Oh, if only it were that simple.

Here's a thread from '06 that I think will answer many of your questions. I'll pop back in later to check any later post.

Of course, in the interim other members may also come on with their own take on this topic.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Preserves vs. Jam?

Oh dear. Somehow I just KNEW you would say it isn't that simple.

That post was helpful, thanks. I need to read it more carefully though and will be coming up with questions, I'm sure. I was happy to see a couple of recipes for low (no) sugar, no pectin. I may have to buy the Jam Lady cookbook, seems that might help me out.

For now, my first question is this - since it is not so simple, it seems that recipes must be developed more by trial and error. So theoretically I could develop my own (ha!). So long as I am not playing with any of the low acid stuff (like habaneros), is there anything I can mess up safety-wise? Or will it only be a matter of taste and jel?

Ann

Ann, not all of us here prefer or even like Pomona's pectin. I for one do not like it as I noticed a chalkiness to the jam I made with it. You can use a whole cut up citrus fruit in your jams as pectin. You can either include it as part of the jam or place it in a tea ball or cheesecloth bag so you can pull it out. Apple peels and seeds also contain a lot of natural pectin.

And yes, so long as you are not playing with low acid you can play. You just may end up with a lot of syrup :-)

I happen to like using Ball's freezer jam pectin. The ratio is 4 cups of mashed fruit to 1 1/2 cups of sugar with it.

-Robin

I'm another non-fan of Pomona's for the reason Robin mentioned, but it does have its advocates and only you can decide which camp you fall into.

Non-commercial pectin jams use less sugar than commercial pectin jams but a certain amount of sugar is necessary to assure a jell. It's a fine balance of fruit, sugar and acid. Cutting the sugar is possible but at some point the mixture will either not jell or you'll evaporate out the water and end up with a thick viscous mixture like tar.

Annie routinely reduces the sugar in something like pear preserves; with each batch she reduced more until she hit a point where it wasn't possible to further reduce and get even a soft set.

But since each batch of fruit varies (especially from season to season) with traditional preserving there's always an element of "mystery" as to how the preserves will respond.

You can improve the odds by adding citrus pulp and seeds, as Robin mentioned. You can also make your own natural citrus or apple pectin base. And yes, you can definitely experiment with assurance of safety as long as you avoid the low-acid peppers and such.

You can do a simple (and cheap) alcohol test to determine the pectin level of the fruit in any given batch. I usually don't bother unless I'm developing a new recipe and working with fruit that has marginal pectin. A search online will bring up lots of sites that explain how to do it, but you can also ask here if you're interested.

You can also get a refractometer or jelmeter, which will help you measure the sugar in the fruit. Knowing the level of natural sugar helps you determine how much additional sugar is needed. Jelmeters are no longer manufactured, though Jamlady mentions them. But they do occasionally turn up on ebay. They were in common use during WWII because women making preserves could then reduce the sugar. Lee Valley Tools sells a refractometer. But that probably goes beyond what you want to get into right now.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Refractometer

LOL! Well, you may or may not be surprised, but I actually could do this. I happen to have a refractometer in my lab! And I know how to use it. So I suppose if I really want to get serious, I could make some sort of extract of my fruit, take it to work and measure, go home and make preserves....

But if I incorporate too much science, won't that take away from the "art" of making preserves???

Robin, thanks for the suggestions. I will probably try the Pomona's and find out whether I am with you and Carol or the rest of the group. And I will try the freezer pectin - but you can use it with BWB too, right? And I love the idea of just tossing in a cut up lemon or other citrus fruit - I may have to work on that approach.

Ann

Ann, here is my strawberry jam recipe to get you started on using a cut up orange for pectin. The liquors are optional but yummy.

I guess you could BWB the freezer jam, however to do so you would have to heat the jam first before jarring and processing. If you try it report back please.

Also, I know Annie is in Carol and my camp on Pomona as well, just for those keeping score. ;-)

-Robin

Strawberry Jam with Cointreau and Drambuie

6 cups roughly chopped strawberries, not all ripe
Juice from 1 juice orange, peels, pits and pulp reserved
Chop half the peels and pulp finely and reserve, the other half should be roughly chopped and placed in a tea ball or cheesecloth bag with the pits
3 cups white sugar
3 Tablespoons Drambuie
1 Tablespoon Cointreau

Chop the strawberries and add to the pan once you have 2 cups of fruit. Add 1 cup of sugar and stir to combine. As you measure the fruit add it to the pan. Place remaining ingredients in the pan and cook until the setting point is reached. Ladle hot jam in to hot jars to 1/4 inch of the top and screw on lids and bands. Process in a BWB for 10 minutes for unsterilized jars and 5 for sterilized jars.

Note: The pieces of peel are way yummy so next time I may add all of them finely chopped to the jam.

Thank you, Robin, this is a wonderful sounding recipe - I've added it to my files for next year's strawberry harvest!

Ann

Could I thaw some of the strawberries I picked and froze (whole, unsweetened) in July, and make that Strawberry Jam with Cointreau and Drambuie? As I recall, some of my berries were perfectly ripe, but there were a few holdouts. :)

I think that recipe should be made before next summer! It sounds absolutely yummy!

Sure. The trick will be measuring because you need 6 cups of chopped berries. I'd try to chop them as soon as they've begun to soften but before they collapse and lose the juice.

Carol

Thanks Carol! :)