The problem is that the blender will aerate the mixture making it "foamy." Personally, I wouldn't do it.

I tried blending chunky apricot preserves for rugelach but was unhappy with the results. That's when I discovered the problem with blending.

Carol

My blender isn't strong enough. A potato masher does a good job. I freeze my berries, then after about a week or more, I bring the berries out and strain off the juice. I use the juice for the jelly and the rest for jam. I only use the masher for the jam. I get more juice than pulp doing it this way. I then refreeze any extra juice in the correct amounts for the next batch.

My ex DIL did that and like said the results were quite ugly. It wasn't jam, it wasn't jelly. It tasted fine, but aesthetically it failed not only in appearance, but how it felt on the tongue. I had no fruit to bite into, and when it melted, it wasn't the clear liquid I expected. I felt like I was eating baby food.

I generally use an immersion or stick blender for my jams. I prefer the more uniform texture rather than the random size chunks produced by mashing with a spoon or potato masher. I am happy with how it works, though similar to using a blender, you can add a bit much air if you pull it to the surface too much. I generally tip my pan so that it's deep enough to get a good blend, since I do mostly small batch jams.

I don't have a stick blender, but you are the 2nd person that suggested using one.

well that's a bummer. it seemed like such a brilliant idea. a forum member sent me a jar of his strawberry/moruga scorpion pepper jelly. and it was amazing, but now I'm almost out. so I was gonna go out and get some strawberries, and make my own.

if people are using just the juice to make jelly, what if I were to blend it and then strain it, and just use the juice? I still gotta wait at least a few more weeks before the peppers I wanna use are ripe, so I've got time to think about it (by that I mean ask you kind folks for advice).

I do have a potato masher. I'm not dead set on using the blender. it just seemed like a good idea to me as a total noob.

jUDO ... you can strain it through a fine steel strainer and get most of the pulp out.

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Posted by myfamilysfarm 5b (My Page) on
Thu, Oct 10, 13 at 20:08
I don't have a stick blender, but you are the 2nd person that suggested using one.

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You don't have a stick blender ?!?!I
it is the best thing after the ball point pen.! You blend things right in their container, pot, even in a big mug. Mine is always sitting on the counter. I bough my first one in 1982/3? . They cost around $20 . Some for less than that. They are dandy. I throw away my old Oaster blender long time ago.

If you want a pretty clear jelly DONT try to use the blender, just make the jelly out of the juice and use the pulp for something else, maybe add sugar to taste and use on ice cream.

The stick blender was just one of those things that I never got. My Kitchenaid mixer and attachments took care of almost everything I needed. Only used a blender for milk shakes. But thanks for confirming that it's worth the money. How about one of them that stands on its own and blends? I've seen it on TV, but looked like a cheap piece of plastic.

I do have a stick blender too. maybe I just love my blender too much. I got the "ninja professional" as a wedding gift, and it has helped me to create all of these hot sauces:

(btw my thanks to all on here who contributed to my knowledge of hot sauce safety in a previous thread on this forum. thanks to what I learned here, all my sauces are bottled hot, and processed in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, and all have a pH well below 4.0, with the mango chutney coming in at 2.9)

MyFamily...

My stick blender is a Cuisinart 1 speed, where part detaches and goes in the dishwasher, and came with a 2c measure that works great for dressings and milkshakes without a bunch of extra cleanup. Right now I've been using it for fruit leathers with extra applesauce, mixing in frozen fruit. It originally came from a grocery store giveaway, where you collect so many stickers and get a free appliance. I was very skeptical about whether it would last, as it was a cheaper appliance to start with (I think $35ish without the stamps), but it has held up well to regular use for 2 years. My DH is also a chef, so we do use it for some fancier soup type applications, and it's worked very well at creating the needed consistency. If it conks out, we'll probably just get another cheapo--I can't think of anything I use it for that I would want an extra speed, or bells and whistles for. As far as standing on its own--not sure where that would be useful, as I am pretty mobile with ours, and I like how small it is to store--have a small plastic tote that we keep it in on top of the cupboards. It's one of those appliances that I may not have chosen to purchase at the time, but now that we've had it I wouldn't live without.

How about one of them that stands on its own and blends?
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Standing on its own and blending ?
Most jobs require just a few short minutes. Then ,say, in a big pot you need to move it around as if you are stirring and wiggle a little bit,.
Sometimes I don't want to do it too much, but just briefly.
What I like about it is that you don't have to do any clean up after . You can even blend things in a large coffee mug.
To clean the blender itself, just run it in warm water and wipe it clean.

I have and love my stick blender and have found that I hardly ever use my regular blender any more. I just ordered a battery operated one from Bed Bath and Beyond for my DD whose kitchen is very tiny and does not have an outlet near the stove where it would be most useful. Hope it works as well as the one I have.

I have should joint problems and sometimes just the amount of stirring that you do with jelly/jam incorporating the sugar is enough to send me into intense pain. That's why I was asking about the automatic stirrer.

I'm glad to hear that people are happy with the 'stir stick', I might ask for one for Christmas.