I followed a new recipe for strawberry preserves which said to let the
strawberries cool completely before putting into jars. After cooling
completely the preserves are still "watery." Does this mean I have done
something wrong and the preserves are not going to thicken? In previous
recipes, the strawberries were watery but they were also hot and I
assumed they would thicken when they cooled, which they always did.

Do you think these will thicken? Or do you think I have done something
wrong?

Cookie

Cookie Cutter > wrote in message >...
> I followed a new recipe for strawberry preserves which said to let the
> strawberries cool completely before putting into jars. After cooling
> completely the preserves are still "watery." Does this mean I have done
> something wrong and the preserves are not going to thicken? In previous
> recipes, the strawberries were watery but they were also hot and I
> assumed they would thicken when they cooled, which they always did.
>
> Do you think these will thicken? Or do you think I have done something
> wrong?
>
> Cookie

if you post the whole recipe and method, maybe someone could be of
better help. Sometimes the reason for something going wrong is in
there somewhere...

Kathi

3 cups berries
2 1/2 cups sugar

Melt the sugar in the oven or a double boiler. Pour over berries, bring
them to a boil and boil and skim for about 9 minutes.

I had a flat of strawberries and multiplied all ingredients: 30 cups of
strawberries and 25 cups of sugar. I did not melt the sugar first
because I did not have sufficient equipment to do that -- I just added
the sugar to the berries, brought it to a boil and cooked about 9 minutes.

I went ahead and put the watery preserves into jars. They have not
thickened and I do not expect them to at this point. I'll just have to
find some uses for strawberry soup.

Cookie


Kathi wrote:
> Cookie Cutter > wrote in message >...
>
>>I followed a new recipe for strawberry preserves which said to let the
>>strawberries cool completely before putting into jars. After cooling
>>completely the preserves are still "watery." Does this mean I have done
>>something wrong and the preserves are not going to thicken? In previous
>>recipes, the strawberries were watery but they were also hot and I
>>assumed they would thicken when they cooled, which they always did.
>>
>>Do you think these will thicken? Or do you think I have done something
>>wrong?
>>
>>Cookie
>
>
> if you post the whole recipe and method, maybe someone could be of
> better help. Sometimes the reason for something going wrong is in
> there somewhere...
>
> Kathi

The first mistake I made when making jelly was doubling or tripling the
recipe. Jelly is the one thing that I've had to do one batch at a time in
the amount specified in the recipe.

Dwayne


"Cookie Cutter" > wrote in message
...
> I followed a new recipe for strawberry preserves which said to let the
> strawberries cool completely before putting into jars. After cooling
> completely the preserves are still "watery." Does this mean I have done
> something wrong and the preserves are not going to thicken? In previous
> recipes, the strawberries were watery but they were also hot and I
> assumed they would thicken when they cooled, which they always did.
>
> Do you think these will thicken? Or do you think I have done something
> wrong?
>
> Cookie

On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 01:16:07 GMT, Cookie Cutter > wrote:

>3 cups berries
>2 1/2 cups sugar
>
>Melt the sugar in the oven or a double boiler. Pour over berries, bring
>them to a boil and boil and skim for about 9 minutes.
>
>I had a flat of strawberries and multiplied all ingredients: 30 cups of
>strawberries and 25 cups of sugar. I did not melt the sugar first
>because I did not have sufficient equipment to do that -- I just added
>the sugar to the berries, brought it to a boil and cooked about 9 minutes.
>
>I went ahead and put the watery preserves into jars. They have not
>thickened and I do not expect them to at this point. I'll just have to
>find some uses for strawberry soup.
>
>Cookie
My best guess is that
1) having increased the volume of the recipe, nine minutes isn't
nearly long enough to have cooked the preserve and
2) I'm surprised there isn't any lemon juice or added pectin as
strawberries are not high in pectin so don't generally set well,
especially if they are ripe or just past ripe. (I use lemon juice as
I like a soft set.)
You could probably save this by re-cooking with added no-sugar pectin.
CJ
>
>Kathi wrote:
>> Cookie Cutter > wrote in message >...
>>
>>>I followed a new recipe for strawberry preserves which said to let the
>>>strawberries cool completely before putting into jars. After cooling
>>>completely the preserves are still "watery." Does this mean I have done
>>>something wrong and the preserves are not going to thicken? In previous
>>>recipes, the strawberries were watery but they were also hot and I
>>>assumed they would thicken when they cooled, which they always did.
>>>
>>>Do you think these will thicken? Or do you think I have done something
>>>wrong?
>>>
>>>Cookie
>>
>>
>> if you post the whole recipe and method, maybe someone could be of
>> better help. Sometimes the reason for something going wrong is in
>> there somewhere...
>>
>> Kathi

wrote:

> 2) I'm surprised there isn't any lemon juice or added pectin as
> strawberries are not high in pectin so don't generally set well,
> especially if they are ripe or just past ripe. (I use lemon juice as
> I like a soft set.)

What does the lemon juice do to the preserves?

> You could probably save this by re-cooking with added no-sugar pectin.

Thank you -- I will try your suggestion.

Cookie

On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 15:41:11 GMT, Cookie Cutter > wrote:

wrote:
>
>> 2) I'm surprised there isn't any lemon juice or added pectin as
>> strawberries are not high in pectin so don't generally set well,
>> especially if they are ripe or just past ripe. (I use lemon juice as
>> I like a soft set.)
>
>What does the lemon juice do to the preserves?

Lemons are high in pectin so the lemon juice gives the preserve a soft
set.
CJ
>
>> You could probably save this by re-cooking with added no-sugar pectin.
>
>Thank you -- I will try your suggestion.
>
>Cookie

Cookie Cutter wrote:

> 3 cups berries
> 2 1/2 cups sugar
>
> Melt the sugar in the oven or a double boiler. Pour over berries, bring
> them to a boil and boil and skim for about 9 minutes.
>
> I had a flat of strawberries and multiplied all ingredients: 30 cups of
> strawberries and 25 cups of sugar. I did not melt the sugar first
> because I did not have sufficient equipment to do that -- I just added
> the sugar to the berries, brought it to a boil and cooked about 9 minutes.
>
> I went ahead and put the watery preserves into jars. They have not
> thickened and I do not expect them to at this point. I'll just have to
> find some uses for strawberry soup.
>
Cookie, the recipe I used for strawberry preserves has pectin and lemon
juice in it. The preserves were not runny.

In article >, Cookie Cutter
> wrote:

> 3 cups berries
> 2 1/2 cups sugar
>
> Melt the sugar in the oven or a double boiler. Pour over berries, bring
> them to a boil and boil and skim for about 9 minutes.
>
> I had a flat of strawberries and multiplied all ingredients: 30 cups of
> strawberries and 25 cups of sugar. I did not melt the sugar first
> because I did not have sufficient equipment to do that -- I just added
> the sugar to the berries, brought it to a boil and cooked about 9
> minutes.
>
> I went ahead and put the watery preserves into jars. They have not
> thickened and I do not expect them to at this point. I'll just have to
> find some uses for strawberry soup.
>
> Cookie

Hmmm, so you didn't follow the recipe.

I think someone else said something about 9 minutes not being long
enough cooking time. I'd agree. You've changed the volume
*significantly* and it would take a lot longer for the water to
evaporate from the berries to make the proper thick, lightly jelled
syrup that makes for preserves. I honestly don't know about a rescue
for it.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am updated 6/19/04.
Only 6 days until my birthday. "Shop early, shop often, shop
big." Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred. Or is it cheap
gin and good chocolate? I can never remember. . . .A diamond bracelet
would be nice. . .

In article >, nutNhoney
> wrote:
(snip
> >
> Cookie, the recipe I used for strawberry preserves has pectin and lemon
> juice in it. The preserves were not runny.

Preserves or jam? I don't know of any recipes for preserves that
involve pectin. I'm not saying there aren't any, but proper preserves
are more pourable than spreadable; jam is more spreadable than pourable.
Preserves are whole or even-cut pieces of fruit that are plumped with
and suspended in a thick and only lightly jelled sugar syrup; jam is
crushed fruit in a thicker syrup - I don't even call it a syrup, just
part of the jam. :-) There's a nice piece with definitions of various
fruit spreads in the FAQ file.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am updated 6/19/04.
Only 6 days until my birthday. "Shop early, shop often, shop
big." Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred. Or is it cheap
gin and good chocolate? I can never remember. . . .A diamond bracelet
would be nice. . .

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> In article >, nutNhoney
> > wrote:
> (snip
>
>>Cookie, the recipe I used for strawberry preserves has pectin and lemon
>>juice in it. The preserves were not runny.
>
>
> Preserves or jam? I don't know of any recipes for preserves that
> involve pectin. I'm not saying there aren't any, but proper preserves
> are more pourable than spreadable; jam is more spreadable than pourable.
> Preserves are whole or even-cut pieces of fruit that are plumped with
> and suspended in a thick and only lightly jelled sugar syrup; jam is
> crushed fruit in a thicker syrup - I don't even call it a syrup, just
> part of the jam. :-) There's a nice piece with definitions of various
> fruit spreads in the FAQ file.

I used pectin for both. For the jam, I followed the recipe in the Certo
box. For the preserves, I followed the recipe in the Ball Blue Book
(pg. 38, 2001 ed). It called for 1 package of powdered pectin. There
is another recipe on pg 39 for Strawberry Preserves Deluxe that does not
have the pectin. I think I will make a batch of that to compare the two.

nutNhoney wrote:

> I used pectin for both.

I never use pectin for preserves. Simply add sugar to the
sliced/quartered strawberries at 1:1 ratio and let sit out overnight.
Then put into a pot and bring to a boil, skim off alllllllllll the foam
that will rise and put into jars. Up until last year I put a few layers
of paraffin on top to seal but I had several jars mold so it's BWB from
now on.

B/

In article >, nutNhoney
> wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> > In article >, nutNhoney
> > > wrote:
> > (snip
> >
> >>Cookie, the recipe I used for strawberry preserves has pectin and lemon
> >>juice in it. The preserves were not runny.
> >
> >
> > Preserves or jam? I don't know of any recipes for preserves that
> > involve pectin. I'm not saying there aren't any, but proper
> > preserves are more pourable than spreadable; jam is more spreadable
> > than pourable. Preserves are whole or even-cut pieces of fruit
> > that are plumped with and suspended in a thick and only lightly
> > jelled sugar syrup; jam is crushed fruit in a thicker syrup - I
> > don't even call it a syrup, just part of the jam. :-) There's a
> > nice piece with definitions of various fruit spreads in the FAQ
> > file.


> I used pectin for both. For the jam, I followed the recipe in the Certo
> box. For the preserves, I followed the recipe in the Ball Blue Book
> (pg. 38, 2001 ed). It called for 1 package of powdered pectin.

Well, I'll be danged! Learn something new every day. I see that
there's a recipe for peach preserves involving pectin, too. Not *too*
much different from the jam recipes.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am updated 6/19/04.
Only 5 days until my birthday. "Shop early, shop often, shop
big." Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred. Or is it cheap
gin and good chocolate? I can never remember. . . .A diamond bracelet
would be nice. . .

In article >, Cookie Cutter
> wrote:

> wrote:
>
> > 2) I'm surprised there isn't any lemon juice or added pectin as
> > strawberries are not high in pectin so don't generally set well,
> > especially if they are ripe or just past ripe. (I use lemon juice as
> > I like a soft set.)
>
> What does the lemon juice do to the preserves?

Sometimes lemon juice is added to fruits to help with the jel -- that
mysterious combination of pectin, sugar, and acid to effect a proper set.

The pith and seeds of citrus fruits are high in pectin. Think
marmalades. :-)
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am updated 6/19/04.
Only 6 days until my birthday. "Shop early, shop often, shop
big." Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred. Or is it cheap
gin and good chocolate? I can never remember. . . .A diamond bracelet
would be nice. . .