[jaws]

I picked some wild bitter cherries, cooked with water and strained making about 4 cups juice. Stirred in 6.5 cups sugar according to a recipe I had, I boiled for 1 min  then stirred in 1/2 bottle Certo (pectin) put into jars - it did not set at all.
I have put it back into the pan, boiled for 4 mins and put in the other 1/2 bottle of Certo. Still not setting.
Can anyone suggest how to get my jelly to set?
Thanks

[Casey76]

Hmm... I'me a novice when it comes to jam and jelly making, but I've used a 1:1 ratio of preserving sugar (with added pectin and citric acid) to juice.

I.e. if I have 800ml of juice, I've used 800g of sugar.

Since you've already got a thin jam/ syrup, you could try reboiling with a bit of preserving sugar (and perhaps a tblsp of lemon juice to counteract the sweetness) and keep boiling until it reaches the setting point (I usually test a tsp of jam on a cold saucer)

[catllar]

I made some cherry jam which wouldn't set despite using extra pectin. I tipped the jar into a roomy bowl, stuck it in the microwave and zapped it for 3 mins, gave it a stir, repeated the zapping and voila! set cherry jam. Have only tried it on small quantities, 1 jar at a time, but as it only a takes a little while I'll be doing it on all my non-setting cherry jam

[Poolfield2]

I've never done cherry jelly but sounds like you have plenty of sugar and pectin, so I can only think it needs more boiling and catlar's success should give you hope.

[Trillium]

I've not used liquid Certo myself but the powdered Certo needs to be added first with the prepped fruit, brought to the boil, and then the sugar added and all boiled hard for one minute then taken off the heat. If you add the sugar first, the pectin can't start to set properly.

With some fruits, if it's not acidic enough, no amount of pectin will help so I almost regularly add a good squirt of lemon juice (from concentrate) to the fruit and pectin mix. It helps with setting and also 'freshens' the fruit flavour.

As for adding butter, my mother does that to stop scum forming. Frankly, I can't stand her jams because of that buttery overtaste.
To easily remove scum, take the cooked jam/jelly off the heat, let it sit in the pot for about 2-3 minutes and the scum is now a thick enough skin that is easily removed with a slotted spoon. You get the true fruit flavour and save a fortune in butter. 

[Unclebill]

Today I tried my hand at making Blackcurrant jelly instead of jam. I followed the instructions to the letter including testing for set.
I have ended up with 10 1lb jars of Ribena !!
Help !!

[catllar]

Put small amount of "Ribena" in tall glass - top up with fizz of some sort -  drink -instant Kir Royale - Where's the problem??

Try my microwave miracle! Not all at once obviously!

[mumofstig]

the easiest way to make jam is with a jam thermometer, it takes all the guess work out of jam making/setting point

[Trillium]

Even with some lemon juice to help the setting, I find some fruits just need more pectin than stated. For blackcurrant and raspberry, I add almost 1-1/2 packets of pectin, mostly as I don't add quite the required amount of sugar (too sweet for me). I currently have a batch of red currant that didn't set and I'll simply empty them into a big pot, add a few packets of pectin, bring to boil hard for 1 minute then bottle again. That usually does the trick.

[jaws]

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions. I am glad it's not just me that things go wrong for.
I have a fair quantity so I will try zapping in the microwave first them if that does not work I'll get some more pectin and add lemon juice. My husband says it will be nice over ice cream even if I have to bottle rather than jar it.
Joan

[Unclebill]

Thank you all for your help. I have two queries.
1 How much lemon juice should I add
2 How much pectin powder (if I can get it!)
oh! and 3 When should they be added to my Ribena?

[Trillium]

I can't visualize how much 10 lbs is, but for every 4 cups of 'Ribena', add about 1 tbsp of lemon juice (fresh or ready made (not lemonade) ) and another 1/2 packet of pectin.
The easiest way to work this is to measure it all out into one big pot, add what is needed, bring to boil for one minute and then rebottle. You'd be looking at about 4 to 6 packets of pectin if I'm guessing right.
Next year when making the jelly or jam, add the lemon juice right away with the box of pectin and extra pectin, up to half a packet, boil, etc. I suggest you try one batch this way, let it cool and set and see how it works out. If it's too firm you can decrease pectin to about 1/4 packet, if still a bit runny, add just a bit more.
Sorry I can't be more specific but the water content in the berries determines how things set.

[Unclebill]

Thanks Trillium.
How much pectin is in a Canadian packet/box of pectin?

[Trillium]

Regular pectin is 57 grams/box. No sugar pectin is 49 grams/box.

[Unclebill]

The total weight of one box of British pectin is 39 gms.