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Friday, July 1, 2011

No Blue Ribbons For Me.....


HELP!!!  I am in need of some canning advice.  I researched many different strawberry preserve recipes. Deciding on one that had won twelve blue ribbons seemed like an intelligent  idea.  It appeared to be very straight forward and I followed this award winning strawberry preserve recipe to the letter. Unfortunately my preserves did not set up. There will be no blue ribbons awarded for my batch of  strawberry preserves. What I have now are eight half pints of strawberry syrup. Has anyone ever had this problem and if you have,  how did you remedy it?


Until that time when someone is kind enough to offer up a solution to my soupy preserves problem, you will find me drizzling it over ice cream or pouring it on a short stack of pancakes. Oh,  and by the way there is one more important piece of information I forgot to mention.  Although it may look like strawberry soup, drinking it straight from the jar makes your chin and neck really sticky.  LOL!!! Not really the solution I was seeking, for either my preserves or my waistline.   Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

22 comments:

  1. Did the recipe call for any type of pectin such as Sure-Jell or Certo? They usually work very well.
    Blessings,
    Lorilee

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  2. I don't can, so I can't offer any suggestions. I could help you consume that lovely syrup though ~ it looks really yummy! Have a safe and happy 4th!!

    Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  3. There are a couple of factors: How long has it been sitting? Some jams/jellies/preserves can take a week to set up completely. Another question is did you use pectin (I think preserves just have sugar?), or was it a cook it all the way down method? I *think* if it is a pectin-less recipe you can recook til it sets and can it again. I'm pretty sure you can -not- recook ones involving pectin, but don't quote me on that. There are a few ways to test set before you cook if you want to be sure this time - my favorite being the "few drops on a plate from the freezer" method.

    And if you can't get a fix - I already love the idea of drizzling it on stuff! Or you could make ice cream with it (not just on top!) or maybe margaritas? Hehe. Or a granita or strawberry lemonade.... etc. So many ways to save a "flop"!

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  4. My strawberry jam took ages to cook, I added ALOT of sugar, as strawberries dont set like other fruit that has high pectin level like plums for instance...you need to put lemon juice in as well to help set.
    I seemed to cook mine for ages like I said, but eventually, EVENTUALLY, it set, but is still not a 'thick' jam by any means...but hangs on the knife okay, not runny.....hope this helps...I would try boiling a few jars up again...you can only try...

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  5. Sorry I can't help, I'm only a novice canner and I've never done jams. It looks delicious! I really like the margarita idea! When are you serving? I'll be right over! I love the photos!

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  6. I'd just cook it down a little longer to thicken it up. Or use it as a syrup, it looks delicious!

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  7. I've never had this problem but I do use pectin for my jams and jellies. Last year I made grape jelly for the first time and it took a full week for the smaller (1/2 pint) jars to set up... so maybe there's still hope. If not I bet that's some fabulous ice cream topping!

    ~Chris

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  8. Well, atleast you've made a great syrup for pancakes and icecream! I have not tried jam yet, but I've heard the same complaint from others. I'd like to know the solution!

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  9. Strawberries have no pectin and in my experience the jam/jelly needs a hand. In this part of the world you can buy jam sugar which has pectin added. Makes life easier. If you don't want to do this lemon juice added helps but is not a great solution in my opinion.
    As Lorilee said Certo will do it. It looks gorgeous and mind you strawberry syrup would be lovely too. There's always a place for mistakes in the kitchen x

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  10. I think Meg covered most of the bases, I'll just add that if you did use pectin and it's still loose you can re-can it if you want to go to all that work again.
    homecanning.com is the Ball site and you can find info there. Under 'tools' there is a problem solvers section.
    Sorry it didn't work out, some years berries are wetter than other years. I know how it feels... but your ice cream looks great:@)
    Happy July 4th Weekend!

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  11. I've only made freezer jams, but my mother used to use pectin in hers....
    Thanks for visiting my new side blog. I have lots of old recipes to post!

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  12. One time I made Apple Cinnamon Jelly (recipe from a magazine), but it too refused to set. It was the absolute best syrup though. Unfortunately I didn't save the recipe and I wish I had. I'd love to make that 'syrup' again.

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  13. Well, I have never made jam so I have no advice to offer. BUT it looks sooo good to me. I always prefer "runny" jam. So in my opinion it turned out perfect!!

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  14. I had the same thing happen. We didn't use enough pectin. Evidently the "old fashion" way was to use lemon somehow. Only thing was, no one could remember. LOL. We enjoyed strawberry syrup. It looks like there are some really good comments to help you along.

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  15. Well since that is my families favorite way to eat jam it has never been a problem. It is like when I want it to be runny it sets up perfectly. Sorry I can't give you any better advice that you got, I would just say, have fun. It it very, very pretty.

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  16. Oh! What a drag! BUT! Think of the wine sprizers and strawberry daiquiris and drizzled ice cream and additions to fruit crumbles, and pancake toppings and, and, and ...

    If you did use pectin, you didn't boil the jam long enough ... I always add a few more minutes onto the 'rolling boil' time and then another minute or two on the boil after adding the pectin.

    Try agian, try again!

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  17. Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. I did use pectin and boiled it according to the directions. I probably should have boiled it a few extra minutes like Susan and others suggested. Great ideas from everyone on how to save my jam disaster. Thanks again for your help, it is appreciated.

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  18. You may have not boiled it long enough. Sometimes letting it stand will help it thinken a week or more check it again. Other wise make some lovely lemonaide with it in it..tee hee. And, top it on muffins, put it into breads, homemade icecream, strawberry milk, add it to smoothies for the sugary strawberry flavor. I am getting hungry just thinking of all these yummy ideas.
    Melissa
    www.kidsandcanningjars.blogspot.com

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  19. Hello Susan

    I made strawberry jam for the first time a while back and it was great!! I used a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

    I did a post on the this if you would like the recipe and see pictures or I can e-mail it to you.

    Take Care!

    Best
    Tracy :)

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  20. Well, it sure does look pretty in that jar! Maybe you could just decorate with it! :)

    This has happened to me. I just poured it back into the pot (maybe four jars at a time), added fruit pectin while it was still cold, and then reboiled it. It thickened up in no time and was easy to can again (using my Swiss method, of course). :D

    I have also done it jar by jar, meaning when I wanted a jar I just cooked it again and let it cool before eating. It is no work at all cooking up just one jar, but redoing the entire batch is rather a pain.

    :)

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  21. Yes, I remember my Mum always added pectin to her Strawberry Jam. x

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  22. I had to comment, because I have five lovely jars of Bing Cherry Syrup in my cupboard. It was supposed to be jam, but I decided to just change the name and use it on pancakes or ice cream instead of re-doing it. (My pectin box had instructions, but it was just too stinkin' hot to fool with it anymore!) I bet your strawberry syrup is yummy just as it is! :)

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