Yeah, I'm feeling punny

For those folks that make jellies and jams, do you use pectin, or recipes that do not use pectin?

Just sheerly curious. I've personally found I'd rather spend the extra time and not use pectin, as I like the flavor and texture of non-pectin jellies and jams. Not that pectin is bad or anything, but it's my personal preference.

__________________

I have just started using pectin this year because I am doing new things. Once I like how they work I will try not using pectin or toss in some apple peels to get it jell.

Most of my recipes call for pectin so that's what I use. I do have a strawberry-fig jam recipe that calls for strawberry jello and no pectin.

I haven't ever noticed a difference in taste between the recipes that use pectin and the ones that don't. My recipe that calls for jello tends to not stay as firm as the ones that call for pectin.

__________________

The recipes I've done so far w/o pectin are blackberry and strawberry, and I'm going to do a strawberry rhubarb probably tomorrow. Pretty much, they are just sugar, fruit, and lemon. No gelatin, no pectin. I also did the blackberry with pectin, and though it jelled nicely, I didn't like the texture as much as the batch I had to boil for almost an hour to get to jell.

__________________

I used pectin. I made my first batch of strawberry jam this year. It's pretty yummy! Did you use lemon juice in your strawberry jam? I saw a recipe that was strawberries, sugar and lemon juice and was going to try it but the pectin seemed so much easier and I didn't want to screw up on my first time.

I've always used pectin for my strawberry jam. However, this year I tried the "no sugar added" variety and didn't like the jell like the regular pectin (and sugar) one did, so I won't be using that again. Good in theory, but a little sugar isn't going to kill us and I like the end product much better.

__________________
There's been a grave misunderstanding

Yup! That's the one I used, and it turned out REALLY good! It's not that hard, you just boil it longer (I think it was like 20-30 mins), stirring frequently. I boil until it passes both the plate and spoon tests, and then remove from heat and can.

Forgot too - I made orange marmalade without pectin.

__________________

I only make one kind of jam and it is without pectin.

We'd love to make Strawberry Jam...what is the cheapest/easisiest way to do it?

__________________
WAHM to Richie, Becca & Ryan!