How to Fix Runny Pepper Jelly

When you make peppers into jelly, the final product may not set.

Making your own pepper jelly allows you to control its consistency and flavor --- something that you obviously cannot do to the same extent with store-bought pepper jelly. This can be helpful if you know what you're going for and how to achieve that goal. It can also lead to some difficulties. Your jelly may not set properly, for example, leaving it thin and runny. This is a problem you can fix; you do not need to throw out the runny batch and start anew.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 8 tsp. powdered pectin
• Large pot
• Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. Allow your pepper jelly to sit for several days if you have just made it. Pepper jelly tends to thicken significantly as it cools and can sometimes take several days or more to set properly, so yours might not even need to be fixed.

2. Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and powdered pectin in a pot large enough to easily hold all of these ingredients along with the jelly you wish to fix. The amounts listed will thicken 2 qt. of pepper jelly; increase or decrease the amounts of the other ingredients accordingly if you are thickening a different amount of jelly.

3. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over high heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and then pour in the jelly. Continue stirring the mixture as it returns to a boil. Start timing the mixture as soon as it begins boiling rapidly; remove it from the heat after one minute of boiling.

4. Can the pepper jelly as you did when you originally made it. This time it should thicken properly.

References

• PickYourOwn.org: How to Fix (or Remake) Jam or Jelly That Turns Out Too Soft or Runny
• Charleston HomeMag: Hot Pepper Jelly
• PickYourOwn.org: How to Make Your Own Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Resources

• Pepper Fool: Recipes