First time making this ever, found recipe online and seemed easy enough. It even had pictures at every step/stage for comparison. I had strawberries that were on it's last leg before death by compost so I thought let's give it new life.
I don't have a thermometer (kill me, I know), but the recipe gave some guidelines of physical appearances to tell when it'd be ready. Saying it'd take roughly 15 minutes of cooking or maybe more if it's watery. Towards the end I tested it on a cold plate to see if it wrinkled (per the instructions), and it did a bit but not well. So I had it go for 2-3 more minutes after the initial 15 minutes. Then I prepped the glass jar, slowly temping it with warmer and warmer water so it wouldn't crack from the jam being poured in.
But as it settled my 'jam' became candied jam. Last night I ate some and it was very gummy like, quite tasty and delectable. I thought, "Uh oh, I hope this doesn't get harder." (Spoiler, it did)
After having it in the fridge overnight, I woke up this morning excited to see how my creation had faired overnight. Well, she has become full on hard candy and my spoon is standing.
The help I need; how do I make this scoopable AND spreadable?
Tl,dr; First time making jam, accidentally made it into candy, and now it's not scoopable. Please help make it scoopable and spreadable. Thanks.
It kinda sounds like you accidentally made pate de fruit! They are normally cut into cubes. Can you get it out of the jar at all? I am picturing it coming out like a can of cranberry sauce at thanksgiving, a big ol cylinder.
If so, cut it up into pieces, get a tray with some parchment paper, and sprinkle sugar on it and shake around to coat it. Enjoy. I am not sure how much you made and how to keep it food safe, I know properly made pate de fruit lasts some time at room temp but I would not want to risk it. I would say refrigerate anything you don't eat same-day.
They are one of my favorite candies, I am jealous of your accident!
you may have had the candies without realizing it! If you have ever had "jelly candies" (just look up pictures of pate de fruit) that is another name for em. Trader joes sells them as "fruit jellies" and they are addictive. There are more processed versions that are...not QUITE it but similar as well.
Sounds yummy!! I love candies with a sugar coat on the outside, gives it such a great texture and crunch. Thanks for this great suggestion, will be experimenting!
Update; unfortunately no pictures, because I inhaled the small sample batch I made. It's glorious and I love it. It was everything and more. Thank you thank you, you beautiful being.
This reminds me of when my brother and I took a jam and jelly making course with our grandma. We went home with grape, apple, and strawberry jam/jellies and made toast to try them the next morning. I still remember the DINK noise the knife made when it hit the grape "jelly".
I had a similar problem with trying to make strawberry syrup just dialed back a step. I wanted some concentrated syrup to pour in with soda water and make my own seltzers, I boiled for a few minutes then when it seemed thickened a bit I poured it into an empty necked bottle and placed in the fridge. The next morning I had perfect strawberry jam that was never going to pour back out, I ended up using the round handle of a wooden spoon to scoop some out for a sandwich. At the time I had no idea about pectin and strawberries naturally thickening.
I got this spoon at an Asian market, in their kitchen isle. The brand is called Zebra and you can search up 'Zebra soup spoon' for some online options.
And thanks for appreciating my spoon! I love this type of spoon since it's very good at cooling down foods; especially soups (hence the name soup spoon).
What recipe did you use? Add more strawberries or other fruit and mix it up then bring to a simmer for a few minutes to combine. (Assuming this is for the fridge.)
My mom made a batch of wild blueberry that did this once but while it was a little warm she tried to get portions of it onto parchment paper, and the. dip those into chocolate. They weren’t solid sugar but more like a chewy chunk lol.
Did exactly this to some cherry jam the other day. Ended up warming it slowly in the microwave with a bit of water and it is now perfectly normal jam again.
I made 8 oz Jolly Ranchers the first time I tried to make jelly. It was a peach jelly with red hots recipe and the smell was Devine! My kids thought it was hilarious and after soaking the jars in near boiling water they managed to get it out and then bust it up with a hammer. Every now and again one of them will ask me to make some more and take off running cause they know I'm throwing a shoe.
Keep in mind my youngest was 25 when I made the first batch, so it's just simple assault not child abuse.
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature! Drop that stuff while it’s hot next time on some silpat sheets and I bet you have some yummy candy drops. (Obligatory statement: please use a tested recipe if you want jam.)
Just, for hypothetical purposes. Let’s say someone had the opposite problem and it was liquid. All the right ingredients for the recipe. The right amount of pectin. Just liquid. Any advice for that hypothetical situation or for the husband of someone going through the hypothetical situation?
I got some satsuma jelly did that...made great syrup on stuff. Think I still have a jar...oh no that's regular jelly guess I'm out...made 98 jarsthat year of various satsiluma jelly and marmalaids after a huge crop of satsumas. I think 3 came out like syrup.
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Re heat the jam and add some water or make it into a pie/ candies by re melting and making small dollops on parchment.
Also I hate your spoon, good luck with the jam though.
Next time you want to can a jam, please use a tested recipe from the resources in the sidebar. “Some recipe from the internet” usually does not transfer into something safe to can and keep unrefrigerated.
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u/superpony123 Jun 27 '26
It kinda sounds like you accidentally made pate de fruit! They are normally cut into cubes. Can you get it out of the jar at all? I am picturing it coming out like a can of cranberry sauce at thanksgiving, a big ol cylinder.
If so, cut it up into pieces, get a tray with some parchment paper, and sprinkle sugar on it and shake around to coat it. Enjoy. I am not sure how much you made and how to keep it food safe, I know properly made pate de fruit lasts some time at room temp but I would not want to risk it. I would say refrigerate anything you don't eat same-day.
They are one of my favorite candies, I am jealous of your accident!