[ladytoysdream]

I have the fruit thawing to make several batches of jam today. I made sure I had plenty of sugar and thought I had enough sure-jell. Well I do, if I count the expired boxes. Sigh
So I just did a search on google for expired pectin, sure jell. What I have is the dry kind, not liquid. Expiration is 2002. Yup, 10 yrs old. I am thinking of using a box of jello also in the batch to help set it up better.

So have you used expired, and how much expired was it ?

I priced sure jell yesterday in Walmart

 

[josantoro]

I would not worry about it! What can happen to pectin? Not like it is a pharmaceutical or something.

IMO they go crazy with expiration dates. I even saw one on my dish soap this morning. Really, I had better throw out that old expired dish soap.....

And calcium tablets!! Hello, it is a mineral ...as in, a ROCK basically.

 

[Spirit Deer]

If it doesn't work, no worries. You can still use the jam for pancake syrup or ice cream topping , so it wouldn't go to waste.

 

[ladytoysdream]

Well I used the old stuff for the strawberry batch. I put in a box of strawberry jello, just in case. And it gives a better flavor ...been there, done that
I am pretty sure it set up. The pectin looked fine. Been in dry storage, etc. And the jam tastes good. I scraped the pot before it went into the wash pan
I made the red raspberry batch with expired sure jell also....
this one was better though...March of 2012. Time either gets away from me, or I buy too much of stuff. Not sure anymore. Note to self...check expiration dates more often.
I pulled out 2 quarts of grape juice canned from 2 years ago. Plan is to strain the grapes out, and make jelly from the juice. I do not add sugar when I make juice, so no problem adding the correct amount of sugar for the jelly recipe I also have a box of grape jello ready to go in that batch , just in case.

Well the water bath is now bubbling good, so waiting on the 20 minutes to process those 12 jars from the 2 batches. I used those tall slender ones with the quilted sides. I just measured one and it holds 1.5 cups of water. So 2 nice yields.

Well I need to make supper and I guess I should make a batch or two of the grape. Sounds like a plan

Last year, when I made a batch of grape jelly, it did not set up correctly. So I made a second batch, and on purpose , made it thicker. Opened the first group of jars, and added it to the second batch, heated it up, and then reprocessed it.
It worked...saved that batch of runny jelly.

 

[chowder]

I agree about expiration dates.Makes you wonder sometimes.Just verifies the throw away society we live in now.I have used the dry pectin in the past from expired boxes and never had a problem.I always seem to buy too many each season.
Good for you with your jam making,I love to do that each Fall.Just waiting for my Raspberries to ripen and I will whip some up.

 

[josantoro]

I just found out about this making jam with jello thingie last year. I have made rhubarb jam with strawberry jello. I hear you can also make "raspberry" jam with green tomatos ground up and raspberry jello.
I would love to hear any more stories about it.

 

[frugalfranny]

So have you used expired, and how much expired was it ?

I priced sure jell yesterday in Walmart

I have used expired.........quite often, never had a problem. Think it might have been newer than 10 years exp. though. (good to see someone as bad, or worse, then I am---:laugh

The price and using the exp. is exactly why I will do it...........would rather have 'runny jam' than toss something. I think part of the key---if there is one---is keeping it in a cool, dry spot. Mine is in the basement---always cool---and dry.

Jos........have made jam with green tomatoes.......and using jello.......for any flavor it seems a little milder but friends that "think" they HATE tomatoes ate it........and then I told them what they were eating. Have tried cherry, rasp., strawberry......my favorite was rasp...........my least fav. was cherry. I think the cherry was too mild for my taste. But still decent. It is great fun to experiment.

Have you tried the jam using bananas? I think it is really good and lots seem to love it on waffles. My first batch was a little sweet but got it down now.

 

[Lisa Bircher]

I picked red raspberries this morning and chose to use liquid pectin Certo that expired 3 years ago! Today is August 14, 2015 and the pectin expired September 20, 2012. I knew it was a gamble but I was up for it... I feel lucky today. Most importantly, I am too FRUGAL (or cheap) to go buy new pectin. I wanted to use what I had on hand.

Anyways, I made extra care to measure everything precisely: the sugar and the exact amount of crushed berries and I gave it a go. It worked out perfectly! Right now the jam is sitting on the counter setting up as I type. I am so excited that it worked. This pectin was sealed in a foil package and was clear and flowed nicely when I added it to the recipe. So, it seems this liquid pectin can be used much longer than the expiry date suggests. I just wanted to contribute my experience for future readers of this blog.

 

[Lisa Bircher]

Use that expired liquid pectin if it looks good!

Duplicate post.

 

[CookieLee]

I agree. I don't think I'd worry about pectin.

The worst expired product I've ever tried to use was toothpaste that was years out of date. Does toothpaste get old? Yes. Apparently it does ... eventually.

 

[CapnRex]

This is almost unbelievable but today I was making some jalapeno jelly and needed some pectin. When mom gave me hers, I told her it expired 19 years ago. She said it doesn't go bad....I was skeptical so looked online and found this forum. Well, I used that powdered MCP pectin and sure enough, it jelled up quite nicely! The jelly is absolutely delicious. SO long story short...it still works great after 19 years. (actually 19 and 1/2 years!)

 

[ladytoysdream]

Nice to see a old thread surface

I am getting ready to make jam again. Not sure how much , but probably at least 60 pints. Then I won't have to make it again for awhile. We just turned our outside wood boiler on for the winter yesterday. It also heats our hot water in the winter. So I can use all the hot water I need to , and not worry about the electric bill.
Plan is to make strawberry, red raspberry, blueberry, grape, rhubarb, black raspberry ( blackcaps), and some apple jelly. I freeze during the summer and then come fall, I have the berries ready to work with. I stocked up on sugar recently. I did buy some bulk pection to try. $ 2.99 and it is enough for 3 batches. I also have some I paid .99 for 1 box/batch. No sense paying Walmart $ 2.99 for a box to make 1 batch. And if I run out, I know I still have some expired pectin I can use
I also got some jello yesterday as backup plan. I thought 50 cents a box was a good price. Raspberry, blackberry and strawberry flavors.

 

[ginnyb]

New here. Found you guys after a google search on expired pectin. Mine is not a decade old :vs_laugh:, only one year past date. I figure I'm good to go since expiration dates have little meaning here. :vs_box: Now, I am wondering something else. I am (first time) making cherry preserves. Recipe called for 1 box of pectin, then had 3.5 ounce in parenthesis. So, I added two boxes. Later, I wondered if I should've only added 1, which is 1.75 ounce. Recipe has 6 cups of cherries. Hope I haven't messed things up. Thanks to any input on this.

 

[Jenwilliams54]

Soo I’m about to try using a box that expired 18 years ago... 6/9/02. It’s really fitting actually. I want to use my beet water leftover from pickling beets. It’s a faux grape jelly recipie supposedly from the depression era. Have several boxes of expired sure jell that my neighbor gave to me a while back... fingers crossed

 

[MaggieTru]

Can't wait to hear if it works! I have some pomona pectin that is a few years "expired" though it seems to be a "best by" date rather than expiration. I plan to just keep using it. I like syrup anyway.

 

[[email protected]]

My cucumber jam did not set. Dry fruit pectin was old. Can it be re done?

 

[MaggieTru]

you can decide it's sauce, or you can try again!
I use pomona pectin, other's like sur jel, andsome like the liquid sur jel.
You can always use this as an experiment with the options.
Usually when something doesn't set for me, if it still tastes good, I just relabel it as "sauce" and move on.

 

[Peggy B]

I don't worry too much about best-before dates if an item passes the look-and-sniff tests. But I'm discarding the seven sachets of Certo I found in the back of a top cupboard. The best-before date is 35 years ago. Clearly I've managed to make jams and chutneys for many years without Certo.

 

[Doneen]

I have some sure jell pectin that does not expire until 2023, but I made strawberry jam the other day and it had a strange chemical taste. Can pectin be altered by heat or something? It was in the garage for a while (although I think only for the winter..). I'm confused. I have 4 other boxes with the same dates but I'm afraid to use them.

 

[josantoro]

I would call the company and see what they say. They'll probably send you coupons for free product. And welcome to FV!!