Cooks: HELP!!!! Need suggestion to salvage a mess

[Rowdyboy]

Yesterday, I made muscadine-hot pepper jelly (grew them myself!). I used a pack of last years liquid pectin and now I have a mess. Everythings nicely sealed and processed, however it barely jelled at all. Its runny and a total mess.

So, what do I do? Pour the junk out and start over, open the jars and try to reprocess with fresh pectin, or just buy jelly at the grocery?

Any and all suggestions welcomed!

[alittlelark]

1. I'd re-process w/ fresh pectin

A good amount of work, but you're already half-way there!! The worst that can happen is it over-jells - not a huge deal, it still tastes the same.

[Rowdyboy]

7. I wasn't sure if it was possible to "reprocess" but I'd like to save it

Many thanks

[patrice]

2. Use it as dipping sauce for Viet Namese style spring rolls. n/t

[ihaveaquestion]

5. Mmmmmm. Sounds yummy! nt

[Rowdyboy]

8. That does sound good....

But I have but I have a 1/2 gallon of the stuff!

[patrice]

14. My favorite noodle shop here in K.C. does that.

Thank goodness it's spring rolls, and they're raw veggie heavy to balance the sugar in this wonderful firey sauce.

[ironflange]

3. Sorry, I know nothing about making jelly

But if it tastes OK, call it a sauce.

[ihaveaquestion]

4. Here's the definitive website

http://www.homecanning.com/

They'll ask you to register, but I just closed the registration page and got to search their site anyway. Here's a link with what looks like the answer to your question.

http://www.homecanning.com/usa/alfaq.asp

[Rowdyboy]

9. Thanks

I can use this site for some other thins I'm doing.

[Obamarama]

6. Open jars and reprocess....

Ran into the same problem with some cherry preserves I did last summer. The cherries were at their peak of ripeness which also means they had little of their natural pectin left, so hence 24 jars of runny cherry preserves. I reprocessed with additional pectin and it set up like Lillian Russells tits in a bikini bathing suit. Also, do you have a rack in the bottom of the kettle/pan you are processing the jars in? Heat detroys pectin so if you have your jars setting directly on the bottom of the pan, that could be hindering it from setting up properly as well.

Nothing like two gay men swapping canning advice. LOL...

[Rowdyboy]

10. Isn't it great!

Yes, we use an old canner that has a little rack on the bottom for canning purposes.

"Set up like Lillian Russells tits in a bikini bathing suit"-LMAO what a visual! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to try this weekend.

[RandomKoolzip]

11. A good recipe for jelly of any kind:

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of port wine
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

put in saucepan, let boil.

11/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons POWDERED pectin

combine. Add to boiling water

2 pounds of any fruit (or peppers).

Add to mixture; reduce heat to medium after bringing back up to a boil. Let simmer for ten minutes on medium heat.

Strain fruit/peppers from mixture; put mixture back into saucepan and let reduce over medium heat for twenty minutes or until thickened. DO NOT LET MIXTURE BOIL OVER. Watch carefully, because the jelly will turn burnt and black if left on stove too long.

Put fruit/peppers back into mixture and let cook an additional twenty minutes over LOW heat.

Spread mixture over a sheet pan and let sit in fridge for two hours.

When cool, put it in a jar.

[Rowdyboy]

12. Bet that would kick ass with my habaneros

I have plenty of juice and peppers left, so I may try this one too. Thanks!

[RandomKoolzip]

13. With habaneros, you might wanna sub some kind of liqueur

for the wine. Maybe Galliano or cognac.

I knew my sous chef training would come in handy!