honey jelly

[beefarmer]

i finally tried the honey jelly recipe from the super formulas book with honey, water and liquid fruit pectin. it states give it a chance don't throw it away to early thinking it won;t set up. it has been 3 wks. now and still runny as water, what happened? could i use the gungel jell, [i think it is called, from a maple syrup jelly recipe] or is something else that works?

[power napper]

Never tried it but think that maybe Clearjel might work for you. I use clearjel for making blueberry pie filling etc. Bought the clear jel on internet.

[beefarmer]

power napper thank for the idea i'll check in to that i was actually just reading your recipe on honey soda pop, that sounds awesome i gotta try some!!

[Wolftrainer]

Beefarmer
My wife and I made and sold over 400 8oz jars of honey jelly last summer at farmers market. We have over 250 jars now for next summer that we made out of high moisture honey. Use 3 cups of honey and 1 cup water plus 1 bag of liquid pectin. The jelly will start to set up as soon as it cools. If you use more honey or water it will be runny.
Check your measuring cup, we have found that they are not all the same. We have found that some 4 cup measuring cups are off by a half cup.

[Barry Tolson]

Wolftrainer,
Do you find honey jelly to be a profitable endeavor at the farmers market? I've never had it, but after reading this thread I plan on making a batch to see if I like it or not. If so, I thought it might be a good addition to my regular honey sales.

[Wolftrainer]

Barry
Yes we a make profit. We buy jars in the spring on sale and the fall during close outs, some times we can get pectin on close out to. We looked in to buying jars at wholesale but the spring sales are cheaper.
We try to use high mositure honey ( this year with the rain we had a lot ) or honey that has sugared, 2 years ago we had honey that sugared in 2 weeks.
Unless we run out we only make jelly when it is cold outside all the heat stays inside. We make 8 double batches ( 64 jars ) at a time. We do other jobs between batches .I fill honey straws or make labels for all our products.
At the markets the more products on display the more you sell of each. We sell honey in 2oz to 5lb, comb honey, chunk honey, creamed honey, honey jelly, honey straws, pollen and some wax.

[HONEYDEW]

Hello all, I've watched this post from the get-go, and quite honestly I cant sit quiet anymore. People blast others in this world for cutting their honey with corn syrup, yet its O.K. to thin it with water and pectin? Not trying to be confrontational , but it just doesn't make sense to me, does it taste different than honey? don't get me wrong I'm all for making a buck...Please enlighten me.....nicely

[Barry Tolson]

Wolftrainer,
Thanks for the info. I've found it interesting...the various things that folks make into jelly(i.e. hot peppers!) and I think my customers will enjoy honey jelly, once they give it a try.
In years past, I've had some really interesting and dark flavorful honeys that I think would have made for very good jellies. Of course, though, I tend to prefer the darker honey's while most of my customers seem to prefer the light honeys.
Barry

[Barry Tolson]

Update...made my first batch on Sunday. It was totally liquid when I went bed, so there was some concern. Got up this morning and it was all set up nice. It looks great! I can't bring myself to open up something right after canning it, so I'l wait a week or so, then pop one open for a taste test. I'm optimistic that it will be a good enjoyable product.

[Omie]

Hello all, I've watched this post from the get-go, and quite honestly I cant sit quiet anymore. People blast others in this world for cutting their honey with corn syrup, yet its O.K. to thin it with water and pectin? Not trying to be confrontational , but it just doesn't make sense to me, does it taste different than honey? don't get me wrong I'm all for making a buck...Please enlighten me.....nicely

It's all about honesty in food labeling.
If you sell 'Pure honey' but cut it with corn syrup that's deception and it's illegal.
If you are selling honey JELLY then it is labeled as jelly. Any jelly is usually made from a base ingredient (fruit, herbs, or in this case honey), a sweetener if desired, water and/or vinegar, and pectin. All the ingredients are plainly listed.
Honey jelly is not being sold as honey. Honey candy would fall under the same rules.
I just made great some rosemary-garlic jelly last week, but I wouldn't sell it as 'garlic'.

[Omie]

Wolftrainer,
Thanks for the info. I've found it interesting...the various things that folks make into jelly(i.e. hot peppers!) and I think my customers will enjoy honey jelly, once they give it a try.

You're right about that.
I just made some of my favorite jelly- garlic/rosemary jelly. I love it with roast chicken and roast pork and pork or lamb chops.

you know how people like honey mustard on their ham and such?- maybe you should try some honey mustard jelly made with a little vinegar instead of water. Or... honey/red pepper jelly!

[Barry Tolson]

Oh Omie! You really have me thinking!!!! That really does sound good. I appreciate the suggestions! I'm sure such things could mean increased sales. (or at the very least...something enjoyable to use myself!)
On a related note...This honey jelly I made was the first time I've used liquid pectin. Does anyone have any insight on the using the powdered as a substitute? I do not know if they are interchangeable...or if they are fairly recipe specific.
Thanks

[beefarmer]

barry, the recipe i got was in the super formulas book, and it says only use liquid pectin, dry wiil not work, not sure why though.

[DeeAnna]

Liquid and dry pectin are not interchangeable in a recipe!

Liquid pectin has been heated when it is manufactured, so you do not need to bring it to a boil when you are making your jam or jelly recipe. Dry pectin must be boiled as part of the recipe so this type of pectin will jell up.

The order in which the pectin is added to the recipe and the type of heating required will depend on the pectin you are using. Interchanging one for the other is likely to mean your jam or jelly won't jell.

In the honey jelly recipe, the point is to minimize the heating of the honey, so it seems to me that liquid pectin makes more sense for this recipe.

--DeeAnna

[Grant]

My local grocery store only has dry pectin. Is liquid pectin some specialty item that I need to find somewhere else?

Grant
Jackson, MO

[DeeAnna]

You should be able to find liquid pectin in pretty much the same places where you find dry pectin. It is a normal grocery store item, especially around canning time (late summer, early fall). Might not be on the shelves in the Midwest right now due to near zero demand.

See http://www.amazon.com/Sure-Jell-Cert.../dp/B001E560U4
Be sure to use fresh pectin -- if the product is past its expiration date, don't bother with it.

--DeeAnna

[Omie]

Both my local hardware store and Agway/feed/seed/garden store all have canning sections too, with various pectins and canning supplies.

[DeeAnna]

I looked in our small-town grocery store today and found both kinds of pectin, side by side on the shelf. I like "Certo" liquid pectin the best, by the way. --DeeAnna

[Barry Tolson]

Perhaps the powdered pectin could be used, if the procedures were altered and the honey/water mixture heated to the required temperature for the required time? Not sure if it would damage the honey, or alter the flavor significantly, though. I'd be willing to do some experimenting sometime. If it fails, I could still pour the product over ice cream or something.

[beefarmer]

barry, i find liquid pectin at walmart