jellies and fruit pectin question

okay, i attempted to make mint jelly yesterday to send to lamb-loving inlaws with the christmas box, but it didn't set for some reason. it's thicker than water, but it's sure not going to spread like jelly. i even dumped it out, added a little more sugar, a little more pectin, some lemon juice, boiled again. a little thicker the second time, but not good enough. i'm certainly not tossing it. i'll just pour some on the plates when we have lamb, but i'm hesitant to make the marmalades i have planned until i know what i did wrong.

i've been reading about this online, and i'm as confused as ever lol.

I'm in the same boat, Christine. My great grand father gave me some real grape juice to make jelly out of and I am so overwhelmed by the directions that I can't even begin!!

what do his directions say? the more i read about pectins, the more confused i get. it seems like this is a very fussy and unpredictable thing to do. i need a grandma to teach me, i think. maybe i'll ask the old lady next door how she does it.

wish i could help.. sorry

Oh, I'm sorry, I never saw this post, Christine. My Paw-Paw pretty much told me the same directions the box did, it just sounded easier when he explained it. I finally called him tonight because I was tired of looking at that gallon of grape juice in my fridge. lol. What brand of pectin did you buy? I bought the Ball brand. We'll see how the jelly is in the morning. The thing that got me confused was thinking I had to use what they call a "boiling water canner". My Paw Paw said just to keep a seperate pot of steaming hot water with the jars and lids in it. In the meantime, follow directions for the pectin recipe (mine had a different recipe for almost every kind of jelly you could think of) and when you get the jelly mixture ready, take 1 jar out of the water at a time and fill it up. Place the lid and cap on tightly and let it sit for 12-24 hours. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I did this right tonight. Cross your fingers for me. I wish I could help you more, but I'm an amateur myself!

did it work? i know the directions are different for each type of jelly - it has to do with the acid level of the fruit you're using, i think.

i made cranberry-jalapeno jam last month, and it worked out fine with no added pectin.

by the way, i asked my neighbor about this yesterday, and she said it sometimes doesn't thicken for her either. lots of factors involved, including the weather, the acidity of whatever you're canning, the boiling time. i guess i'll be happy with my mint syrup and keep on trying.

Mine didn't turn out as thick as I'd like, but it's not too runny, either. So, I'll try another batch and see how that goes. I'm going to wait til tomorrow as I'm going to MIL's house today to bake some yummy cookies!!