Pomona's Pectin - wrong ingredients qtys ??

[CatzCanz]

Hi Folks !

Within each box of Pomona's Pectin is included many recipes. I had a ton of ripe Fuyu persimmons and used the "Cooked Recipes - Low Sugar or Honey" recipe, listed for a specific groups of fruits, as follows:

Cherry, Pear, Mango, Peach, Fig, Apricot, Plum
4 cups fruit (I used 5 cups)
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
1 cup honey
3 t pectin powder
4 t calcium water

The end result is a gelatin like substance that I could likely use for caulking if I reduced it down for a couple hours !

I'm assuming the fault lies in the amount of pectin or calcium ?? Or perhaps persimmons easily product their own pectin, so including the Pomona's was overkill ??

Any input is appreciated as I'm giving it another go this weekend.

Thanks !!
Cat

[Dib's]

Persimmons do have pectin. Most of the recipes I've looked at do call for pectin, so I'd half the pectin called for in the recipe and I would dissolve it well in the lemon juice.
That said I've never had any jam recipe that uses "just honey" come out the way I'd like it to-could be me but I find the texture "weird".

[MaryLou@Pomona's]

Hello Cat,
I'm sorry your jam didn't turn out the way you hoped. Before you make your next batch, please give my sister Connie a call on the Pomona's Pectin Jamline -- 413-772-6816. The Jamline hours on Saturday are 10am to 2pm, Eastern Time. She will help you figure out what the jelling problem might have been and how to get the jell you want the next time. It's even possible you may be able to fix the batch you already made. Thanks for trying Pomona's!

[CatzCanz]

Thank you Dib's and wow MaryLou I will surely call Connie tomorrow what a very kind offer !!

[Molly53]

CatzCanz wrote:
Thank you Dib's and wow MaryLou I will surely call Connie tomorrow what a very kind offer !!

Did you ever get things figured out, Catz?

[CatzCanz]

Molly53 wrote:

CatzCanz wrote:
Thank you Dib's and wow MaryLou I will surely call Connie tomorrow what a very kind offer !!

Did you ever get things figured out, Catz?

Hi Molly,

I spoke to Connie for half an hour, it was awesome. I so wish I had somebody local to chat with in person, to bounce ideas off of, and see whether some things I've deduced are correct. I was bursting with questions and Connie was kind enough to spend time answering them.

As to the persimmon jam recipe. Connie suggested I use Pomona's recipe from "Jam Notes #4"

Persimmon Jam, Cooked Low-Sugar or Honey
Ingredients
3 cups prepared persimmon pulp
1 cup water (she okayed my using fresh OJ)
¼ cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons calcium water (included in the Pomona’s box)
¾ cup up to 2 cups sugar or ½ cup up to 1 cup honey (recommend: 1 cup sugar or ½ cup honey) (I used 1 cup honey)
3 ¼ teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder

I know I shouldn't have, but it seemed SO liquid, I added another heaping cup of persimmons. In the end, the cooled product was still too thick, but a definite improvement.

Yesterday, I tried the "Kiwi Raspberry Lime Jam" recipe from Pomona's "Recipe Card #2" pdf. I followed the recipe exactly except I had no raspberries, I used 4 cups of kiwi's.

KIWI–RASPBERRY–LIME JAM
3C peeled, hand-mashed kiwi
1C mashed raspberry
2T lime juice
2t calcium water
2t pectin
1 1/2C sugar or 3/4C honey (I used honey)

Same result as the 1st persimmon jam: a spoon stood at attention in the jar after cooling. I stirred it briskly to kind of break it up, and its tasty, just rather over-jelled (?)

I'm not giving up ! I'm making small experimental batches now, of 3- 1/2 pint amounts, and I'll just keep adjusting things until I get it right.

I truly think Pomona's is the key, for me personally, because I just refuse to use tons and tons of white cane sugar. Pomona's allows me to go as natural as possible with the ingredients, I just need to experiment !!

Funny thing is, people who I used as 'taste testers' over the months, say that, even though a recipe may be too thin or too thick, my flavor combinations are very yummy. That keeps me going.

Have a wonderful holiday all ! I have enough persimmons to try one more batch, wish me luck !

Cat

[Molly53]

Happy holidays to you, too, friend!