cyndi in the desert wrote:
> I made a cherry-raspberry jam from a recipe that didn't use commercial
> pectin - just the fruit plus lemon and orange zest, plus some orange
> juice. It didn't set. It's the first time I've tried jamming without
> commercial pectin so I don't know if I did it wrong or not. Seems like
> I boiled it forever and it never got to the jelling stage.
> I would like to enter this into the fair, so I can't leave it syrupy.
> What's the best method to reprocess it? All the advice I find is geared
> towards recipes that already have pectin added. Should I just boil it
> down? Or, I have a rather old box of Pomona's pectin I never used...but
> it seems tricky to get right, and I don't have a lot to experiment
> with.
> Thanks for any advice,
> Cyndi
>


Are you sure the recipe called for zest and not peel? I a berry jam
recipe or two that call for thinly sliced lemons -- peel and all. The
lemon peel is boiled first, and it supplies the pectin. (also almost
overpowers the berries)

I would use Certo to reprocess it. Find Certo's directions for remaking
jelly and follow those directions. Cherries and raspberries and sugar
will boil down to make tar before they set into jam (Someone Nameless
did that once with some beautiful blackberries I'd picked to make a
cobbler.)

If it tastes good like it is, you could call it Cherry Raspberry Sauce
(for ice cream.)

Good luck,
Bob