I made the Ball Habanero Gold Jelly recipe, and the habaneros/red onion/red pepper pieces pretty much stayed at the top. It set perfectly, and the seal is great.
It was the first time I have used liquid pectin, as the recipe required, so I don’t know what I did – did I boil it too long before adding the pectin at the end? Not boil it long enough? Put it in the hot jars too soon – should I have let it start to gel a bit and mix in the solids more before putting it in the jars? I’m assuming it’s just like fruit float and can be mixed up when it’s opened, but it’s not as “pretty” as I would like!
by Mistletoe177
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My peppers always float when I make this— I just add a label instructing users to stir. No complaints!
A trick I’ve tried is chopping and preparing the peppers, and freezing them. Thaw them out the next day, add peppers and any liquid they lost in the bag to the recipe. It seemed to work okay, but still some floating.
Others have suggested letting it cool a little before you jar it. I do think this helps.
Congrats on your habanero gold! I made three batches this year. My family loves it.
I can it and then about 30 min after I pull our of the canner (or sooner if it is rapidly setting) I turn upside down. let’s cool a little more and flip. keep doing until fruit is well distributed and not refloating
It happens at times for my jams. One strategy I’ve used is to wait about 3 minutes after cooking the jam and letting it rest before filling my jars for processing, and just that small amount of time has often allowed for my fruit/pepper to distribute more evenly in the mix.
Sorry for the length in advance. This was one of the first recipes that I canned, and I make it every. Single. Year. My Ball “Complete book of home preserving” is probably older than most with 2006. It has a “Jelly particle suspension tip” on the previous page.
“This procedure can be used only with jellies prepared in 4 or 8 oz jars that have been processed for 10 min in boiling water canner.
To enhance particle suspension, cool the processed jars upright for 15-30 minutes or just until the lids pop down but jelly is not fully set. As soon as the lids are concave, carefully and gently twist and/or tilt- DO NOT SHAKE AND DO NOT INVERT- individual jars to distribute solids throughout the jelly. The sealed jar must not be inverted, as this might prevent the formation of a vacuum seal. Repeat as needed during the cooling and setting time until solids are nicely suspended in the jelly.”
With that said, I’ve reached the point I could care less what the jars look like. Anything looks better with pressure canned okra next to it. But- when I make this for Christmas gifts, I do take the time to do this. I use 1/4 pints or the short/squatty half pints to help. The normal half pints are a bust, good luck making it past halfway. Just keep the base of the jar on the counter and twist it back and forth a handful of times. The solids shimmy right on down closer to the bottom, and the jelly always sets from my experience.