Pomona Pectin Turbinado Sweetened Strawberry Jam

Yikes.  That post title is a mouthful.  But, oh, what a sweet mouthful it is.

I mentioned a couple days ago that I had made strawberry jam last week using a different pectin that allowed me to use a natural sweetener.  Last year, my friend Roberta told me about Pomona's Universal Pectin and the benefits of using this product. 

But let me digress for a moment.  Someone gave us a jar of jam last year that was wonderful.  It tasted like the real fruit.  But there was one little problem.  There were these small pellet-sized white jellybean-like things all throughout the jam.  They didn't taste like anything, but it made the texture pretty weird.  We all wondered, what...is...that?


Okay, so let me get back to my jam making experience.  Hopefully you are still there.  Anywho, I decided to use Pomona Pectin for my strawberry jam and because turbinado is my sweetener of choice, I decided to use that instead of white sugar.  Well, while skimming off the foam from the top of my cooking jam, I noticed a few very small little jellybean-like things in the foam.  THAT'S WHAT THAT WAS!  Well, I stirred and stirred and it appears that my jam is free of those little globules of pectin.  My jam set up beautifully and has a wonderful texture and tastes like...strawberries.  Ahhhhhhhh.

Well, I'm going to make some raspberry jam soon and thought I'd call the "Jamline" at Pomona Pectin to see what I could or should do so I don't end up with any pectin globs.  The really nice ladies there told me that turbinado is not recommended because the grains are too course, not allowing the pectin to be fully mixed into the sweetener, thus creating the pectin globs.  They did give me lots of other natural options...but I do love my turbinado.

So I asked...

What if I "powder" the turbinado in my blender or food processor first to break down the sugar crystals?

Well, I guess that question had never been posed before.

So, I'll let you (and the folks at Pomona Pectin) know how that turns out with my raspberry jam...hopefully next week if raspberries are on schedule.

Will I use Pomona's Universal Pectin again.  Absolutely.

1. I have freedom over the amount and the types of sweeteners I use.  As a matter of fact, I used just under 4 C turbinado to 12 C crushed strawberries.
2. I can make multiple batches at the same time.  My first time using this pectin I made a triple-batch.  What a time-saver!
3. One box makes several batches, making it cost-effective, too.

 Yup.  I've been converted.

By the way, be sure to let me know if you've used this product.  I'd love to hear your stories!