectin than fully ripe fruit. Many reci-
pes call for skins and cores because pectin is
concentrated in these area. Pectin is available
Ingredients
commercially in a liquid or powdered form.
Proper amounts of four ingredients — fruit, Recipes call for a certain type of pectin — ei-
pectin, acid and sugar — are needed to make a ther powdered or liquid. Do not substitute; use
jellied fruit product. whichever form is called for in recipe.
These fruits contain considerable amounts of The fruit is boiled in water to extract the juice.
natural pectin: For apples and other hard fruits, add enough
• tart apples • gooseberries cold water to cover the fruit in the kettle. For
• currants • Concord grapes berries and grapes, only use enough water to
• sour plums • cranberries prevent scorching. Excess boiling tends to de-
• citrus fruit stroy pectin, flavor and color.
These fruits are low in pectin: Strain juice through two layers of cheesecloth
• apricots • cherries or through a jelly bag. Don’t squeeze fruit since
• blueberries • strawberries this will add unwanted pulp to the mixture and
• pineapple • peaches result in a cloudy jelly. At this point, the juice is
• rhubarb ready and can be used immediately, or it can be
Acid adds to the flavor and helps with gel for- canned or frozen for making jelly at a later time.
mation. It is higher in underripe fruits than ripe.
Tests For Jellying Point
Sugar helps in gel formation. It serves as a pre- Dip a cool metal spoon into the boiling jelly
serving agent and improves the flavor. Light mixture. When two drops form together and
corn syrup can be used to replace one-half of sheet off the spoon, the jelly should be done.
the sugar in recipe. Without added pectin, one-
quarter of the sugar can be replaced with syrup.
If powdered pectin is used, ½ cup of sugar can Sheet Test
be replaced with syrup. If liquid pectin is used,
2 cups of the sugar can be replaced with syrup. Jelly drops first are light and syrupy.
Honey can be used to replace sugar, but be sure
to use a light, mild-flavored honey. In recipes
without added pectin, honey can replace half
of the sugar. If pectin is added, 2 cups of honey
can replace 2 cups of sugar in most recipes. In
small recipes, ¾ to 1 cup of sugar can be re- Then they become heavier and
placed by honey. show signs of sheeting.

Jelly
A large kettle is essential for making jelly. A
kettle of 8 to 10 quarts capacity permits the jel-
ly mixture to come to a full rolling boil without
boiling over. A clock or watch with a second When gelling point is reached, the
hand is invaluable for timing. A thermometer jelly breaks from spoon in a sheet
— the jelly, candy or deep-fat type — is a great or flake.
aid in making jelly.
Increasing the size of jelly recipes is not recom-
mended because of difficulties in gelling. Only
enough fruit for one batch should be prepared at
a time, since the fruit will deteriorate rapidly.

2
 Or Use The Temperature Test To recook with liquid pectin:
The temperature test is probably more depend- Measure the jelly to be recooked. For each
able for determining the gelling point. Simply quart of jelly, measure and set aside ¾ cup
cook your jelly to 8°F over the boiling point of sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 table-
water. spoons liquid pectin. Bring jelly to boiling over
high heat. Quickly add the sugar, lemon juice
Fill jars to within ¼ inch of the top. Wipe top and pectin, and bring to a full rolling boil, stir-
and threads with clean cloth. Seal. Process by ring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute. Re-
boiling water bath for 5-15 minutes (check move the recooked jelly from heat; skim off
recipe for recommended time). foam. Pour into hot sterilized containers and
seal immediately.
Old recommendations for canning suggested
using a thin layer of paraffin to seal jars. This
Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam
sometimes resulted in spoilage from yeasts and
mold. We now recommend that all jelly and jam 1 cup cooked red-stalked rhubarb (about 1
products be hot water canned for a minimum of pound rhubarb and ¼ cup water)
5 minutes. Higher altitudes require water bath- 2½ cups crushed strawberries (about 1½ quart
ing 10 minutes between 1,001 and 6,000 feet boxes)
and 15 minutes from 6,001 to 8,000 feet. 6½ cups sugar
3 ounces liquid pectin
If Your Jelly Doesn’t Gel… To prepare fruit. Wash rhubarb and slice thin
When jelly fails to gel it is either because there or chop; do not peel. Add water, cover and
was not enough pectin present or because inac- simmer until rhubarb is tender (about 1 min-
curate measuring, insufficient cooking, over- ute). Sort and wash fully ripe strawberries; re-
cooking or a doubled recipe prevented the pectin move stems and caps. Crush berries.
from doing its job properly. Recooking may rem-
edy the situation. If it doesn’t, use the jelly as pan- To make jam. Measure prepared rhubarb and
cake or waffle syrup or spoon over ice cream. strawberries into a kettle. Add sugar and stir
well. Place on high heat and, stirring constant-
If you used powdered or liquid pectin in the ly, bring quickly to a full boil with bubbles over
original jelly, add more of the same kind and the entire surface. Boil hard for 1 minute, stir-
follow the proportions and instructions given ring constantly.
below.
Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Skim.
To recook jelly with powdered pectin:
Measure the jelly to be recooked. For each Fill and seal containers. Process 5 minutes in
quart of jelly, measure and set aside ¼ cup sug- boiling water canner for altitudes under 1,000
ar, ¼ cup water and 4 teaspoons powdered pec- feet, 10 minutes for 1,001 to 6,000 feet and 15
tin. In a saucepan or kettle, mix the powdered minutes for 6,001 to 8,000 feet. Makes seven or
pectin and water; bring to boiling, stirring eight half-pint jars.
constantly. Add the soft jelly and the sugar; stir
thoroughly. Bring mixture to full rolling boil Spiced Blueberry Jam
over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 4½ cups blueberries
30 seconds. Remove recooked jelly from heat; 7 cups sugar
skim foam from top. Pour jelly into hot steril- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
ized jars or jelly glasses; seal immediately. 1 lemon, juice and grated rind

3
½ teaspoon cloves Grape Jelly
6 ounces liquid pectin (from concentrated juice)
Prepare lids. Open liquid pectin pouches and 12 ounces concentrated grape juice
stand upright in a cup or glass. Place blueber- 2½ cups water
ries, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, lemon juice and 4½ cups sugar
grated lemon rind in a saucepan. Simmer for 5 1 box powdered pectin
minutes. Remove from heat; add liquid pectin. Sterilize jars. Measure sugar and set aside. Mix
Stir and skim off foam. Immediately pour jam juice and water in a saucepan. Stir in powdered
into hot canning jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. pectin. Bring to a full boil over high heat, stir-
Wipe jar rims and add prepared two-piece lids. ring constantly. At once, stir in sugar. Stir and
Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. bring to a full rolling boil (one that cannot be
stirred down) stirring constantly. Boil hard for
Cherry Jelly 1 minute.
(with powdered pectin)
3½ cups cherry juice (about 3 pounds or 2 Remove from heat; quickly skim off foam.
quart boxes sour cherries and ½ cup water) Pour jelly immediately into hot canning jars,
1 package powdered pectin leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe jar rims, place
4½ cups sugar flats and rings on jars. Process 5 minutes in a
boiling water bath.
To prepare juice. Select fully ripe cherries.
Sort, wash and remove stems; do not pit. References
Crush cherries, add water and cover, bringing USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. Online
to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and sim- version: www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/
mer for 10 minutes. Extract juice. publications_usda.html. Print version ($18):
To make jelly: Measure juice into a saucepan. https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?item_
Add pectin and stir well. Place on high heat number=AIG-539#.VWTLiZRdWrY.
and, stirring constantly, bring quickly to a full So Easy to Preserve ($18). University of Georgia
rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add Cooperative Extension Service: www.uga.edu/
sugar, continue stirring and heat again to a full setp.
rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute.
Ball Blue Book. Ball Corporation, Consumer
Remove from heat; skim off foam quickly. Products Division, Consumer Affairs, 345 S.
Pour jelly immediately into hot containers and High, Muncie, IN 47305-2326.
seal. Process 5 minutes in boiling water can-
ner. Makes about six 8-ounce jars. Using Alaska’s Wild Berries and Other Wild Edibles
($15). University of Alaska Fairbanks Coopera-
tive Extension Service.

www.uaf.edu/ces or 1-877-520-5211

Roxie Rodgers Dinstel, Associate Director of Extension.

Published by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service in cooperation with the United States
Department of Agriculture. The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and
educational institution.
©2017 University of Alaska Fairbanks.
9-05/RD/8-17 Revised August 2017