Blackberry jelly advice please

wilroda

Hi

I have made Blackberry jelly to the same recipe for a couple of years now using 1kg berries, 3 lemons,1kg sugar and water as a base recipe.

This uses preserving sugar and at £1.69 a 1KG bag its expensive compared to ordinary granulated! ( i need about 7 bags!)

Should i dare to use granulated sugar this year or stick to the preserving sugar which " ups" the cost?

Thanks!

valk_scot

Preserving sugar is just the same as normal sugar but with a slightly different crystal size. I think it's a bit of a scam myself and never use it. Even if I'm making a recipe that recommends jam sugar (which is sugar + pectin) I'd still just use ordinary sugar plus some Certo, which is pectin in a bottle. Much cheaper all round.

seabright

I've used "normal" sugar too. I just make sure it's not too hot too quickly and is stirred really well, to dissolve properly.

horsechestnut

Ordinary sugar is absolutely fine; it is all I ever use.
Also I use bottled lemon juice, not fresh lemons. It is much cheaper, keeps well and gives the same result as fresh Lemons.

zcrat41

I only ever use normal sugar. Bit of pectin added if need be. I also use bottled lemon juice
ZC

Seakay

This is Elizabeth David's recipe for

Thick Blackberry Jelly

"Stew some blackberries in a very little water until they are quite soft. Put them through a sieve [I find it helps to use a mouli or to liquidise and then sieve] so that you get all the pulp, but no pips. To each pint of pulp put a pound of sugar and boil till the mixture jellies".

I've made this and it works. From this I assume that
a) blackberries have enough pectin (make sure you pick from different bushes to get a variety, add a little lemon juice for flavour if none of yours are the sharp sort)
b) you don't need special sugar to make jam. I always use the cheapest granulated that I can find and add pectin in the form of lemon juice, muslin bag of apple peelings/pips/cores to be removed after cooking or Certo if necessary.

wilroda

Thanks everyone for the advice - I think i will try using granulated this year!

I have never used bottled lemon juice - how much do you use for an equivalent lemon?

Never heard of certo....what is it exactly?

Thanks!

TravellingAbuela

Another one who only uses granulated sugar for all my jams and jellies. I have never used bottled lemon juice and am now regretting not buying a bottle I saw in B & M at the weekend - something like 39p a bottle I think, much cheaper than buying lemons! I think a special trip back is called for to stock up.

valk_scot

wilroda wrote: »

Never heard of certo....what is it exactly?

Certo is liquid pectin, made from apple pulp. You use it when you're making jam with low pectin fruits, to get a better set. "Jam sugar" is sugar with added pectin btw but it's much cheaper to use ordinary granulated sugar plus a variable amount of pectin if you need to.

kezlou

I musty admit, i've never used jam sugar, its far too expensive.

Instead i use sugar, water, bit of lemon juice.

The lemon juice varies depending on what i'm making at the time.

For soft fruit i just add more lemon juice.

HTH

Zziggi

My bramble was 1 litre of bramble juice, 1 kg granulated sugar (79p home bargains?), 3 tbsp lemon juice (39p bottle home bargains), bottle of certo (£2.09 tesco)