# Jam Making Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jam-making-question/738552 "2015-11-25T15:29:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jam-making-question/738552/1 "2015-11-25T15:29:34Z")
I’ve gotten pretty good at making jam out of the summer fruits in our garden and the surrounding countryside. Although I have successfully made apricot, peach and plum jam my specialty is razzleberry jam, which I make from raspberries I grow, and a variety of wild berries I pick, including huckleberries. This summer a friend of mine who owns a cherry orchard opened it up for me and I managed to pick quite a few pounds of sweet ripe cherries, mostly Lapin, that I have washed, pitted and frozen. The first batch of cherry jam I made using the same basic recipe I use for berries came out extremely runny… hardly a jam at all, more a topping or sauce. I then went back and looked for a proven cherry recipe and found one from the company that make the pectin I use (Sure Jell). Following their recipe to the letter the batch I made again came out too watery for my tastes. Other than adding more pectin than the recipe calls for, is there anything else I can do to make my jam less watery? Would cooking it down more help or hurt? I live in Northwest Montana at an elevation of 3500 feet if that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jam-making-question/738552/2 "2015-11-25T17:25:01Z")
Are your frozen cherries completely thawed and drained before you start? I was going to suggest using a Sure Jell recipe, but you’ve already got that covered. I’ve made Sure Jell cherry jam a few times and it comes out fine, but I’ve only used fresh cherries. And make sure you’re using the kind of pectin the recipe calls for - you can’t substitute liquid pectin for powdered. I learned that the hard way once, though the “apricot syrup” I ended up with was not bad. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jam-making-question/738552/3 "2015-11-25T19:13:50Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > Are your frozen cherries completely thawed and drained before you start? I was going to suggest using a Sure Jell recipe, but you’ve already got that covered. I’ve made Sure Jell cherry jam a few times and it comes out fine, but I’ve only used fresh cherries. > > And make sure you’re using the kind of pectin the recipe calls for - you can’t substitute liquid pectin for powdered. I learned that the hard way once, though the “apricot syrup” I ended up with was not bad. The cherries were thawed and drained before starting, and I only use the powdered pectin. Perhaps drying the cherries off in paper towels would help. Worth a try. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jam-making-question/738552/4 "2015-11-26T07:01:53Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > The cherries were thawed and drained before starting, and I only use the powdered pectin. Perhaps drying the cherries off in paper towels would help. Worth a try. Or a salad-spinner type of device might work. Hope it works for you, the cherry jam I’ve made in the past was pretty darn tasty. :o