In article >,
"Marilyn" > wrote:
> After hemming and hawing about it for years, I finally broke down and put
> out the money to buy a 25-pound bag of Clear Jell (that's how it comes at
> the Cash & Carry where I bought it). $40, but a friend of mine who cans is
> going to buy half of it from me so that decreases the ouch factor a bit.
>
> First, I made a couple of jars of apple pie filling just to see how it would
> work. I followed the directions on the NCHFP site, but I'm wondering if
> maybe the amount of Clear Jel specified per quart is a little more than
> necessary. It calls for 1/4 cup, plus 2 tbsp and it made the mixture
> really, really thick. It was very difficult to get it to boil as the
> directions stated since it got so thick and started sticking to the pan. No
> amount of stirring helped. I went ahead and finished making the filling and
> put it in the jars and processed it and it looks really pretty. I actually
> had a little more filling than would fit in the jars so I put that in a
> separate container in the fridge. Taste testing confirms that it's really,
> really yummy.
>
> Last night, I made one quart of plum pie filling. There's no recipe for it,
> but I followed the directions for blueberry this time instead of apple since
> it didn't call for apple juice or cinnamon. I have an Italian prune plum
> tree that has produced much too abundantly this year and I have to do
> something other than just can the plums or make them into jam or dehydrate
> them. Same problem with it getting too thick.
>
> Is it okay to experiment with the amount of Clear Jel to get it to the
> consistency I want?
>
> -Marilyn
Sure. It's there for thickening and nothing else. You got the right
kind, right? Just checking.
"Before assembling the other ingredients, including fresh fruits, to
make the pie fillings in Extension canning recommendations, check to
see if you will be able to get ClearJelŽ. There is no substitution for
ClearJelŽ that can be made in these recipes. This means do not use
other corn starch, flour, tapioca, or other thickener in our recipes.
You also must use ClearJelŽ and not Instant ClearJelŽ, ClearJel AŽ, any
other form of ClearJelŽ, or any other modified corn starch."
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller, and here's the link to my appearance
on "A Prairie Home Companion," <
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
programs/2008/08/30/>