Can I save this Hawthorne berry jelly disaster?

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Chablet

New Member
Nov 4, 2012
1
0
uk
Hello! I have a quick question - I tried to make some hawthorn berry jelly and it ended up tasting great yet is hard and kind of grainy in texture. There is no way it can be spread on anything. I might also mention that I have never made jelly before so that may factor into the disaster as well.

This is the recipe I have used: http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/hawthorn-jelly-recipe The liquid amount at the end was about a half a pint, so I reboiled the berries yet again the next day in about 2 additional cups of water then drained the juice again and did the final boil. (In the end I had a pint of juice)

I'm going to try this again using a different recipe after I collect more berries, but am wondering if there anyway to turn this into syrup? I hate wasting anything.


Thanks!
 

xylaria

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
hawthorn is good at setting, it hasn' t gone wrong it is what it does. if you would like it softer try putting water in pan third the volume of what you have (ie if have one jar , a third of ajar of water) in a pot. and sugar about the half the amount by volume of water. heat mixture until boiling, then add your jar of jelly and beat vigorously, and heat until mixed fully.
 

Bigfoot

Settler
Jul 10, 2010
669
4
Scotland
Yup ... also don't overboil it. It may not set as well as other jellies, be a bit runny, that's ok. I do crab apple and hawthorn to add a bit extra pectin, or ordinary apples if no crabs. Must get out there and pick the berries ... job for TODAY :)

Mine does get runny ...

If you can't get crab apples I find it better to use cooking apples, as they have more pectin than ordinary eating apples. (At least that's what I was told some years ago).
 

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