Hi, I have a problem with some jam I recently made from frozen blackberries.
The sugar came back out of solution in the jars after it had been canned.
What caused this and what can I do to prevent it from happening again.

Brian Trueman wrote:

Hi, I have a problem with some jam I recently made from frozen blackberries.
The sugar came back out of solution in the jars after it had been canned.
What caused this and what can I do to prevent it from happening again.

Brian - did y'all use pectin or just simmer it down? Dunno if methods means a
difference, but it might. Sneaked a look in my books and did not find an
answer.
Edrena

"Brian Trueman" wrote in message
news:LeE_f.1940$P01.350@pd7tw3no...
Hi, I have a problem with some jam I recently made from frozen
blackberries.
The sugar came back out of solution in the jars after it had been canned.
What caused this and what can I do to prevent it from happening again.



do you mean it is 'weeping' as in there is a sweet runny liquid on top, or
are there actually sugar crystals ?

according to my Ball Blue Book - these things are listed fro problems with
jelly, but I don't see why it couldn't be the same with jam...

weeping:

1. weeping or Syneresis occurs in quick-setting jellies and is due to the
quantity of acid and the quality of pectin in the fruit. There is nothing
you can do to prevent this.

or

2. storage conditions were not ideal. To prevent, store in a cool dry
place.

Sugar crystals:

there are 5 possible causes-
1. too much sugar was used
2. mixture may have been undercooked
3. mixture may have been cooked too slowly or too long
4. undissolved sugar, stuck to sides of pan, may have been stirred in to
jelly as it was poured.
5. if jelly is grape, the crystals may be tartaric acid

to prevent sugar crystals, follow instructions carefully, don't change the
recipe, and/or ladle instead of pour

HTH,
Kathi

Brian Trueman wrote:
Hi, I have a problem with some jam I recently made from frozen blackberries.
The sugar came back out of solution in the jars after it had been canned.
What caused this and what can I do to prevent it from happening again.


Were you thinking that the freezing of the blackberries was part of your
problem? If so, the only difficulty with using frozen fruit is in how
you decide to measure. If it is volume measure using crushed fruit, the
thawed berries may be squishier than raw but unfrozen ones, altering
your measure.
Ellen

On Tue, 11 Apr 2006 02:10:51 +0000, Brian Trueman wrote:

Hi, I have a problem with some jam I recently made from frozen blackberries.
The sugar came back out of solution in the jars after it had been canned.
What caused this and what can I do to prevent it from happening again.

Without looking at your jam, I can't say specifically what the problem
might be, but this is an educated guess )

Blackberries are naturally low in pectin and if you froze a thawed them,
the pectin levels would be even lower. To compensate for this, the
general advice is to increase the amount of fruit by 10% or add some
lemon juice. The lack of the right amount of pectin can cause a "bad set"
which leads to crystallisation. Advice from Diabetes UK is to
use unsweetened apple juice in place of some of the sugar as this
(should) have greater pectin content.

Secondly, make sure that any sugar you add is COMPLETELY dissolved BEFORE
raising the temperature to boiling point. This will aid in preventing
crystallisation, which appears to be what's happening in your jam.
--

Old Rocker
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