If you stir the pectin powder into an amount of sweetener that is beyond the range shown in our recipes, or have too much sweetener already added to the fruit, the pectin powder will be inhibited from dissolving and may go grainy. Pomona’s Pectin can only properly dissolve in a low-sugar environment, so it is necessary to keep the sweetener low (within our range) while you are dissolving the pectin in the boiling fruit mixture. Additional sweetener can be added after the pectin is fully dissolved.
When the pectin becomes grainy from being stirred into a higher-sweetener mixture, you can’t get rid of the graininess by more cooking. The fix is to add enough more mashed fruit or unsweetened juice to bring the sugar or honey level down to within the original recipe’s sweetener range. This allows the grainy pectin to dissolve and do its job of jelling the original amount of mashed fruit or juice.
You will also add pectin, calcium water, and lemon or lime juice (if called for in the recipe) for the additional mashed fruit or juice. You will add the pectin by making liquid pectin using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. You can make the liquid pectin with boiling water or boiling unsweetened fruit juice.
First determine:
- How much additional mashed fruit for jam or juice for jelly do you need to add to bring the sugar or honey level down to within the original recipe’s sweetener range? See example below.
- Using the original recipe, how much pectin will you need to jell this additional fruit or juice?
- Using the original recipe, how much calcium water will you need for the additional fruit or juice?
- Using the original recipe, how much lemon (or lime) juice will you need for the additional fruit or juice?
Example: If you made jelly with 4 cups of blackberry juice and stirred the pectin into 3 cups of sugar (2 cups is the sugar limit for 4 cups of juice), then you will have to add 2 cups of unsweetened juice to bring the sugar level to within the low-sugar range (3 cups of sugar is the limit for 6 cups of juice). You will also add 2 teaspoons calcium water and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice for the additional 2 cups of blackberry juice. Then you will make liquid pectin with ½ cup boiling liquid and 2 teaspoons pectin.
Use the table below to figure out how much water or unsweetened juice is required to dissolve the additional pectin.
Pectin to Add : Amount of Boiling Liquid
Up to 3 teaspoons : ½ cup liquid
4 to 4 ¾ teaspoons : ¾ cup liquid
5 to 6 teaspoons : 1 cup liquid
7 teaspoons : 1 ¼ cups liquid
8 teaspoons : 1 1/3 cups liquid
Make liquid pectin by measuring the correct amount of water or unsweetened fruit juice into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Put boiling liquid in cup for immersion blender, or in food processor, or in blender. Add pectin. It is very important to vent the lid (if there is one) to let steam out. Don’t use an enclosed blender that can’t be vented. Blend for 10 seconds, then stop and scrape down the sides so all pectin clumps are in or on the liquid. Blend for a full minute until all powder is totally dissolved.
Fix Your Jam/Jelly: Empty jars into sauce pan. Add additional fruit for jam or juice for jelly. Add additional calcium water. Add additional lemon juice (if called for in the recipe). Stir well. Bring mixture to a full boil. Add liquid pectin and stir well. If you want to add more sweetener, do that now and stir well to dissolve. When mixture returns to a full boil, remove from the heat. Jar and process according to the recipe sheet that comes with Pomona’s Pectin.
Category:Troubleshooting Questions
22 Responses
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Shelby LaMothe
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Every jelly recipe I have tried Pomona’s in has come out cloudy, and I even had a strawberry jam that kind of separated into layers. I followed all recipes to the letter pertaining to the ingredients and cooking method. When I made pear jelly today, I made one batch with SureJell and the other batch I made the maple pear jelly in the Pomona’s cookbook. The batch made with Pomona’s is cloudy, whereas the other is clear. I so wanted to like this peckton but it’s falling short for me so far 🙁
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Shelby Collings
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The cloudy effect you are seeing can be for two reasons, 1. it is a low sugar jam/jelly and the crystal “clear” effect comes from a high sugar content (the dextrose in the SureJell in addition to the added sugar in their recipes) and/or 2. the improper juicing of the fruit juice causing sediment to make the jelly look cloudy.
The separating into layers is not from the pectin, it is a natural occurrence (particularly with strawberries) called “fruit float”.
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Sue Smith
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Hi, I have used your pectin and Monk fruit sugar substitute for several years making jam. I made tart cherry jam (adding additional lemon juice) and it was still very tart, so I added extra monk fruit to the batch. After refrigerating some to eat, I noticed it had crystallized. This has never happened to this extent. Is there a fix for my 10-1/2 pint jars?
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Shelby Collings
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To our knowledge, there is no fix to the crystallization from the monkfruit, it just seems to be the way alternative sweeteners perform with preserves sometimes. You are welcome to call your sweetener manufacturer and ask if they have any guidance. You could also try recooking/melting down the jam once you open it and see how it does. Would love to hear if you find a solution!
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Lynn
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Hi there,
I messed up and added the pectin to ALL the sugar, not just an initial half cup or whatever.
The jelly set and it tastes okay… the graininess is subtle.
I understand that I can fix it, but frankly I don’t want to make that much more pepper jelly. So my questions are:
1. Is it fine to eat despite being a little sandy?
2. Will the grainy texture worsen over time (should I expect a jar I open 6 months from now to be much grittier and less palatable)?-
Shelby Collings
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Hello Lynn,
Great questions!
1. Yes it should be just fine, the grainy texture will not affect the safety of jelly.
2. We do not believe the grainy texture will worsen, we imagine it will stay just the same.
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Angela
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My crabapple jelly is grainy. I doubled, so I used 8 cups juice, 8tsp calcium water, and 2 cups sugar with 8 tsp pectin. After the pectin dissolved I had to add 3 more cups of sugar as my apple were very tart. Please help.
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Barbara Edwarda
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Super disappointed! I doubled the recipe in my package of Pomona pectin, so I doubled the amount of sugar within the range noted in recipe which was 2 cups (x2). . Doubled the calcium water from 2 tsp to 4. It’s grainy and shows white throughout most of the jarred up jams. I’m probably going to dump this. $24 for the strawberries, plus the sugar and the pectin lost! Probably going to dump the bulk pkg of Pomona also.
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Shelby Collings
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Hello Barbara,
So sorry to hear about your experience, it sounds like some of the measurements were off based on the information given above. We would love to help you troubleshoot where things may have gone astray. Feel free to call or email us (that information can be found on the direction sheet from your package or at the bottom of our website), we would love to help you make up some delicious low sugar preserves!
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Holly
Hello,
My jam is grainy but I have already canned it–I added too much sugar because I didn’t realize Pomona’s worked differently from regular pectin, which is what was called for in the recipe I used. I would like to adjust the recipe to the correct proportions so I don’t waste the fruit. Will the pectin still dissolve properly if I open the jars and reprocess them?
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Shelby Collings
| Reply
The fix is to add enough more mashed fruit or unsweetened juice to bring the sugar or honey level down to within the original recipe’s sweetener range. This allows the grainy pectin to dissolve and do its job of jelling the original amount of mashed fruit or juice.
You will also add pectin, calcium water, and lemon or lime juice (if called for in the recipe) for the additional mashed fruit or juice. You will add the pectin by making liquid pectin using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. You can make the liquid pectin with boiling water or boiling unsweetened fruit juice.
First determine:
How much additional mashed fruit for jam or juice for jelly do you need to add to bring the sugar or honey level down to within the original recipe’s sweetener range? See example below.
Using the original recipe, how much pectin will you need to jell this additional fruit or juice?
Using the original recipe, how much calcium water will you need for the additional fruit or juice?
Using the original recipe, how much lemon (or lime) juice will you need for the additional fruit or juice?
Example: If you made jelly with 4 cups of blackberry juice and stirred the pectin into 3 cups of sugar (2 cups is the sugar limit for 4 cups of juice), then you will have to add 2 cups of unsweetened juice to bring the sugar level to within the low-sugar range (3 cups of sugar is the limit for 6 cups of juice). You will also add 2 teaspoons calcium water and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice for the additional 2 cups of blackberry juice. Then you will make liquid pectin with ½ cup boiling liquid and 2 teaspoons pectin.Use the table below to figure out how much water or unsweetened juice is required to dissolve the additional pectin.
Pectin to Add : Amount of Boiling Liquid
Up to 3 teaspoons : ½ cup liquid
4 to 4 ¾ teaspoons : ¾ cup liquid
5 to 6 teaspoons : 1 cup liquid
7 teaspoons : 1 ¼ cups liquid
8 teaspoons : 1 1/3 cups liquidMake liquid pectin by measuring the correct amount of water or unsweetened fruit juice into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Put boiling liquid in cup for immersion blender, or in food processor, or in blender. Add pectin. It is very important to vent the lid (if there is one) to let steam out. Don’t use an enclosed blender that can’t be vented. Blend for 10 seconds, then stop and scrape down the sides so all pectin clumps are in or on the liquid. Blend for a full minute until all powder is totally dissolved.
Fix Your Jam/Jelly: Empty jars into sauce pan. Add additional fruit for jam or juice for jelly. Add additional calcium water. Add additional lemon juice (if called for in the recipe). Stir well. Bring mixture to a full boil. Add liquid pectin and stir well. If you want to add more sweetener, do that now and stir well to dissolve. When mixture returns to a full boil, remove from the heat. Jar and process according to the recipe sheet that comes with Pomona’s Pectin.
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Holly
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This method will still work even if the jam has already been processed/canned once before?
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Shelby Collings
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Correct 😊
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Don Ferron
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Need help with 3 cases of 1/2 pint blackberry/Marionberry jam. The jam is grainy. I used a zero-calorie sugar called Purecane (purecane.com). I have no problem using this in baking. So, am I correct in thinking that this sugar does not play well with Surejell low sugar pectin? If this is the case, will your fix salvage my jam? Your recommendations would be appreciated 😉
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Shelby Collings
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Hello Don,
We are not sure how alternative sweeteners do with Surejell. A lot of alternative sweeteners are known to crystalize in jams/jellies. We have have very little problem with ours in the test kitchen, when we use the smallest recommend amount (ie. 1/2 cup sweetener per 4 cups of mashed fruit or juice).
Since we cannot say for sure why your jam, made with alternative sweetener and Surejell, is grainy, we are not sure if this fix will work for you.
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Don Ferron
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Thank you Shelby. I have had no issues with the Purecane sugar in regular baking, but it does not dissolve when making ice cream. So not knowing if it is a sugar or pectin problem, what would happen if I brought the jam to a one-minute boil and rejared? Would it jell again? Or bring to a boil and add more pectin.?
Perhaps Purecane would send you their product to try with your pectin. It would be a great way to make a jam with no added calories. They are at purecane dot com.
Blessings!
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Laura Percival
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My prickly pear jelly didn’t gel AND the resulting syrup is grainy. This is my first foray into jelly making. I used Ashley Adamant’s recipe.
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Shelby Collings
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Oh bummer! You can fix up your jelly by using our Fix F from our troubleshooting page, HERE. Happy jamming Laura!
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Jessie
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I used the amount of sugar called for in the recipe but my passion fruit jelly still turned out grainy. I used Trader Joe’s organic cane sugar, I noticed that the grains of sugar seem to be thicker than regular c&h sugar; could that be the problem?
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Shelby Collings
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Hello Jessie,
Yes, that would be the problem, we would recommend pulsing your larger granules in a food processor/blender to break them up.
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Nita Louthan
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I used frozen berries, in my freezer which I have never done before. All the sugar did not dissolve. It set up but is very grainy!!! What can I do to resolve this issue???
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Shelby Collings
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Hello Nita,
You will want to use Fix F, HERE, from our troubleshooting page. Happy jamming!
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