Developing or Converting Recipes for Cooked Jam or Jelly Using Pomona’s Pectin

When developing your own recipes, or converting a recipe written for a different pectin, use the ingredient amounts listed below. Ingredient amounts are different for different fruits, as well as different for jam and jelly.

When converting a recipe written for another pectin, you can’t automatically convert a pouch or bottle of liquid pectin, or a box of powdered pectin, into an amount of Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Universal Pectin works differently than other pectins because it is not pre-mixed with dextrose. This means that you cannot add Pomona’s pectin powder directly to the fruit or it will clump. If you plan to develop or convert recipes, it is important to follow the appropriate directions for adding the pectin to the fruit. Please read this page all the way through.

Jam

Strawberry, Kiwi, Currant, Raspberry, Gooseberry, Sour Blackberry, Sour Cherry, Sour Plum, Pineapple

  • Pomona’s Pectin: ½ teaspoon per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Calcium Water: ½ teaspoon per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Sugar: scant ¼ cup up to ½ cup per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Honey: 2 Tablespoons up to ¼ cup per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Lemon Juice Not Required: if desired for flavor, use up to 1 Tablespoon per cup of mashed fruit.

Blueberry, Sweet Blackberry, Mulberry, Elderberry, Ripe Quince, Apple

  • Pomona’s Pectin: ½ teaspoon per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Calcium Water: ½ teaspoon per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Sugar: scant ¼ cup up to ½ cup per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Honey: 2 Tablespoons up to ¼ cup per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Lemon or Lime Juice Required: 1 Tablespoon per cup of mashed fruit.

Sweet Cherry, Sweet Plum, Peach, Apricot, Pear, *Fig, Mango, Sweet Guava

  • Pomona’s Pectin: ¾ teaspoon per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Calcium Water: 1 teaspoon per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Sugar: scant ¼ cup up to ½ cup per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Honey: 2 Tablespoons up to ¼ cup per cup of mashed fruit.
  • Lemon or Lime Juice Required: 1 Tablespoon per cup of mashed fruit. (*1/2 cup lemon juice per 4 cups of mashed fig)

Jelly

Tart Apple, Crab Apple, Sour Blackberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Sour Cherry, Currant, Concord Grape, Sour Plum, Sour Guava

  • Pomona’s Pectin: 1 teaspoon per cup of juice.
  • Calcium Water: 1 teaspoon per cup of juice.
  • Sugar: scant ¼ cup up to ½ cup per cup of juice.
  • Honey: 2 Tablespoons up to ¼ cup per cup of juice.
  • Lemon Juice Not Required: if desired for flavor, use up to 1 Tablespoon per cup of juice.

Sweet Apple , Ripe Quince, Sweet Blackberry, Elderberry, Sweet Grape, Sweet Plum, Peach, Sweet Guava

  • Pomona’s Pectin: 1 teaspoon per cup of juice.
  • Calcium Water: 1 teaspoon per cup of juice.
  • Sugar: scant ¼ cup up to ½ cup per cup of juice.
  • Honey: 2 Tablespoons up to ¼ cup per cup of juice.
  • Lemon or Lime Juice Required: 1 Tablespoon per cup of juice.

Pomegranate

  • Pomona’s Pectin: 1 teaspoon per cup of juice.
  • Calcium Water: 1 teaspoon per cup of juice.
  • Sugar: scant ¼ cup up to ½ cup per cup of juice.
  • Honey: 2 Tablespoons up to ¼ cup per cup of juice.
  • Lemon Juice Not Required: if desired for flavor, use 1 teaspoon per cup of juice.

Directions

1) The way to figure the amount of Pomona’s to use is based on the amount and type of mashed fruit or juice. With the recipe you want to convert, calculate how much mashed fruit or juice you will be working with, and then use the amounts of pectin, calcium water, and acid listed below.

2) Pomona’s Universal Pectin must be dissolved in a low-sugar environment. It cannot fully dissolve in a high-sugar environment. The sugar and honey ranges in our recipes give you a low-sugar environment. Always stir the pectin into an amount of dry sweetener that is no more than ½ the amount of mashed fruit or juice. Always stir the pectin into an amount of liquid sweetener that is no more than ¼ the amount of mashed fruit or juice. Add any remaining sweetener after the pectin is dissolved.

3) Pomona’s Universal Pectin must be dispersed into enough sweetener to prevent the pectin grains from clumping together when added to the hot fruit mixture. The table below gives you the minimum amount of sweetener required for adequate disbursement of the pectin.

  • 1 teaspoon (or less) pectin = 2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
  • 2 teaspoons pectin = ¼ cup sugar or honey
  • 3 teaspoons pectin = 3/8 cup sugar or honey
  • 4 teaspoons pectin = ½ cup sugar or honey
  • 5 teaspoons pectin = 5/8 cup sugar or honey
  • 6 teaspoons pectin = ¾ cup sugar or honey
  • 7 or 8 teaspoons pectin = 1 cup sugar or honey

4) For safe water bath canning, make sure to add lemon or lime juice when required since Pomona’s Universal Pectin does not have any acid added to it.

*If you want to add some dried spice to your jam or jelly, you can add up to 1 teaspoon per 4 cups of mashed fruit or juice.

*If you want to add some alcohol to your jam or jelly, our general guideline is to add ¼ cup alcohol per 4 cups mashed fruit or juice AND to reduce the amount of mashed fruit or juice by ¼ cup.

For example, if you are making Peach Jam with 4 cups of mashed peach and you want to add some alcohol, that translates to ¼ cup alcohol and 3¾ cups mashed peach. This amount of alcohol should give you the flavor without affecting the consistency or the canning safety of the recipe.

With this knowledge and understanding, and using the ingredient amounts listed below for different types of fruit, feel free to get creative. And, we’re always interested to hear about your results. Good luck and happy jamming!

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