Jeri Woodhouse of Orient, whose Edible Petals preserved items are sold under the label "A Taste of the North Fork," makes her living by putting the fruits of Long Island into jars. She has learned a lot by trail-and-error and has advice to share.
For example, jelly does not gel well on rainy days, she said, and early, under-ripe fruit contains more pectin than late, drop-dead-ripe fruit.
In Cutchogue, Woodhouse and her business partner, Jayne McCahill, oversee the production of uncommon, small-batch jellies such as organic red currant and black currant, lemon verbena, peaches and wine, and rose petals, as well as many other preserved goods. Here are some canning tips from Woodhouse and Barbara Cooper of New Suffolk, an employee who stirs up many of the "Taste" jams jellies:
 Use a wide pan so that more surface is exposed to the heat.
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Barbara Cooper of New Suffolk
stirs strawberry rhubarb jam.
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Be patient and willing to experiment. "If a jelly isn't going to set, you'll know right away," Woodhouse said. If it doesn't begin to thicken, the problem often can be remedied by adding lemon juice or another acid.
"Part of the art of it is watching the bubbles," Cooper said. "You get big, slow bubbles when the jelly is almost done." Also, drip a little of the jelly on a cool plate or other surface and see if it forms a thick "gel."
If you want to sue less sugar than called for, be prepared to be flexible. Sometimes, letting the preserves cool at night and re-cooking then the next day does the trick; this is a time-honored French technique.
If all else fails and jam or jelly still is too runny, just change the name and call it syrup. Who's to know that wasn't what you intended all along?
Fruit will gel better if you work in small batches.
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