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Jams and Jellies
Whether you have access to a farmers market, have an abundance of produce, or purchase produce from a grocery store — making homemade jams and jellies is a great first project for those beginning with food preservation and a continuing treat for experienced preservers. This easy food preservation method only requires fruit, sugar, possibly pectin, and a few basic kitchen tools.
Make Jam and Jelly at Home
Before you begin, gather the correct equipment, find a tested recipe, and have good-quality fruit on hand. Prepare the space, use clean equipment, and wash hands. Always use a tested recipe from a reliable source, such as the USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation, a state Cooperative Extension, Ball ®, or Mrs. Wages®. Make sure to follow tested recipes exactly.
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The Canning Process
For best practices, read resources from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Read Using Boiling-Water Canners before beginning to make jam or jelly at home. Read the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning: Guide 1 Principles of Home Canning if new to canning.
- Sterilize canning jars in boiling water.
- Pour hot jam or jelly immediately into hot, sterilized jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace.
- Wipe rims of jars with dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids.
- Process the jars in a boiling water canner.
- Carefully remove jars from boiling water; let cool.
- Remove screw bands after about 12 to 24 hours.
- Label and date product.
- Store product in a dark, dry, cool location.
Processing
Use a boiling-water canner to process all recipes. Follow tested recipe directions and use only jar sizes specified by the recipe.
- Style of pack: Hot
- Jar size: Half-pints or pints
| Altitude (in feet above sea level) | Processing Time |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1,000 feet | 5 minutes |
| 1,001 to 6,000 feet | 10 minutes |
| Above 6,000 feet | 5 minutes |
Remaking Soft Jellies
Remake With Powdered Pectin
For each quart of jelly, mix ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup water, 2 Tablespoons bottled lemon juice, and 4 teaspoons powdered pectin. Bring the ingredients to a boil while stirring. Add jelly and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, quickly skim the foam off the jelly, and fill sterile jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust new lids and process as recommended in a boiling-water canner.
Remake With Liquid Pectin
For each quart of jelly, measure ¾ cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons bottled lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons liquid pectin. Bring jelly only to boil over high heat, while stirring. Remove it from heat and quickly add the sugar, lemon juice, and pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute. Quickly skim off foam, and fill sterile jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust new lids and process as recommended in a boiling-water canner.
Remake Without Added Pectin
For each quart of jelly, add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. Heat to boiling, and boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Use one of the tests described in Testing Jelly Without Added Pectin by the National Center for Home Food Preservation to determine jelly doneness. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam, and fill sterile jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust new lids and process as recommended in a boiling-water canner.
Problems with Jellied Products?
Find causes and possible solutions for common problems with jelly and jam fruit products.
Bubbles
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Air became trapped in hot jelly. | Remove foam from jelly or jam before filling jars. Ladle or pour jelly quickly into jar. Do not allow jelly or jam to start gelling before jars are filled. |
| May denote spoilage. If bubbles are moving, do not use. | Follow recommended methods for applying lids and processing. Review information on this page about mold or fermentation. |
Cloudy Product
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Green fruit (starch). | Use firm, ripe fruit, or slightly underripe. |
| Imperfect straining of homemade juice. | Do not squeeze juice; let it drip through jelly bag. |
| Jelly or jam allowed to stand before it was poured into jars or poured too slowly. | Pour into jars immediately upon reaching gelling point. Work quickly |
Color Darker than Normal
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Overcooking sugar and juice. | Avoid long boiling. Make smaller batches and cook rapidly. |
| Stored too long or at too high of temperature. | Store processed jars in a cool, dark, and dry place; use within one year. Refrigerate after opening. |
Crystals
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Excess sugar. | Use a tested recipe and measure ingredients precisely. |
| Undissolved sugar sticking to sides of saucepot. | Dissolve all sugar as jelly cooks. If necessary, wipe side of pan free of crystals with damp cloth before filling jars. |
| Tartrate crystals in grape juice. | Extract grape juice and allow tartrate crystals to settle out by refrigerating the juice overnight. Strain juice before making jelly. |
| Mixture cooked too slowly or too long. | Cook at a rapid boil. Remove from heat immediately when jellying point is reached. Make small batches at a time; do not double a tested recipe. |
Mold or Fermentation (Denotes Spoilage)
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Yeasts and mold grow on jelly. | Process in a boiling water canner. Test seal before storing. Pre-sterilize when processed less than 10 minutes in boiling water. |
| Imperfect sealing. Common also with paraffin-covered jellies. | Use new flat lids for each jar; make sure there are no flaws. Pre-treat lids per manufacturer’s directions. Use ring bands in good condition: no rust, no dents, no bends. Wipe sealing surface of jar clean after filling, before applying lid. |
| Improper storage. | Store processed jars in a dark, dry, cool place. Refrigerate after opening. |
Soft Jelly
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Overcooking fruit to extract juice. | Avoid overcooking; this lowers the jellying capacity of pectin. |
| Using too much water to extract the juice. | Use only the amount of water suggested in the instructions. |
| Incorrect proportions of sugar and juice. | Follow recommended proportions. |
| Undercooking causing insufficient concentration of sugar. | Cook rapidly to jellying point. |
| Insufficient acid. | Lemon juice is sometimes added if the fruit is acid deficient. |
| Making too large a batch at one time. | Use only 4 to 6 cups of juice in each batch of jelly. |
| Moving product too soon. | Do not move jellied products for at least 12 hours. |
| Insufficient time before using. | Some fruits take up to 2 weeks to set-up completely; plum jelly and jellies or jams made from bottled juices may take the longer time. |
Stiff or Tough Jelly
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Overcooking. | Cook jelly mixture to a temperature 8 F. higher than the boiling point of water or until it “sheets” from a spoon. |
| Too much pectin in fruit. | Use ripe fruit. Decrease amount if using commercial pectin. |
| Too little sugar, which requires excessive cooking. | When pectin is not added, use ¾ cup sugar to 1 cup juice for most fruits. |
Syneresis or “Weeping”
| Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|
| Excess acid in juice makes pectin unstable. | Maintain proper acidity of juice. |
| Storage place too warm or storage temperature fluctuated. | Store processed jars in a cool, dark, and dry place. Refrigerate after opening. |
Sources
This information comes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation and was adapted from "So Easy to Preserve", 6th ed. 2014. Bulletin 989, Cooperative Extension Service, The University of Georgia, Athens. Revised by Elizabeth L. Andress. Ph.D. and Judy A. Harrison, Ph.D., Extension Foods Specialists.