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Sticky Jelly?
My fiance and I went strawberry picking today and got some lovely berries to make into seedless jelly/jam. I'm new to all of this so I was trying a freezer jam but following some regular canning rules - sterilized jars + adding the jam while it's hot. I managed to burn my finger doing this but that is besides the point 😅
In an effort to fully kill off any bacteria I kept the fruit boiling at around 225 for close to 10 minutes. (In retrospect, I think I didn't do the spoon test correctly and overcooked it. The recipe suggested 6 minutes but I was nervous lol)
All of the random drips I got in the kitchen seem reaaaaally sticky. I added honey to the pot when I added the sugar and the texture seems very honey like. My two jars are in the fridge firming up.... are they ruined? Is it possible the texture gets fixed once it's cold? Or can I save it? 🥲 Any help is very appreciated, TIA!
I used:
3lb fresh strawberry 900g sugar ~75g honey 6tsp lime juice (ran out of lemon)
Comments Section
Wait and see. Even if the texture isn’t perfect it’ll still be delicious.
Strawberry is difficult to get to set without extra pectin.
(My accidentally-overcooked strawberry jam has a distinct caramel note which was a surprise but not a bad one)
After a night in the fridge it has the texture of a thick caramel haha. Luckily it tastes perfect! Hopefully I can find some baking recipes to use it in 😛
Jelly is always sticky. It may or may not set properly and chances are you are overcooked and it’s going to be hard. You could empty all the jars and add more fruit and try to reset it but you’re probably better off making do with what you’ve got.
If you really want to can, make sure you’re following directions, have all the ingredients you need, and stick to the process while you learn. It’s not the time to get creative and double guess recipes.
Yeah it definitely got the texture of a thick caramel-like candy. I'm too afraid of completely messing it up by adding more fruit - plus it is really tasty haha
Lesson learned. I am sticking to freezer jam recipes for now but I will follow the recipe more closely 😅
If it sets too firm you can always melt it, add water to thin, and pour it back into jars. Since it’s being stored in the fridge/freezer no need to worry about sterile jars or lots of boiling.
My family prefers the no-cook freezer jams. Cooked jam doesn't compare with the fresh fruit taste of no cook jams.