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11:28 am
2nd Grader
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Sun 17-Jul-11
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Hello lovely people, I am new to jam making and have just made my first batch of strawberry jam. I used a recipe from River Cottage Handbook No2, I followed to the letter the recipe, but as I put the jam into jars and the fruit has risen to the top and I seem to have half jelly and half fruit in the pots!! What did I do wrong 
11:45 am
Supreme Being
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Sun 30-Jan-11
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Hi Fiona
It's often suggested that once setting point has been reached, you leave the jam/marmalade to cool slightly for 10 or 15 minutes, this is supposed to help distribute the fruit and avoid it rising to the top when potted. Having said that, it worked ok with my strawberry jam I made last week, but not with the marmalade I made a couple of weeks before that! 
Have also seen it suggested to turn the jars upside down (erm, they'd have to be sealed, obviously 
). Don't know whether that would work, though, as not tried it.
I suppose you could tip the contents out into a bowl, stir it around and put it back in the jars....might disturb the set and make it a bit runnier, but then strawberry jam doesn't really have a 'firm' set anyway, does it. I'm sure it will still be edible and lovely, anyway.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
12:30 pm
Supreme Being
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Mon 21-Sep-09
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Try giving it a stir in the jar as it cools (that's if you have just made it & it hasn't yet cooled). Do it very gently as you don't want any air bubbles in there.
Good luck 
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
9:01 pm
I use the tip method and it works well; every few minutes or so I tip the jar one way or the other until I see that the fruit no longer rises as I return it back. Like this I always have well distributed fruit
10:12 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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I think it's the cooling bit that does the job, which allows the jam to thicken that bit more, then give it a good stir before you start to pot up.
If you've already potted up, I've heard about the tipping upside down job, but as I cover all my jams with wax discs before sealing, I always worry that it will disperse the disc into the jam somewhere, and so have never done it.
If they are all potted and sealed, you could try just warming again slightly (in pan of hot water), then tipping upside down for a few mins?
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