HELP ..... PLEASE.....

[Tweaker Geek]

I made a jellied cranberry sauce recipe today and it isn't thickening up!! Is there any way to save it?

Here's what I did:
Cooked a package of cranberries in water till they popped. Added 1 Splenda quick pack, 2 pkts. Sweet One and 1/4 tsp. powdered Stevia. I added some allspice and ground cloves, cooked about 10-15 mins. Then put in the food processor and blended. I made a 4-serving size package of cranberry jello, and added it to the cranberries in food processor, blended it all together and poured into a loaf pan. It's still liquid!! Augh!!!

I've never used this recipe before - (guess this is why ) but I thought it sounded like it would make more of a jellied cranberry sauce than what I usually make. Is there any help for this or should I just start all over again. I hate to waste! Any suggestions will be so appreciated!

[LindaSue]

How much water did you use and how long has it been chilling? I just noticed that you said you added a prepared package of Jello. I think you probably should have just added the gelatin powder to the hot cranberries without adding any extra water or at least very little water.

[shawneesioux]

Tweak...Sorry for your dilemma...sounds like there's too much liquid going on here..
I agree with LindaSue; maybe at this point of rescuing, add in another pack of Jello that's first been dissolved in the smallest amt of boiling water possible.. (1/3 Cup or so..)

...also wondering out loud here..if you should try reheating the mixture, then add in the new dissolved Jello...

good luck, I know how hard it is to give up on a recipe without trying a rescue mission first.

[Tweaker Geek]

Linda Sue - I made the jello as usual with 1 cup hot water and then reduced the amount of cold water to 1/2. The recipe stated "prepare Cranberry Jello according to directions on package, skimping on the cold water just a bit". Since it didn't specifically say how much to skimp, I figured 1/2 cup would be ok. I have added the gelatin powder to the cranberries before and although it comes out very nice, it's still not like a jellied cranberry sauce.

Shawnee - I guess adding more jello will be the next step; however, I don't have any more cranberry, of course!! I have raspberry, maybe I could have cran/raspberry. What about Knox plain gelatin - could that do the trick? Reheat the mix and sprinkle the Knox on or dissolve the Knox first and add to the reheated? LOL - I just don't know what to try.

I'm going to wait to hear back from you guys.

Oh, by the way, it's been chilling for about 5 hours!!!

[shawneesioux]

RASPBERRY

[christyjo]

You could also resuscitate the sauce with a package of knox plain, sprinkled and mixed over a bit of water. Raspberry is great, I made (past tense) a jello cranberry dish every year with 2 boxes of any red jello, 1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce, 2 grated apples, 6 stalks of celery chopped small, and 2 oranges, chopped and the peel grated into the mixture. Last year I cooked 2 bags of cranberries tilll they popped, added Splenda to taste, and chilled. I used half the cranberry mixture, 1/3 cup boiling water, 1 cup cold water, 2 boxes of sf red jello, the celery, grated jicama, and 1/2 of one orange. I grated the peel from the orange before chopping. Awesome cranberry side dish.

christyjo

[Tweaker Geek]

Ok, I'm heading to the kitchen. Don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but I'll let it set overnight and report back tomorrow. Wish me luck!!

[LindaSue]

Tweaker Geek, how much water did you use to boil the cranberries?

[Tweaker Geek]

I didn't measure the water, Linda Sue. Probably about a cup and I added a little while they were cooking, not much.

The results are in, however, and I now have jellied cranberry sauce! Hooray!!
I added a package of raspberry jello, sugar-free, mixed with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup hot water. I also added 2 packets of plain gelatin! I wasn't taking any chances that it wouldn't firm up! I probably didn't need to add THAT much extra but it turned out ok. The only other thing I would do next time (besides using WAY less water in the initial jello! ) is to strain the cranberry mixture to get out the skins before adding it to the jello.

After all this trial, I think I now have the PERFECT cranberry sauce.

Thank you Linda Sue, Shawnee and Christyjo for giving me the encouragement to try to save this before tossing it out and starting over!!

[Zuleikaa]

Sounds like too much liquid, definitely.

Firmness varies on the ratio of water to gelatin and temperature. You can successfully melt down (gently using a double-boiler) and re-chill gelatin several times before the mixture loses its thickening ability.

Use 1 envelope (1 tablespoon or 1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin to 2 cups of water for standard firmness. Decrease or increase water for your particular needs. One 3-ounce package of flavored, sweetened gelatin needs 2 cups of water. One tablespoon of unflavored powdered gelatin equals 4 sheets of leaf gelatin.

Two hours of chilling should be enough for standard clear molds, while it may take up to 4 hours for those with additions. Layered gelatins will take longer, since each layer must be individually chilled and firmed before adding the next layer.

If you are doubling a recipe originally calling for 2 cups of liquid, use only 3-3/4 cups of liquid in the doubled recipe.

Other liquids can be used in place of water to prepare gelatin, including fruit juices, clarified vegetable or meat stock, wine, vegetable juices and seafood broths.

Do not bring gelatin mixtures to a full boil or you risk losing its thickening properties.

[Tweaker Geek]

Thanks for posting that information Zuleikaa.

[CarolynF]

Yikes..Thanks Tweaker for leading the cranberry sauce brigade..

I was just going to make mine with the Raspberry..so will be careful about the water..I'm not doing jellied..just the whole kind..and I have some Knox in the cupboard, just in case..

Do not bring gelatin mixtures to a full boil or you risk losing its thickening properties. This was a shocker!!! Thanks, Zue.

[shawneesioux]

All's well that ends well, Tweaker Geek...LOL, you've earned your name ...again

[CarolynF]

I just made mine..one cup of water with the whole bag of cranberries..boiled them until they were done-ish..Then I added the raspberry jello..stirred it, tasted it and added some splenda. It's done.

[Tweaker Geek]

Carolyn - that's the way I usually make mine and it's great! I wanted a more jellied type so it would spread on sandwiches now that I have Kevin's wonderful bread recipe!

[CarolynF]

Yummy..turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches..nothing better!!

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

I just made mine..one cup of water with the whole bag of cranberries..boiled them until they were done-ish..Then I added the raspberry jello..stirred it, tasted it and added some splenda. It's done.

I made this today and it turned out berry good, thanks lady

[Acutepenguin]

Oddly enough, I had this exact same problem last night (just saw the post today). I did the /exact/ same thing as the OP -- and it wasn't setting up. I added a package of unflavored Knox to a cup of the unset stuff, nuked the rest of it in the microwave, then mixed the two when the whole mess was hot. It set up overnight like a dream. Oh, and mine was raspberry jello -- couldn't find sugar free cranberry at the store.

[jackieba]

I didn't see this thread earlier. I made a batch that of jellied cranberry sauce that did not set (just cranberries, sweetner and 1 cup water--no gelatin) so I reheated it and added a packet of redyrated knox gelatin (just put it in 1/4 cup water and let it sit a minute) and it turned out perfectly. Funny, I made a batch a week earlier with the gelatin up front and it turned out too thick which is why I left it out the second time. Guess I don't have the "cooking" time just right yet. I didn't use jello even though I had cranberry SF jello because I didn't know how much to reduce my sweetner to allow for the splenda already in the jello--anyone know how much splenda is in that?

[christyjo]

I don't reduce the sweetener in the cranberries at all, as jello is pretty ok by itself. I cook the cranberries in a bit of water (2 bags with maybe 1/2 to 2/3 cup water, don't really measure) until they are popped and getting a bit thick. I added some Splenda from the Quick Pack to taste, again, don't measure, just add til it's right for me. I cool the berry mix and then add everything else.

christyjo

[LindaSue]

I'm starting to wonder if cranberries affect how gelatin sets up. I tried a new recipe today and had the same problem that Tweaker Geek had. No matter how long I chilled the gelatin mixture, it wouldn't thicken until I added a packet of unflavored gelatin. Here's the recipe I tried today:



CRANBERRY FLUFF
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, 8 ounces
1 cup water
3/4 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda *
1 small package diet orange or raspberry gelatin *
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 packet unflavored gelatin (see my comments below)

Put the cranberries, water and Splenda in a medium pot. Bring to a boil; simmer until the skins pop. Drain; saving the liquid. Add hot water to the reserved liquid to make 2 cups. Bring to a boil; add the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Add the berries and chill until partially set. If your gelatin hasn't started to set up after an hour or two, see my comments below for a remedy. Fold in the whipped cream and chill until set.

Makes about 6 servings

* You can also replace up to 3/4 cup of the water with a complimentary flavor of Da Vinci syrup if you don't have liquid Splenda and want to save on carbs. If you use syrup, omit the Splenda. I used cranberry flavored gelatin in mine.

With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 174 Calories; 15g Fat; 2g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 7g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per Serving: 162 Calories; 15g Fat; 2g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

To fix the gelatin problem, I sprinkled 1 packet of unflavored gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water and let that stand for 5 minutes. I then heated the gelatin in the microwave about 30 seconds to melt it. I stirred the gelatin until completely dissolved and added it to the cranberry mixture. I think it took about 15-20 minutes to finally set up.

[Tweaker Geek]

I wonder too Linda Sue. I made more cranberry sauce recently and it would not set up - I ended up adding a packet of unflavored gelatin. Now, I've been making cranberry sauce for quite some time and it always set up, is something new going on with cranberries?

[Kevinpa]

When I make whole cranberry sauce I use the recipe on the back of the bag and for the cup of sugar I use:

1/4 cup granular erythritol
1 splenda quick pack or equivilent sweetzfree
2 T. not/Sugar

It turns out perfect everytime.

[LindaSue]

Originally Posted by Kevinpa

When I make whole cranberry sauce I use the recipe on the back of the bag and for the cup of sugar I use:

1/4 cup granular erythritol
1 splenda quick pack or equivilent sweetzfree
2 T. not/Sugar

It turns out perfect everytime.

I've never had trouble getting regular cranberry sauce to thicken. This is the first time I've tried making a gelatin dessert with cranberries though. I wonder if there is a reaction between the cranberries, gelatin and Splenda or something. There aren't nearly as many berries in the jello recipe as there are in cranberry sauce so there isn't enough pectin from the berries to help thicken it.

Here's a picture of my regular cranberry sauce made from just berries, water and Splenda. It got nice and thick.

[crazywoman-n-wy]

Originally Posted by jackieba

......................... Guess I don't have the "cooking" time just right yet. I didn't use jello even though I had cranberry SF jello because I didn't know how much to reduce my sweetner to allow for the splenda already in the jello--anyone know how much splenda is in that?

[COLOR=red]I've never been able to find Splenda sweetened jello!!! Wish I could, tho it sure wouldn't be raspberry. Have never ever liked artificial raspberry. Haven't really eaten real raspberries to know if I like them. Maybe. (I know you didn't say raspberry, but others here have.) There are actually only a few jello flavors that I do like.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]Jacke, what brand do you find that has the Splenda? I won't buy the aspartame sweetened kind, so I don't buy jello anymore.[/COLOR]

[Tweaker Geek]

Kevin - thanks for posting that combo of sweeteners for cranberry sauce. I usually just use Splenda. Your combo will make the carb count much lower.

I have added just a package of jello powder many times for extra flavor but lately I've been adding hot water and just a tad of cold to the jello before adding to the cranberry mixture to get more of a jellied cranberry sauce. I think I probably end up with too much liquid so need to add the plain gelatin, although I don't understand why. The cranberry, water, sweetener mixture gets thick, the jello with water gets thick, -mix the two together and they do not thicken! I put the whole mixture into a large strainer and press out with a spoon so that I don't get any of the cranberry skins and have a nice smooth cranberry sauce. This is still a work in progress to get the perfect cranberry sauce - consistency of Ocean Spray!

Linda Sue - I've made your cranberries before and I like them, but DH only likes the sauce so I keep trying!

[Kevinpa]

Tweaker with that sweetener combo cranberries and water you don't need the jello. The not/Sugar and cooking it down makes just the right consistancy.

[Tweaker Geek]

Kevin - do you leave the cranberries whole or strain them and make jellied sauce? Just curious.

[Kevinpa]

Originally Posted by Tweaker Geek

Kevin - do you leave the cranberries whole or strain them and make jellied sauce? Just curious.

I leave them whole. The recipeis always on the back of the ocean spray bag.

[jackieba]

Kevin,
I make jellied (using plain gelatin) but I add polyd to keep the Erythritol from recrystallizing--are you saying you have no problem with that? I use 1/4 cup Erythritol, 12 drops sweetzfree, 1 packet Sweet One as the sweetners. Haven't tried the not/sugar yet. It comes out perfect but if I don't need the polyd that would be fewer carbs. I pour it in a clean can (from a high carb cranb sauce) so it comes out looking just like what we use to buy.