Did your homemade jam come out with a softer set than you’d like? Follow the steps in this post to save runny jam!
A while back, I wrote a piece all about how to ensure that your jam sets. However, even when you keep all those tips in mind, there’s still a chance that you’ll wind up with a poor set. Here’s what you can do to salvage that jam.
Before Reopening Those Jars
If you don’t want to invest any additional work in that jam, the best choice to make is to change your expectations. If the finished product is just sort of runny, call it preserves (they can be great stirred into oatmeal or yogurt, or spooned over waffles). If it’s totally sloshy, label it syrup and stir it into sparkling water.
How to Save Runny Jam
However, if you’re committed to getting a nice, firm, jammy set, there is still hope. Just follow these steps.
First, you wait. Give the jam 24-48 hours to set up (because truly, sometimes it can take that long for pectin to reach the finished set).
If it still hasn’t set, it’s time to determine how much jam needs to be recooked. You don’t want to remake more than 8 cups (4 pints) at a time.
For every 4 cups of jam that needs to be remade, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon powdered pectin.
Pour the jam into a low, wide pan and add the sugar and pectin combo. Stir until the sugar and pectin has dissolved. At this point, prepare your canning pot. Clean the jars and prep new lids.
Place the pot on the stove over high heat and bring the jam to a boil.
Cook vigorously for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Look for signs of thickening.
Test set using plate or sheeting test (both described here).
When jam has reached the desired thickness, remove pot from heat.
Pour jam into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply brand new lids and screw on the same old bands.
Process in a boiling water bath canner for the amount of time requested in the recipe.
When processing time is up, remove jars from bath. Let jars cool and then test seals.
That’s it!
Note: I have closed comments on this post because I am not able to offer jam set solutions on an individual basis. The instructions above should resolve most underset jams. For more on the topic of underset jams, read this post.
It sounds like you just didn’t boil it long enough to reach a temperature needed to allow it to set. You can rework it to get it to the correct consistency.
I made some jelly and it didn’t jell overnight and I was wondering if 1 1/2 boxes of surejell wasn’t enough for my 10cups of juice and 11cups of sugar. Can u tell me how to fix my jelly please
My jalapeno jelly did not set I’m going to redo it. do I need to rewash the jars and resterilize them.
I always rewatch jars no matter what!
After you put jelly in jars do you put it in a water bath to boil??
Yes. Always.
I’ve made a lot of jelly over the years. I use paraffin in hot jars, seal with hot lids and bands. As long as the jars vacuum seal, I have kept them for a year or more w/o bad results. I have never used a water bath. The same has been true of bread and butter pickles.
Susan
Paraffin is no longer a recommended sealing method.
Question – I made marmalade, it’s my first time, and it sooooo did not set. I haven’t waited 48 hours yet. I will. Here’s my two part question:
1. I had processed the jars in a water bath canner before I realized I had a problem. I don’t have room in the fridge for my 13 jars of runny syrup – can I leave it out on the counter?
2. Can I wait a full week to reprocess?? It’s kind of a big project and I don’t really have time to do it now. 🙁 I don’t want to get botulism, but in theory if the jars are sealed it might be ok?? I should add the caveat that I think one problem is that I may not have enough sugar. So it’s really watery. I boiled it a good 10-15 min and it wouldn’t go above 213.
You don’t need to refrigerate the jars. As long as the seals on the jars are good, they are shelf stable. And at this point, you can wait as long as you need to remake it. It will hold until you’re ready to reboil it. Sometimes, I need to boil marmalade 45 minutes to an hour to achieve the temperature elevation necessary to get it to set. But if you feel like you didn’t add enough sugar, that’s probably the issue. Have you read my posts about making marmalade? These two might be of help.
https://foodinjars.com/2017/01/how-to-make-marmalade/
https://foodinjars.com/2017/01/marmalade-troubleshooting/
What amount pectin would you try for 1 pint jar?
Maybe just a teaspoon or so.
So if they changed the liquid pectin would you double the liquid pectin.
I would not do that.
I I made 5 batches of choke cherry jelly. I put 2 jars from two different batches and one of the jars in the fridge set up but none of the jars on the counter set up…. ??? It hasn’t been 24 hours yet so I will continue to hope but can’t figure it out.
Used liquid pectin, 12ouncesvblackberry juice, 7 cups sugar, 3 double packs of pectin, brought to a boil twice. Jelly still appears runny this morning, all sealed. Frustrated but I’m going to leave it a couple days to see if it’s just slow to set.
I just made a beautiful batch of pear cranberry jam that didn’t set. The lids sealed, though, so it’s safe, right?
It’s perfectly safe! Set doesn’t play any role in safety, so even sloshy, your jam is perfectly edible.
I made blackcurrant and jostaberry jam yesterday (16 jars) as the fruit had been frozen but had started to defrost as the freezer setting had been accidentally changed. Plenty of lemon juice was added but I never use pectin as it is naturally occurring in blackcurrants. Not sure if the freezing altered the pectin level but after boiling the 3kgs of fruit with the sugar and lemon juice for at least 90 min, the resultant ‘jam’ is a couple of steps up from a syrup. Tried it on icecream as a topping and it was delicious, but too runny for toast as a jam. I don’t want to reprocess the contents of the jars. All the jars ‘popped’ so have good seals. Will this ‘sauce’ keep well in these jars on a pantry shelf indefinitely, like jam would, or will it form mould eventually due to its runny consistency? Thanks.
They jars are perfectly fine and will keep just as the jam would have. Consistency doesn’t play any role in shelf life.
I did the step above with my wine jelly, twice and it still didn’t set. 🙁
It could be that your pectin was bad. Were you getting visible signs of set during the recook?
I did the same too and I did have signs during the cook, so I am really confused!
try putting a couple tablespoons of lemon juice in an boil for a few minutes sometimes this works
So, this is bad, i made some hot pepper jelly a little over a month ago. It turned out runny but i had some family emergency to deal with…how long is too long to fix pepper jelly? Or do i have to settle for 6 jars of hot pepper sauce now?
You can still try to remake it. Jellies are tough, though. It might overset in the process of trying to fix it. I’d probably call it a glaze and tell people to drizzle it over things.
Does weather affect jam from setting up?
Yes. If it’s really humid or rainy, it can make it harder to get the jam to set.
Used guava for the first time for strawberry-guava jam. It’s beautiful but the set is too soft. I’ve not tried recooking wwith more pectin before. This is a lazy woman’s question – do I have to re-wash and re-sterilize the jars? I know to use new lids.
Yes. You do the whole thing over again.
I haven’t seen an answer on here since July 2017 so not sure if this will be answered or not but here goes. I made orange marmalade that is syrupy and no pectin was used. I cooked the meat, the peels and juice up to the 220°F stage. As soon as it reached the 220 I jarred it. I’m thinking I might need to reboil and do that freezer test, any advice? Should I try using Pomona’s Universal Pectin the low sugar kind not that Surejell as I’ve never in my life used a Pectin but I’m not wanting any of that kind for sure. Thanks
Pomona’s Pectin will not work with a preserve with a traditional amount of sugar. Your best bet is to reboil that marmalade until it passes multiple set tests (try the plate test).
I made prickly pear jelly but it didn’t set up – I now have 56 pints of syrup ?
How do I re make it so it will jell?
I’m just sick about this as I sell a lot of jelly normally but now just have this syrup?
I have 32 1/2 half pint jars of apple pie jam or should i say apple pie syrup plan to reprocess it and ad more pectin
I Could use some answers/help please. Is it possible to fix a jam that didn’t require pectin with adding liquid pectin and recooking? Can one made a jelly bag and a spice bag at home, and what kind of material should be used for each, since I cannot locate a store that sells them?
Fixing jam that didn’t set is always chancy. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. You can certainly try it, though.
And the best material to make spice bags and jelly bags from is butter muslin. It’s stronger than cheese cloth and can be reused more.
My husband decided to be super helpful last night after I made several batches of strawberry freezer jam and placed them in the freezer after I went to bed. They probably only sat out 3-4 hours before he did this, are they ruined?
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I’m so glad I found this! I love making jam and never had issues until this year. I didn’t know what went wrong but all but 1 of my batches didn’t set up. I later realized that it was because all but 1 of my batches were made with previously frozen fruit and I did not account for the extra liquid content. I had never made jam from frozen fruit before so I didn’t realize this would be a problem. I tried your method because all of the other methods I found wanted me to add extra water and/or sugar. I didn’t want to do that so I tried yours. It worked beautifully! Now instead of jars and jars of syrup I have lovely jars of jam! Oh and I mistakenly used powdered pectin to remake a batch that had used liquid pectin and it worked just fine.
I have eight half pint jars of strawberry jam that didn’t set up thick enough…my question is can I redo that whole batch in one pot ? And if so how much pectin should I add?
Yes. Open up the jars and empty them back into the pot. As far as the pectin goes, there is no one perfect amount. Start with one tablespoon and work up, as needed.
Made a batch of strawberry jam added 1cup of lemon juice instead of 1/4 cup!! Tried adding 2pkgs of liquid certo instead of ¹. And more sugar. Is noteworthy. Can I rebook and add powdered certo?
This doesn’t sound like a batch of jam that you should put any more effort into.
I am a novice jam maker. I’ve made several batches over the years, some have set, some have not, and I cannot seem to perfect the science of the process.
One of my points of confusion arises from how long to boil the jam. The sure-gel instructions say to bring the fruit and sugar to a boil for exactly one minute, then add the pectin, and bring to a boil again for exactly one minute. It seems that boiling too long can cause the pectin to break down. yet, many websites recommend boiling for longer to produce a thickened jam. Which part of the process do you boil longer – the first boil or the second boil? Both? Am I going to break down the pectin, or cause it to thicken?
Where am I going wrong?
Thanks!
Two minutes of boiling isn’t nearly enough to get jam to set up. Boiling too long can break down pectin, but it takes upwards of an hour of active boiling for that to happen.
My mother is trying to make pear preserves and they’re too runny. She doesn’t use pectin. Is it possible for her to get them to thicken without it?
She could try cooking them longer. Unfortunately, pears are naturally low in pectin, so it’s hard to get them to set up firmly without additional pectin.
Made jalapeño jelly that did not set up-ideas? It’s a funny jelly that sets up one year and not the next-Add pouch of pectin? Tablespoon of powdered pectin? Thanks
How long can I wait before trying to fix my jam? I made a batch before Christmas and it never set up right, but it was processed and all jars sealed. I was going to fix it the next day but both kids got sick, then my 4 year old broke his arm, and just with holiday craziness I didn’t get a chance. Is it too late now to open them all up and cook again and add more pectin?
There’s no limit on time. You can fix it any time you want.
Okay thanks! That’s what I thought (and hoped), since the jars had sealed, but wanted to make sure. Thank you!!!
I made wonderful guava…. glaze. It was supposed to be a jelly, but it didn’t set. I followed your fix above, to the letter, and it still didn’t set. It’s thicker, but it didn’t set.
So, now it’s a glaze. On the label it say’s “glaze.” That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I lost a jar of whatever in the boiling process of my fix, so I’m not going to try again. I will suggest brushing the glaze on porky bits or on fruit instead of melted apricot jam.
Right now I’m listening to the wonderful “ping” or “pop” of the seal of jelly jars fresh out of the canner. I had a few bottles of left over wine. I measured them and then reduced them to the 3.5 cups called for in my recipe (from Ball). In the reducing wine I added some rosemary and bay leaf. Once I was down to 3.5 cups, I proceeded.
Gosh, there was half a jar left over. I just took a taste of warm jam. It will be fabulous with cheese or as part of a glaze on meaty bits.
Have a great holiday.
My crabapple jelly always comes out gooey. It’s not runny, but it is thick like honey. My other mainstay is chokecherry jelly which always results in a very nice firm set.
I used sure jell pectin and used their recipe in their pamphlet. 7 cups of juice and 9 cups of sugar for one box of pectin. I gave it a hard rolling boil for 1 minute with the pectin in the juice and then another rolling boil for a minute after adding the sugar.
In years past I always have trouble with my crabapple jelly. I tried different combinations of sugar, pectin and juice, but it always is either runny or pasty.
what can cause this type of gooey set in fruit jelly?
I’ve not made that particular recipe and I’ve not encountered that gooey consistency before in making jelly, so I just have no idea.
Thanks,
Here are two more questions, just to eliminate some variables.
How closely do I have to watch the pH? should I buy a pH meter?
I have read that pH can affect the pectin, which is why some recipes call for lemon juice.
Once I add the sugar I don’t need to cook it to the gel temperature do I? I think you are not supposed to do that when using added pectin.
here is a follow up:
I made a second batch of the crabapple jelly from the same juice. This time I added about half a box of no-sugar pectin along with the box of regular pectin. I wanted to add pectin, but I did not want to add more sugar.
This seems to have worked. The jelly from this batch is firm after setting overnight.
I guess since I was using very ripe fruit the amount of natural pectin was lower than what the recipe was made for.
I tried to make cinnamon apple jelly with red delious apples. I measured 5 1/2 quarts of juice after straining the apples. I added 4 cups sugar and a box of or one package of Sure Jell and cooked the sure jell for 1 minute and mixed it in the apple juice. I checked the temperature at 220 degrees and removed from heat and added 2 drams of oil of cinnamon and stired real good and filled 8 oz jars a 1/4 inch from top and placed the seals and bands on tight and waited for the jars to seal. All the jars sealed, but none of them set. I went to bed for 7 hours to set. I got up this morning at 5:15am December 2 2016 and none of them set. How can I make this right? I was hoping to have Christmas presents made from this jelly and now I have nothing but runny solution. HELP!!!!!!
what is the difference between Sure Jell and MCP by Sure jell?? Thanks,
Sue
Unfortunately, I really don’t know. I don’t use a lot of Sure Jell. I typically use either Ball or Pomona’s Pectins.
I’m just relieved to know it’s safe – this was my first attempt at jam and I was planning to give the jars as gifts. I’ve been online trying to find out if the texture meant my food wasn’t safe (the jars sealed just fine and I boiled them the whole time the recipe said to boil them). Now that I know my runny jam won’t kill anyone, I’ll just add some chocolate chips to the gift box and call it “ice cream topping”.
I made 2 batches of strawberry jam (using the recipe included in the MCP pectin)… neither one set up :(, tried the ‘reboil, add a box of dissolved pectin) fix as per instructions… 1 batch set, 1 did not… now I’m not sure what to do?… just reboil 1 more time ?… add any more pectin?
How big are the batches you’re making? Try using a low wide pan and dividing the jam into two pans, for better evaporation.
each batch was per recipe… 5 3/4 cup of fruit and 8 1/2 cups sugar… = 11 cups
… so just bring the jam back to a boil for …1 or 2 minutes???
You need to boil it until it thickens. One or two minutes isn’t going to be enough. Cook until the temperature elevates to 220 degrees F. That’s the point at which sugars thicken and bond with the pectin.
Help! My red pepper relish recipe started with 4lb (9 large)sweet red shepherd peppers and 2 small hot (London like Italy) red peppers.6 cups sugar 1cup vinegar . After cooking for two hours and adding to pouches liquid certo (new) at the end (and keeping simmering as I quickly filled my 16 oven sterilized jars and added sterile lids…I got 11 cups of TOO hot unset “jelly”.how can I “cool” it and set it? I have more Liquid Certo and after I wait longer (so far refrigerating is no help)can I make a batch with No hots and combine? ( I only have two sons in law who like spicy) Did I kill the pectin by simmering while filling jars? (10 mins)
I’m a discouraged rookie.
You didn’t kill anything. Liquid Certo is simply crap and doesn’t work anymore.
Reading through all the comments I see that you don’t recommend this method for jellies that had liquid pectin in the original recipe. Is there absolutely no hope for those? Could you point me to any other post you might have done covering this. The recipe I followed for rhubarb/habenero pepper jelly had a yield of 13 half-pints and I was counting on them being Christmas gifts but who wants syrup like that? Not a very useful product. Sad Canner Face here. Pomona’s from here on out, no more liquid pectin recipes!
I just canned some peeper relish that required 16oz of liquid certo. I made a big mistake and only used 5.7 oz (what a dummy!!). I processed the jars and didn’t realize my mistake until after. I realize that the relish will be more runny, but will the relish still be preserved ok with the smaller amount of certo? I don’t want to poison anyone…thanks for any help you can give.
Pectin doesn’t make something safe or unsafe, so your relish is fine. I’m surprised that you have a recipe that calls for 16 ounces of liquid pectin, though. That’s a hell of a lot of pectin.
I worked for 10 hours yesterday trying to make peach jam…my husband had gotten up early and peeled ALL the peaches, thinking he was helping me. I had 3 pots going all day long, one I was doing 1 batch in at a time, 1 had 2 batches at a time, and 1 had 3. I used liquid pectin for all. I never even water bathed them because I was falling asleep! Now I wake up this morning and none of them are set. I am new to canning jam and had no idea making large batches wouldn’t work. I have 60 quarts and 11 pints!!! Do you think I can fix them?
You’re going to need to separate out the batches and cook them down in smaller quantities.
My wife used original sure jell when revipe called for no sugar pectin and peach jam did not set any thing we can do to save we tried the save or fix thst vomes in box but did not work
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot that you can do at this point. Call it peach sauce and move on.
You say to add 1 TBSP of powdered pectin to the jam – but exactly how much liquid would be in the pot? There are many recipes out there – each one with difference jar sizes/amounts. Would it be 1 TBSP to 8 half pint jars?
Also, it this no sugar required pectic or sugar required pectin? I have both on hand.
I am planning on reprocessing my jam tonight so this information would be very helpful!
I use 1 tablespoon of conventional fruit pectin (the one that needs sugar) for an average sized batch of jam, which to my mind is one that starts with between three and four pounds of jam. However, there are a lot of variables here. Was this a low sugar batch of jam? If so, this approach may not work.
Before you proceed, make sure to read this post: https://foodinjars.com/2016/08/jam-didnt-set-what-to-do/
I made a tomato jam recipe that didn’t call for pectin. I was skeptical about it thickening enough but people were saying it turned out great so I tried it. I should have listened to myself because it’s very runny after 2 days…even the partial jar I put in the fridge is still runny. Can I use this method to thicken a jam that didn’t have pectin added to begin with? Instead of reprocessing, could I just heat the jam and add some pectin every time I open a new jar, then just keep that jam refrigerated? I used half pint jars, though, so that might be tricky.
I don’t think that this approach would work for tomato jam. Most tomato jams thicken through reduction, like fruit butters.
new to this site and it answers all my questions – Great !
I have a question… I made my first batch of jam tonight but the recipe didn’t call for a water bath processing. I had hot jars and lids (not boiled lids), and I used boxed pectin in the recipe. I didn’t use as much sugar as the recipe called for, which I think now was a mistake. I added probably 3 cups of sugar instead of 4 cups. It seemed like a lot of sugar and tasting the jam while cooking tasted really sweet. It’s only been an hour since I finished making the jam, but my jam isn’t setting. I am nervous it won’t set! So if it doesn’t set, I would like to try to re-set it, but I am not sure how long to process it for. It’s Strawberry Saskatoon jam. Can you help me? Thanks!
Before you freak out about the set of this jam, let it sit for at least 24 hours. Jam rarely sets up immediately. It often needs to fully cool for a day before you can determine whether the set is too soft or not. However, if it doesn’t set, the issue may be the reduced sugar. At this point, you’re best off calling it sauce and not worrying about the set too much. For more about what sugar does in canning, read this blog post: https://foodinjars.com/2012/07/canning-101-sugars-role-in-home-preserved-food/
Is there a companion post for jam that set up too firm? I used the recipe on your guest post from Todd Van Atter, for blueberry jam, and it is SET. (I was suspicious of two packets of pectin but I’m a new canner so I went with it. Oops!) Any advice?
Can I use this method of I started with liquid pectin ?
I don’t recommend it.
Can I do this same rescue with liquid pectin?
I don’t recommend it, because you have less control over the amount of pectin you end up using.
can you fix jelly ( that did’nt set ) the same way you fix jam .
Not really.
My head is spinning. I made 3 batches of jam. The first one perfect. The second ok. Third, runny. I’ve been reading directions for ‘remakes’ and came across yours which seems to be the easiest. But I’m confused. Others call for water, more sugar, lemon juice, pectin. I feel this added sugar is too much. I see you add only pectin. Will it work?
There is no perfect solution to remaking jam. This technique works for me, but honestly, I can’t promise that it will work for you, because there are no guarantees in life or jam making.
It worked! I’ll admit I was a bit apprehensive to try it. But it was either that or syrup! My jam came out just right. I reboiled each batch, added the pectin and this morning my jam is great. Thank you Marisa. I’m glad I came across your site!
Do you know will this work with a freezer jam recipe? I used a different pectin than normal and didn’t think the prep would be different – read after the fact that it was different and now have runny jam. I used Ball Classic Real Fruit Pectin. Thanks in advance.
Freezer jams are an entirely different beast. These tips will not save freezer jam, because it’s an uncooked jam.
I tried making apple cinnamon jelly. I followed the directions and I can’t get it to thicken. I tried adding more pectin and it’s not thickening.. Any ideas this is the third time trying..
Without knowing the recipe that you were using as a starting place, I can’t even begin to attempt to help. So sorry!
Frustrated! I have been canning most of my life and never had a problem. I am making peach jam, as I have for years. The only difference, this year I used liquid pectin and my jam won’t set! I am looking at 757 peaches that will rot quickly! I can’t use the powdered pectin as I get violently I’ll from any kind of artificial sweetener IT’S IN ALL OF THE POWDERED! When did they start using this poison? Does anyone have a suggestion? Thank you!
Hi Debra, I don’t know if you found a solution to your pectin conundrum but I read online that you can make your own pectin from oranges, lemons or you can add a grated sour apple to your jam to help it set up. Go to youtube and put in “making your own pectin”. Good luck
Debra, did you know that you can use Pomona’s Universal Pectin? It’s activated by calcium water not sugar so you can use little to no sugar and there’s no artificial sweeteners in it!! Give that one a try. I never heard of it until this year and my orange marmalade is syrupy. It’s awesome! You can just add a little honey or anything and also you only use a couple of tsp for a batch of fruit!! Hope this helps.
I made an orange jelly batch last night and the recipe says to wait 24 to set. The 24 hours are almost up and it’s still pretty runny. I’ll go ahead and wait 48 hours and see if it sets; if it doesn’t, i’ll attempt to reheat and add pectin. Due to work i won’t be able to be home til a day after, will it be ok to wait an extra 24 hours after the 48 before i attempt to fix it?
That is fine. I’ve waited weeks before remaking batches of jam.
so glad to see this comment! i have a batch of strawberry rhubarb that didn’t set up the way i wanted it to, although the jars did seal, and i’ve been ignoring the jars, as if that would make the frustration go away. 🙂 good to know it’s still okay to remake.
Hi I made 2 batches of strawberry jam and neither have set right they are soupy. How much liquid pectin do you recommend I use basically I have 6 quarts total to fix.