Jelly is often a perfect snack for people who have a sweet tooth, but they are also added to fruit trifles, pancakes, and toast. It’s common to find jelly in the grocery stores, but some people make them at home as well (it’s easy, of course). However, making jelly isn’t as easy as it sounds because it tends to turn out extremely hard sometimes. If you’re wondering how to fix jelly that set too hard, we’re here to help out!
How To Fix Jelly That Set Too Hard?
When it comes down to the hard setting of the jelly, it is caused by various reasons, including overcooking. In addition, if you add too much juice or fruit and/or pectin, it hardens up the jelly. Not to forget, the chances of jelly setting too hard are also caused by using too much or too little sugar, especially when the jelly doesn’t have pre-added pectin. To illustrate, if you add too little sugar, excess cooking will result in the concentration of sugar, while too much fruit or juice will add the pectin content.
For this reason, whenever you make jelly, it is better to stick to the ingredients suggested by the recipe and make sure you add a specific quantity of the ingredients. On the other hand, if you are using the jelly powder, it’s better to follow the directions set out by the manufacture and be precise about the cooking time. However, if the jelly has already set too hard, you can follow the below-mentioned tips to fix the damage;
1. Add More Juice
This is the easiest method of adding some softness or flexibility to the jelly that has settled too hard. For this purpose, you need to take the jelly, put it in the pan, and add some fruit juice. You need to heat the mixture at a gentle temperature and stir them from time to time to ensure everything is fully combined. Keep in mind that you don’t need to add more sugar and then follow a similar cooking method.
2. Use The Microwave Oven
If the jelly is still too hard and thick, you can put the jelly into the microwave and heat it up in the microwave oven. Honestly, it will disturb the jelly’s texture (it will become liquid), but you can use it as ice cream syrup or a side for your morning pancakes.
3. Add Water & Sugar
Another method of fixing the hard jelly is adding more water and sugar to the jelly and heating the mixture, and bringing it to a boil. When the mixture has boiled for over two minutes, you can add it to the sterilized jars and keep in mind that the lid is sealed.
4. Hot Water Bath
This is the easiest method of softening the jelly that is set too hard. To use this method, you have to create a hot water bath and put the jelly container in it. With a few minutes of the hot water bath, the jelly will become a bit softer, and you will be able to use it as you like. However, it will only attain a softer texture for a limited time, so be quick about using it.