Plum Jam won't set . help please?

chch_returnee, Feb 9, 9:44am
no pectin in the house. Tempted to just leave it in the pan and deal with it tomorrow . anything I can do tonight though!

auburn4, Feb 9, 9:56am
It's late so leave it for tomorrow. Have you tried using jam setting sugar, it has the pectin in the sugar and works well. You could use the juice of a lemon to help it set. Good luck, nothing worse than jam not setting when you've spent the evening making it.

chch_returnee, Feb 9, 10:09am
Thanks .will get the Jam Sugar for next time but will grab some lemons tomorrow. I use the Edmonds recipie but used 4kg of plums so how many lemons do you think! 1 or 2 med sized ones!

auburn4, Feb 9, 10:38am
You may well need 2-4 lemons. I just sort of wing it when I make my preserves. Made a batch of BBQ nectarine sauce this evening and have to wait until tomorrow to see how thick it is.
Maybe someone else will be able to help more .

makespacenow, Feb 9, 4:32pm
Or use apples.to make pectin.

gardie, Feb 9, 5:25pm
Boil it for longer.Did your recipe use water!I find that with added water, you have to boil it longer to remove all the water.I no longer put water in my jam and it requires way less cooking time.No need to add anything else - just fruit and sugar.

lythande1, Feb 9, 5:35pm
Don't bother with expensive sugar. 1 lemon is enough. And just cook it longer.And no I do 50% fruit (regardless of what fruit I'm using) and 50% sugar.

chch_returnee, Feb 9, 6:20pm
Damn I should have come here first lol Thanks for all the advice people :)

korbo, Feb 9, 6:22pm
had the same happen, got a packet of jam mix from supermarket and reboiled, added the jam mix(not the sugar one), in a small packet, andk now have yummy jam.

katalin2, Feb 9, 7:46pm
Or you can add a teaspoon or so of tartaric acid ( from supermarket- where general spices, baking powder etc are) to help with set. Maybe the plums were too ripe- works best with firm fruit.

terraalba, Feb 9, 8:59pm
How is the setting situation now!

Were the plums rather ripe! Jam from fruit at the end of the season is sometimes less successful. What was the proportion of water you used!

What variety were the plums! Some varieties of plums are wonderful to set but a few varieties need a little help. Others are better set once left standing on jars overnight. My tree of plums is not a good jam setter and needs an aid as above suggested. I've made plum jam from other varieties that have set beautifully.

chch_returnee, Feb 13, 9:48am
update. i burnt it :(

terraalba, Feb 13, 11:59pm
Stress does that -too many distractions. Hope the next batch works better. If you use the tree for next year's plums, you'll know a bit more about what to do. I prefer the firm red plums for jam success and wish that my over juicy yellow fleshed pink skinned tree here was one of the firm red kinds. I'd recommend that the plums not be late ones.

makespacenow, Feb 14, 12:35am
hmm maje sone pectin liquid next time or use pectin powder.perfectly set jam in less than five minutes.