Jams and jellies

[Patchouli]

Someone gave me a little bit of plums that are very small and going the way of the world (getting squishy).

Do they have to all be in the same state of ripeness to make jam or jelly?
Have you made plum jam or jelly?
Keep in mind, I have never made jams or jellies, neither have I canned or made preserves.
Any pointers?

 

[TMT Tactical]

First disclaimer: I personally have never canned anything, so use you own discretion. Video's on Plum Jam and Plum Jelly. those in eh know, please feel free to comment and help out here.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Patchouli we make our own jams and marmalades in our bread making machine using the recipes we have in the book and find it works well when packaged in pop top recycled jam jars we sterilise we save from pasta sauces and other jams.

Here is a website that may help it has freezing, canning, preserving recipes and instructions in it - http://pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm .

I hope this helps.

 

[Dani]

I would follow the recipe at pickyourown.org for making plum jam. The more ripe they are the easier they peel and to answer your question, no they don't all have to the the same state of ripeness. Jams are the easiest to do, so good luck with your yummies!

 

[Dani]

@Patchouli we make our own jams and marmalades in our bread making machine using the recipes we have in the book and find it works well when packaged in pop top recycled jam jars we sterilise we save from pasta sauces and other jams.

Here is a website that may help it has freezing, canning, preserving recipes and instructions in it - http://pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm .

I hope this helps.

Aww Sewingcreations I should have read your response before I suggested the same site! That and Canning Granny are my go tos. . . I love both of them . Glad you were able to post a link. I tried to copy and paste but my paste option didn't come up. It was pickyourown.org/plumjam.htm. Maybe now that I type it out it will come up? We'll see.

Edit. Nope guess it didn't but you should be able to find it at least.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Dani great minds think alike , and I will have to look at Canning Granny too to get some more ideas too , thanks for the additional site to look at.

 

[Patchouli]

Thank you so much!!
Now I'm feeling a little giddy. Realized I don't have any supplies, except the plums.
I thought I had a few things...appreciate the videos and really like the link to written directions too.

 

[Terri9630]

@Patchouli we make our own jams and marmalades in our bread making machine using the recipes we have in the book and find it works well when packaged in pop top recycled jam jars we sterilise we save from pasta sauces and other jams.

Here is a website that may help it has freezing, canning, preserving recipes and instructions in it - http://pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm .

I hope this helps.

In the bread machine? I've never heard of that. I'll have to look for instructions and give it a try.

 

[Dani]

In the bread machine? I've never heard of that. I'll have to look for instructions and give it a try.

I hadn't either. I have a bread machine but have hardly ever used it. Maybe worth a try.

 

[Terri9630]

Mine has a jelly setting and I've never even noticed it. Thanks Sewingcreations.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Patchouli , @Terri9630 , @Dani when you use your bread making machine you don't have to use a water bath canner or anything you can just let it do it's cycle and pour it straight into any recycled pop top lid jar you have sterilised and the heat from the jam simply sucks the pop top down on the lid, job done. What we do is sterilise the jars by putting the jars in a bread pan pour the boiling water in the bottom of the pan and into the jars and put the lids in the water. Just before the jam cycle ends we pour the water out of the jars and sit the jars and lids on a tea towel sitting upright and the heat dries them, pour jam in, put lid on and the heat from the jam sucks the pop tops on the lids down over about 30 mins. We let the full jars of jam sit overnight on a cake cooling rack with a tea towel over it and then put them in the cupboard and they last for 12 months. Of course once you open the jar of jam you want to refrigerate it. It could not be easier.

You can however only do small batches in the bread maker at a time but with the 2 of us that is all we need. A bread maker uses minimal power and on our electricity prices of around 24c per KWH it only uses .06c of electricity per hour.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Most welcome for the info @Dani and @Terri9630 and yes your bread maker makes lots more things than just your bread. Usually the recipes for jams and jellies are somewhere near the back of the instruction book you get with them. You can sub the pectin with the juice of a lemon per 500g of fruit too. With the berry jams we put in the amount of pectin that the bread making recipe book says and the juice of 1 lemon as well as it makes it set better as the berries do not have a lot of pectin in them otherwise we find it is rather a sloppy jam.

 

[Dani]

@Sewingcreations15 I am going to have to dig mine out again and try this out. I don't think mine had a jelly/jam button and don't remember having jam/ jelly recipes in the booklet, but I may be wrong. It's either buried in my stock room closet or the red barn. My cantaloupe only have a couple more days until ripe.

 

[Terri9630]

I can't find my manuel had to find it online. I read the manual when I bought it and didn't see any jam recipes but they are there.

Lemon juice helps it set? I thought it was just to raise the acidity.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Terri9630 it does both it raises the acidity and also helps the jam set especially when you are working with any berry jams that don't have much pectin in them.

 

[Terri9630]

@Terri9630 it does both it raises the acidity and also helps the jam set especially when you are working with any berry jams that don't have much pectin in them.

I see some grape jelly in my future.

 

[Dani]

I love the fact we can share ideas and learn new ways of how to do something! It's kinda like when I was rendering all that lard Terri said she had used her crockpot in the past. Well I dug out my big electric roaster, which is something I hardly ever have to use and it basically rendered itself on the lowest setting and I could leave it going all night. So much easier with the amount I was doing at one time!

 

[Terri9630]

I love the fact we can share ideas and learn new ways of how to do something! It's kinda like when I was rendering all that lard Terri said she had used her crockpot in the past. Well I dug out my big electric roaster, which is something I hardly ever have to use and it basically rendered itself on the lowest setting and I could leave it going all night. So much easier with the amount I was doing at one time!

Glad to have helped.

 

[Terri9630]

Got my grape jelly going. and it's raining!! Like pouring rain like y'all non desert dwellers get.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Let us know how you go @Terri9630 .

@Dani as I always say if you give 1 task to accomplish to 10 different people you will have multiple ways to do the same thing and some ways are quicker and easier than others not saying of course any persons way is wrong but sometimes adjusting the ways we are doing things saves a lot of time and effort.

 

[Patchouli]

I don't have jam cycle on my bread machine.
I didn't get the chance to make the jam because of a family emergency that took more than a week and by then I was still too busy, stressed out, exhausted, and sad.
What I'm dealing with definitely is the most important thing. Maybe next year.
At least I did get a p.m. from someone wondering where I have been.

 

[Meerkat]

I don't have jam cycle on my bread machine.
I didn't get the chance to make the jam because of a family emergency that took more than a week and by then I was still too busy, stressed out, exhausted, and sad.
What I'm dealing with definitely is the most important thing. Maybe next year.
At least I did get a p.m. from someone wondering where I have been.

We have never made jam but our friend makes it all the time, but we want ot soon if projects stop happening.
Also even more so want to make our own bread and that is already in the plans. I am sick of sliced store bread and always wonder what is in it.
Any suggestion on bread machine and where to buy one?

 

[Patchouli]

I bought mine many years ago and don't remember where or how much it cost.
We use ours for the mixing, kneading, rising, but we pull it out to bake it ourselves since we don't like the machine's finished product. We either put it in loaf pans or make a braided loaf, free form loaf, etc. Top it with cheese or seeds and herbs, etc.

 

[Terri9630]

Let us know how you go @Terri9630 .

@Dani as I always say if you give 1 task to accomplish to 10 different people you will have multiple ways to do the same thing and some ways are quicker and easier than others not saying of course any persons way is wrong but sometimes adjusting the ways we are doing things saves a lot of time and effort.

It was delicious, I need to make more.

 

[MamaJo]

@Patchouli we make our own jams and marmalades in our bread making machine using the recipes we have in the book and find it works well when packaged in pop top recycled jam jars we sterilise we save from pasta sauces and other jams.

Here is a website that may help it has freezing, canning, preserving recipes and instructions in it - How to Can, Freeze, Dry and Preserve Any Fruit or Vegetable at Home .

I hope this helps.

I'm saving this website!!! Making jelly this week!

 

[joel]

I do not think you have to have perfect fruit with the same ripeness.
I put sheets down & shake the black pin cherries on to them, removed the trash,bugs & green cherries.
My mother made the best jelly from what had to be over ripe, ripe & simi-ripe cherries.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Great to hear @Terri9630 and such an easy way to make jams in the bread machine .

Most welcome @MamaJo such great recipes on that site and also blanching and freezing instructions for vegetables further down the page too.