Recently I found myself rummaging through my cupboard (my face stained in raspberries), in search of the pectin I purchase on sale last year. Upon opening the box I realized I bought the WRONG ONE! I had stocked up on MCP
In the past I\’ve purchase and tried the No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell
Corn syrup, however, I have no patience for and no desire to have it in my jam. I found myself stuck. I could either trash all of the pectin I purchase and go get the Sure-Jell OR I could spend some time googling and experimenting and see what I could come up with using the MCP.
You\’ll notice on the boxes that both MCP and Sure-Jell are made by the same company and after further scrutiny-contain the same ingredients, but in a different order implying that they are different amounts. MCP calls for corn syrup and lemon juice in their recipes and Sure-Jell does not. MCP has a reputation for setting better (I\’m guessing because of the corn syrup) and uses less sugar in it’s recipes. This blogger actually took the time to use both side by side making the same recipe if you\’d like to see the difference.
The set and the flavor turned out AMAZING! It’s a sweet delicious raspberry with a hint of vanilla and clean freshness of a little lemon. I love it. Now to bake bread!
I looked up Sure-Jell’s recipe for raspberry freezer jam and decided to follow it loosely-subtracting some sugar and adding in some vanilla and lemon essential oil (I didn’t have any lemon juice and worried that the ingredient difference would mean not enough citric acid-so one drop of lemon essential oil seemed like it would do the trick)
- 3 C PREPARED RASPBERRIES (ABOUT 6 CUPS UNCRUSHED)
- 4 1/2 C SUGAR
- 3/4 C WATER
- 1 BOX MCP FRUIT PECTIN
- 1 DROP LEMON ESSENTIAL OIL (MAKE SURE IT’S A BRAND THAT’S SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION)
- 1/2 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT
- Clean and set out all of your jars and lids.
- Crush raspberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Press half the pulp through sieve to remove seeds, if desired. Measure exactly 3 cups crushed raspberries into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.
- Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is almost dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain, especially if you use organic sugar.)
- Fill all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.
The set and the flavor turned out AMAZING! It’s a sweet delicious raspberry with a hint of vanilla and clean freshness of a little lemon. I love it. Now to bake bread!