Jelly Tips

These are some very helpful tips....atleast for me. I'm going to try the butter thing because I think the whole keeping at rolling boil thing was my problem. The jelly was about to boil over so maybe I didn't keep it on long enough. Though it set up pretty good it was not perfect. But I'm pretty proud for it being my first time..smile

Tip #5 - GEL TEST!

When in doubt, use a gel test. I knew about the spoon test, where you dip a metal spoon into the boiling syrup, and if the syrup sheets off the spoon and forms 2 side-by-side drips, then it has reached the gel stage. In all the batches of jelly I have done so far, only 1 of them actually exhibited the proper spoon test result.

A friend of mine, fellow quilter and canner, told me about the freezer test.

[This] test involves putting a few small plates in the freezer, and testing the consistency of the syrup after a sample has set in the freezer on a cold plate for a few minutes. Place a spoonful of syrup mixture on a cold plate; return to freezer for two minutes. If it is cooked enough, the jelly on the plate will be the correct thickness by then. In case it is gelling on your plate in the freezer, you should be prepared to remove the pan from heat to avoid overcooking it (resulting in HARD jelly) immediately after this test. If it's not ready, cook for two more minutes and repeat; that's what the extra plates are for.

The freezer test has been far more hepful in my jelly-making than the spoon test ever was. (Thanks Nancy!!!)
Also, the more I've done it, the more I can tell, based on the foam that forms during boiling, and the kinds of bubbles that form, when it's close to the gel stage. You know that good old "cook it until it looks right" tip.... yah, that actually works, when you know what it's supposed to look like!

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Tip #6 - ADD A PAT!

Adding a pat of margarine (or butter) to the syrup while it's boiling keeps the foam and boiling bubbles from building up as much. I had heard about this from many older canners, and I remember my Great-Grandma adding a bit of butter to her boiling pots to keep the foam down. This was a life-saver for many of my jelly batches because I had just about the limit of what the pot would hold without boiling over. I was having a hard time keeping it stirred down enough not to boil to the top edge, and decided to try the pat of buter. Within about 15 seconds of putting it in, while still stirring, the foam almost disappeared and the boiling bubbles became more contained, still a rolling boil, but not trying to escape my pot. YAY! Why didn't I try that before!? I use that pat nearly all the time when jelly-making now.

In addition to making it easier to keep up with the boiling, when I think it is about time for they syrpu to be at the gel stage, I check the pot and the boiling bubbles change - I'm no longer able to stir them down. Another good inidication that it is time for JELLY, and the butter makes it real clear where that stage is. I also have less foam left on the top after taking the syrup off the heat, so there is less 'wasted jelly' from skimming the foam off before jarring the syrup/jelly - less foam, less skimming, more jelly!