Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam Not Setting

I made stawberry and rhubarb jam for the first time this morning. I used the juice and rind of 3 lemons for pectin and no extra water, but it is still runny.

Last time I made jam(plum) it didn't set so i boiled it again. It set after that, but the colour went all brownish. This jam has a beautiful colour and flavour, but it's plain runny, like a thick fruit syrup.

I thought of cheating and adding a red jelly, but I don't have any. Could I add plain gelatin? Should I boil it again and for how long?

Thanks for advice from anyone who's overcome this situation.

Sorry donnabeth, can't help you with solution, but would be interested to know myself as have got plenty of rhubarb growing and I love the combination of rhubarb/strawberry so I might try making some of this jam.

It sounds as if your jam was boiled too long.If you let it go past its setting point jam will start to caramelise and it will never set.It's to do with the proportion of invert sugar that is created by the heat.As far as I know there's nothing you can do apart from serving it as a sauce for puddings or ice cream.

I find my rhubarb based jams set really quick, so I can't be of much help either but you could try the gelatin idea but don't reheat the jam as such.

I measured and cooked exactly to the recipe as I'm not the best jam maker. It had to be a soft rolling boil for 15 minutes.

I ended up reheating half with a lemon and an apple enclosed in a bag for more pectin. It's still a bit runny so will be renamed ice cream topping. The other half I added gelatine to has set in the fridge with a horrible thick jelly type texture. It's not like jam at all but it tastes o.k. A jar kept in the pantry still hasn't set.

My MIL is the jam queen and makes delicious strawberry and rhubarb jam, but of all days to go out on a senior citizens trip it had to be today so I couldn't ask her advice. I even had a thought of turning up with a jar of perfect jam and impressing her. Maybe she'd be impressed with a jar of perfect ice cream topping.

All in all it's not the disaster it sounds as the rhubarb is from a plentiful supply in the garden and the strawberries were $2.00 for 3 punnets. Thanks for your help.

Aw, sorry it turned out like this!'Tis a tricky business, jam making, and in this heat, you want the effort you put in to be rewarded!