wcjoyner ... I had hoped someone else would jump in here but they must all be busy canning. I've made jelly twice in my life, but I did mention once that I had made jelly from the juice drained from pepper hash. Linda Lou cautioned that I needed to add vinegar. We were in the midst of a discussion of how much vinegar was necessary to protect against botulism for my relish which I intrepreted was also the case for the jelly. I later read that low-acid jellies needed additional acid AND pectin to jell. I also read a post where a canner was advised against increasing the processing time of jars of jelly. The reason was the pectin wouldn't set if processed beyond the original recommended time. So, in my opinion and if it were my jelly I'd toss it. I'm afraid you couldn't rescue it and I'm also unsure of its safety since it has been sitting in a sealed jar for sometime. Sorry, I can't give you a more expert answer, but I would rather err on the side of caution. --Kay

mecdave - are you putting water in a pan and setting oven to 180? Jars are not meant to withstand dry heat - could shatter. And to truly sterilize (not just warm before putting hot food in), you must boil for 10 minutes, lower heat won't do. But no need to sterilize unless processing for less than 10 minutes (as for a delicate jelly, 5 minutes). I just put the jars in the pot I'm BWBing in, fill to the rims, you have to preheat the water and jars anyway before processing. I pour the hot (simmer or so if not sterilizing) water over the lids in a Pyrex bowl, Ball says you don't even have to do that but I like to let them soak/soften while I fill the first jar. If when I take last empty jar out of canner the water is already over tops of filled jars, and I'm afraid pot will boil over, I dump the last jar (and the bowl) in the sink, else I dump them back into the canner. So no extra pot/burner required. Lemon juice is more acidic than vinegar, OJ varies and can be over 4.0 so I wouldn't rely on it to acidify peppers, pineapple juice (if that's what's in the can, as mecdave said, check it!) is more acidic though not as acidic as lemon - remember, pH is logarithmic so 1.0 decrease in pH (say from 3.6 pineapple juice to 2.6 lemon juice) is 10 times more acidic. The lemon pulp in the NMSU recipe also helps to acidify the marmalade. That table is from USDA, so safe to use (provided no typos), I don't generally rely on the pickyourown site. Here's the original (with some humorous misspellings but hopefully no typos in the numbers): Here is a link that might be useful: Official pH values

I found this forum trying to figure out why my pepper jelly would not gel. I tried using different recipes, different pectin and all I could think of then yesterday I made my first batch that has gelled wonderfully and tastes great. I used pectin from Pacific Pectin and used their recipe with great success. The only parts I changed is that I did water bath for 5 minutes and added approximately a half ounce extra of the pectin. I also prepared the peppers with a blender rather than a food processor for courser pepper chunks and less liquid. The jelly set up the same evening. PEPPER JELLY 1/3 cup (2oz. weight) Pacific Pectin Mix 1 ¾ cup Cider Vinegar 4 ½ fl. oz. Water 7 ½ cups Sugar 3 cups Peppers (prepared*) COOKING INSTRUCTIONS 1. Combine water and vinegar. 2. Stir in Pacific Pectin Mix and heat to boiling. 3. As soon as boiling begins, add peppers. 4. Bring back to a boil. 5. Slowly add the sugar in two parts. 6. Continue heating and boil 1 1/2 minutes (cook to 65 brix;3.2 pH; 220° F sea level). 7. Stop heat. 8. Skim and pour mixture into jars. Jars may have to be inverted occasionally to suspend pepper pieces. * Note: there are many combinations of peppers that produce different colors, flavor, and heat. A typical combination is 2 1/2 cups prepared bell peppers and 1/2 cup prepared jalapeño pepper. To prepare, cut peppers in half and discard seeds and stem. Cut into small pieces or chop with a blender. A few drops of food color may be added if a deeper color is desired.

Hi Laurie, Welcome to the Cooking Forum. Your first name is the same as mine, same spelling too! I agree with Annie, jams and jellies are good to start with. Learn the low acid fruits and use acid adjusted/approved recipes for those. High acid fruits are more forgiving, the worst thing you'll get there is mold, which is what happens with lower sugar jams too. I hate the pectin jams, the sugar content ruins the flavor for me, so I've done quite a bit of experimenting with lower sugar jams. A good book I recommend (out of print but available thru used bookstores online) is "Summer in a Jar" by Andrea Chessman. She has a lot of great low sugar recipes in there she developed. Also, the Ball COMPLETE Book of Home Canning has a whole chapter on lower sugar jams. The reason for the sugar is it is needed to get a set with commercial pectin. Alternatives are a longer cooking jam which is thickened in the process, and also adding a chopped apple to some low pectin fruit jams, for the pectin since apples are high in pectin. Also making "old fashioned" preserves, in which you make a syrup from sugar and the juice from the fruit which macerates overnight. You then strain out the fruit, cook the syrup down and thicken that and add the fruit back in at the end. Kind of a pain to do, but tasty! Don't get discouraged, it takes a lot of experimenting until you find the ideal recipes you like. I made pear vanilla bean jam, and frankly, to me it was "meh." As was pear cardamom jam. But I liked vanilla bean marmelade, go figure. However, all of these recipes were easy peasy so you should get something enjoyable no matter what. Somewhere on Harvest, there's a "Best Of" recipe thread, but I'm not sure how to access it anymore. I printed it out a while back. Be forwarned, the Harvest Forum is not for the shrinking violets! But don't get discouraged by the pedantry. Folks there would much rather err on the side of safety when giving advice, and that is admirable at its heart. It just makes it a little confusing at times! Your best bet is to do what the folks here suggest, take the home course from the National Home Food Preservation Web site or just read up tons in books like the Ball Complete Book of Home Canning, or another one I like, (also out of print but available) called "Keeping the Harvest" by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead. Here's one of my favorite low sugar recipes that is perfect for this time of year. It's not a firm set jam, it's one you have to cook down to thicken. Also, can in small jars, as these low sugar jams mold faster than you might expect after opening, even in the fridge. This one has delicate flavor, so only make enough for this year, it doesn't keep well for two years like some high sugar jams. This is a recipe I found online. It was very, very good. I might add that I also added 1 TBLSP frangelico to the jam. It is not a firm set jam. Raspberry Peach Jam Recipe - Confettura di Lamponi e Pesche By Kyle Phillips, About.com When peaches are at their best and the raspberries are ripening up in the mountains, they're a perfect pair to set aside for the winter! What better way to do so than make raspberry peach jam? Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) peaches (ideally, white) 3/4 pound (300 g) raspberries 1 4/5 cup (800 g) sugar The juice of a lemon Preparation: Blanch the peaches for a second or two in boiling water, then chill them in cool water, peel them, quarter them, and discard the pits. Rinse the raspberries, discarding any that are blemished, and gently pat them dry. Interlayer the fruit and sugar in a bowl and let it all sit for 12 hours. Transfer everything to a heavy-bottomed pot, and bring it to a boil over a moderate flame, stirring it occasionally. Skim the froth off the surface and cook with a slotted spoon over a lively flame, skimming and stirring, for about 15 minutes, or until it begins to thicken. A drop placed on a cool slanted plate will flow some, but not much, when it's ready. The yield will be about 1 1/2 pints (1.5 l). Transfer the jam to jars, cover them, and boil them for 20 minutes to sterilize them. Yield: several jars raspberry peach jam. This assumes you know how to prepare jars for canning. Can add 1 TBLSP of Amaretto or Frangelico at the end. That's elegant and yum.