Concord Grape Jelly not jelling?

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doubleG

Assistant Cook
Joined
Nov 30, 2008
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4
I made 8 pints of concord grape jelly and it's still syrup after 4 days. I used 3.5 pounds of grapes to make 4 cups of grape juice. I stirred in 6 cups of sugar and brought the mixture to a boil and then added 6 oz of liquid pectin and boiled hard for 1 minute before filling the jars. I then put them in a hot bath of boiling water for 5 minutes. Any ideas why the jelly hasn't jelled? IS there a way for me to re process it?
 
Yes you can reprocess it. The directions for doing that are on the paper insert that should have been in the pectin box. It is also found in the Ball Blue Book.

Keep in mind that some jellies take weeks for them to set up so you might not want to be in an immediate rush.

Watching for the gel point in making jams and jellies is still somewhat of an art and there are several methods, such as the cold spoon test, to test for it.
 
I am surprised you used pectin. When I have made grape jam it was just grapes and sugar. Grapes naturally contain a lot of pectin. My guess is that you did not cook it long enough. You can remelt the jelly and add a bit more water and I would suggest you do the freezer test --place a drop on a plate, place in freezer for a few minutes. If you can draw your finger through and the line remains, it is done.
 
I made 8 pints of concord grape jelly and it's still syrup after 4 days. I used 3.5 pounds of grapes to make 4 cups of grape juice. I stirred in 6 cups of sugar and brought the mixture to a boil and then added 6 oz of liquid pectin and boiled hard for 1 minute before filling the jars. I then put them in a hot bath of boiling water for 5 minutes. Any ideas why the jelly hasn't jelled? IS there a way for me to re process it?

Sounds to me that you did not cook the jelly long enough--you said you boiled it for only 1 minute. If you didn't test it by temp or do the freezer gel test, that was where you went wrong.

I would remelt it with some water, bring it back to a boil, do the gel test and then, reprocess it. You will need new seals for your lids and everything else will have to be scrupulously clean and hot before you refill the jars and reseal. You will have to reprocess in the waterbath, too. I would definitely do this unless you want concord grape syrup for pancakes and waffles.
 
Sounds to me that you did not cook the jelly long enough--you said you boiled it for only 1 minute. If you didn't test it by temp or do the freezer gel test, that was where you went wrong.

I would remelt it with some water, bring it back to a boil, do the gel test and then, reprocess it. You will need new seals for your lids and everything else will have to be scrupulously clean and hot before you refill the jars and reseal. You will have to reprocess in the waterbath, too. I would definitely do this unless you want concord grape syrup for pancakes and waffles.

Susan,

How much water should I add and then should I just bring it back to a full rolling boil for 1 minute before doing the freezer gel test?

Thanks,

GG
 
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