It happened again - I made more crabapple jelly last night (a basket full sure makes a ton of jelly)

D

dawnnys

Well-known member
and it took almost 3/4 of an hour - after it came to a boil - before the jelly sheeted on the back of a spoon. I checked the temperature of it and it was just barely over 200 and I read you have to get it above 220F for it to set right. What's the problem? Directions said 15 minutes! I didn't overcook it to that point, because it was dripping off the spoon like crazy up til then. Fine now.

 
Jelly times can vary:

How big, as in wide, was your pot? A big wide pot will evaporate quicker, getting to the jelly point faster. The deeper the juice, the slower the jelly point in reached.

Were the crabapples especially juicy? The more juice that needs to be evaporated, the slower the jelly point is reached.

Was it especially humid? This can slow evaporation too.

Do any of these fit?

 
True - it turned out perfectly, too, just so long. Yes, the pot was wide,

but also deep. Not especially humid, but I did keep the cover part-way on, to "speed up" cooking time - hahah, joke was on me. Not particularly juicy though.

Thanks!

 
Just because you reach 220, it doesn't mean you've necessarily achieved jell. Unless you add pectin,

(which should never be necessary with apple anything) you still have to continue cooking until the liquid is reduced and the color deepens.

While you're not actually reducing juice for the color, the color is a good indicator of how things are proceeding.

 
Thanks - I have a nice candy-apple-red. It started solidifying on the spoon when I

put it down after after testing it. That's when I knew. Dumb me, next time I won't use a lid.

 
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