What does each fruit need to set?

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated October 2026

On this page8

Two kinds of "group," and why the chart shows both The chart Reading the lemon column The fruits that need a different approach Where the federal list and an extension sheet disagree From the chart to the pot Your fruit's own page References

Each fruit brings its own mix of pectin and acid, and that mix decides what you add. Tart apples, crabapples, gooseberries, currants and tart plums usually set with sugar alone. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, apricots and figs need added pectin, added acid or both, and figs, white peaches and Asian pears raise safety questions as well as setting ones. The chart below covers about fifty fruits and forms. For each it gives the federal fruit group, what the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) says about its natural pectin and acid, the lemon a tested recipe adds, where a tested recipe exists, and what to watch for.

Two kinds of "group," and why the chart shows both

You will see fruit sorted into groups in two unrelated systems, and mixing them up causes real confusion.

The federal group (21 CFR 150.160) is a labeling rule. It sets how much fruit a product sold as "jam" or "preserves" must contain: at least 47 parts fruit to 55 parts sugar for Group I fruits, and 45 parts to 55 for everything else [1]. It says nothing about whether the fruit will set. Strawberries are Group I and are among the hardest fruits to set without help. The full lists and the arithmetic live on the fruit floor page.

The pectin and acid grouping (NCHFP) is for the cook. NCHFP sorts fruit into three bands [3]:

Sets on its own: enough pectin and acid to gel with sugar alone, if the fruit is not overripe.
May need help: low in acid or pectin, so it may need one added.
Always needs help: always needs added acid, pectin or both.

The chart uses these three band names and keeps "Group I" and "Group II" for the federal lists only. Ripeness moves a fruit between bands. NCHFP lists sour apples and sour blackberries as having enough, and ripe apples and ripe blackberries as possibly needing help [3]. Pectin quality is highest in just-ripe fruit, and both underripe and overripe fruit gel poorly on their own [3]; acid is higher in underripe fruit [3].

The chart

"Not listed" means the source does not name that fruit. In the lemon column, amounts come from the tested recipe named in the routes column unless marked Pomona, which is the per-cup amount Pomona's Universal Pectin publishes for its own calcium-set pectin [5]. Pomona's figures apply only to that pectin; they are not an amount to add to someone else's recipe.

Fruit	Federal group [1]	Pectin and acid (NCHFP) [3]	Lemon or acid	Tested routes found	Watch for
Apple, tart	In neither jam group; allowed only in fruit combinations, at no more than half the fruit [1]; named in the jelly standard [2]	Sets on its own (sour apples)	2 Tbsp per 4 cups juice, optional [8]	Jelly without pectin [8]; apple preserves with pectin [6]	Use sound fruit. See apple jelly
Apple, fully ripe	Same as above	May need help	Pomona: 1 Tbsp per cup, required [5]	Pear-apple jam [9]	Add tart apples or follow a pectin recipe
Apricot	II	Always needs help	1/4 cup per 2 quarts crushed fruit [7]	Jam without pectin [7]; apricot-orange conserve [6]	Peel; see apricot jam
Blackberry, sour or underripe	I	Sets on its own (sour)	None in NCHFP recipes	Jam with powdered pectin, jelly with or without pectin [6]	Very seedy berries can be sieved
Blackberry, fully ripe	I	May need help (ripe)	Pomona: 1 Tbsp per cup for sweet blackberries [5]	Same as above	See blackberry jam
Black raspberry (blackcap)	I	Not listed	Not stated	WSU says blackcaps work in any blackberry recipe [18]	Wild-picked fruit has selling limits
Blueberry	I	Always needs help	1 Tbsp per 2 1/2 pints berries [9]	Blueberry-spice jam [9]; spiced blueberry-peach jam [6]	Sources disagree on its acid; see blueberry jam
Boysenberry	I	Not listed	None [7]	Berry jam without pectin [7]
Cherry, sour	I	May need help	None in NCHFP recipes	Jam and jelly with powdered pectin [6]	See cherry jam
Cherry, sweet	I	Not listed	Pomona: 1 Tbsp per cup, required [5]	No NCHFP recipe found	Do not swap into a sour cherry recipe
Chokecherry	Not listed	May need help	Not stated	None found in sources checked
Crabapple	I	Sets on its own	None [8]	Jelly without pectin [8]
Cranberry	II	Sets on its own	Not stated	Cranberry conserve and marmalade [6]
Currant, red	II	Sets on its own (currants)	Pomona: optional [5]	Blueberry-currant jam [6]	Black currant is in neither federal group
Damson plum	II	Not listed separately	None	Damson jam without pectin [6]	See plum jam
Dewberry	I	Not listed	None [7]	Berry jam without pectin [7]
Elderberry	I	May need help	Not a lemon question	Penn State allows jam or jelly only at its sugar floor [11]	Average pH 4.92. UW says do not can [13]. See low-acid fruits
Fig	II	Always needs help	1/4 cup per 2 quarts chopped figs [6]; Pomona: 1/2 cup per 4 cups [5]	Fig jam without pectin [6]	pH near 4.6; acid is a safety step [16]. See fig jam
Gooseberry	II	Sets on its own	None [7]	Berry jam without pectin [7]; gooseberry jelly [12]
Grape, Eastern Concord	I	Sets on its own	None [8]	Jelly with powdered pectin; jam without pectin [6]	Tartrate crystals. See grape jelly
Grape, California	I	May need help	Pomona: 1 Tbsp per cup for sweet grapes (jelly) [5]	Use a pectin recipe
Grape, Western Concord	I	Always needs help	Not stated	Use a pectin recipe
Grape juice, bottled	I	May need help	Not stated	Jelly with added pectin	Fails without added pectin [8]
Grapefruit	I	May need help	Not stated	Citrus marmalade [6]	One extension sheet calls citrus Group II [10]
Greengage plum	II	Not listed	Not stated	None found
Guava	II	Always needs help	Pomona: 1 Tbsp per cup for sweet guava [5]	None found in sources checked
Huckleberry	I	Not listed	2 Tbsp per 5 cups crushed berries [17]	Huckleberry jam (UAF) [17]; Huckleberry Supreme Jam (WSU) [18]	See huckleberry jam
Kiwi	Not listed	Not listed	1 Tbsp in strawberry-kiwi jam [12]	Strawberry-kiwi jam [6]
Lemon	Not listed	Sets on its own	Not applicable	Citrus marmalade [6]	See marmalade
Loganberry	I	Sets on its own	None [7]	Berry jam without pectin [7]
Loquat	Not listed	May need help	Not stated	Loquat jelly without pectin [6]
Mayhaw	Not listed	Not listed	Not stated	Mayhaw jelly with and without pectin [6]
Mulberry	Not listed	Not listed	Pomona: 1 Tbsp per cup [5]	Mulberry jelly [6]
Nectarine, yellow	II	Not listed	1/4 cup per 4 cups crushed fruit [12]	Peach-nectarine jam with liquid pectin [12]	White nectarines: do not can [14]
Orange	I	May need help	Not stated	Orange marmalade [6]	One extension sheet calls citrus Group II [10]
Peach, yellow	II	Always needs help	1/4 cup per 3 3/4 cups crushed peaches [6]	Jam with powdered or liquid pectin; jam without pectin [7]	See peach jam
Peach, white	II	Not listed	No tested amount exists	None	pH above 4.6; freeze instead [11] [14]
Pear, European	II	Always needs help	1/3 cup bottled lemon juice in pear-apple jam [9]	Pear preserves [6]; pear-apple jam [9]	See pear jam
Pear, Asian	II	Not listed	No tested jam amount found	None	Must be acidified to can [15]
Pineapple	I	Not listed	1/4 cup in peach-pineapple spread [9]	Peach-pineapple spread [9]
Plum, tart (not Italian)	II	Sets on its own (non-Italian plums)	1/4 cup per 2 quarts in no-pectin jam [6]	Jam with and without pectin; jelly [6]	Plum jelly can take up to 2 weeks to set [4]
Plum, Italian	II	Always needs help	Not stated	Use a pectin recipe
Pomegranate	Not in jam lists; named in the jelly standard [2]	Not listed	Pomona: optional, 1 tsp per cup (jelly) [5]	None found
Quince	II	Sets on its own	Pomona: 1 Tbsp per cup for ripe quince [5]	Quince jelly without pectin [6]
Raspberry, red	I	Always needs help	None [7]	Berry jam without pectin [7]; jam with liquid pectin [12]	See raspberry jam
Rhubarb	I	Not listed	1/4 cup in strawberry-rhubarb jam [19]	Strawberry-rhubarb jelly [9]; jams in [19]	Leaves are poisonous [12]. See rhubarb jam
Strawberry	I	Always needs help	None in the NCHFP jam	Jam and jelly with pectin; berry jam without pectin; uncooked jam [6]	See strawberry jam
Tangerine	I	Not listed	Not stated	Citrus marmalade [6]
Tomato	I	Not listed	Follow the recipe exactly	Spiced tomato jam with pectin [6]	Treat as a low-acid case; see low-acid fruits
Youngberry	I	Not listed	Not stated	None found

Reading the lemon column

Lemon juice does two separate jobs, and the chart does not tell you which job a given recipe is doing.

For most fruit, acid is about the set. NCHFP puts it plainly: with too little acid the gel never sets, and with too much it weeps liquid [20]. Penn State gives pH 2.8 to 3.3 as the best range for jams and jellies [10]. That is why peach, apricot and pear recipes carry lemon.

For a few fruits, acid is also a safety step. Figs naturally sit right around pH 4.6, the line above which botulism becomes a concern in a sealed jar, and NCHFP says lemon juice or citric acid must be added in the amounts called for to any home-canned fig product [16]. White peaches test above 4.6 and have no tested acid amount at all [11]. For these fruits you never reduce the lemon.

Two rules cover both cases. Use bottled lemon juice where the recipe says bottled, because its acidity is standardized; USDA's remake procedures call for it for that reason [9]. And keep the amount the tested recipe gives. The page on acid and the gel explains bottled versus fresh and when citric acid can stand in.

The fruits that need a different approach

Four fruits on the chart call for more than a recipe choice.

White peaches and white nectarines. Penn State gives their pH as above 4.6 and says to freeze them [11]. UC Master Food Preservers say no research has yet produced a safe home method for canning them, with added acid or otherwise [14]. University of Wisconsin Extension says not to use white-fleshed peaches or nectarines in its canning recipes [13].
Asian pears. Oregon State says some varieties are low in acid and that all home-canned Asian pears must be acidified [15]. None of the sources checked here has a tested Asian pear jam.
Figs. A tested recipe with its full lemon amount, every time [16].
Elderberries. Penn State reports an average pH of 4.92 and allows jam only with at least 18.9 ounces of sugar for every 16 ounces of pulp, and jelly only with at least 19.5 ounces of sugar per 16 ounces of juice [11]. University of Wisconsin Extension says not to can elderberries at all [13]. These two sources disagree. Until you have read the full discussion on fruits that need extra acid, take the cautious reading and do not can elderberry.

Where the federal list and an extension sheet disagree

The federal standard puts orange, grapefruit and tangerine in Group I, with cherry, blueberry and pineapple [1]. Penn State's Food for Profit sheet describes Group II as "mainly peaches, apricots, pears, plums, and citrus" [10]. The regulation is the law, so this book follows 21 CFR 150.160 and treats citrus as Group I. The difference matters only if you sell: a Group I jam needs 47 parts fruit, not 45.

A few fruits on the chart, apple and pomegranate among them, appear in the federal jelly standard [2] but in neither jam list [1]. What that means for the name on a jar you sell is covered on what you can call your jam.

From the chart to the pot

Use the chart to narrow your choice, then follow one tested recipe exactly.

Find your fruit and its ripeness. If it is in the "sets on its own" band and you can pick some slightly underripe fruit (NCHFP suggests about 1/4 underripe to 3/4 fully ripe for jelly without added pectin [20]), the long-boil route is open to you.
Otherwise, choose added pectin. Commercially canned and frozen fruit and juice are made from fully ripe fruit and usually need added pectin [3]. The trade-offs between the two routes are on added pectin or long boil.
Check the lemon column and keep whatever acid the recipe gives.
Check the last column for anything that changes what you can safely can.
Process by the chart that came with your recipe. NCHFP's jam and jelly recipes use 5 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet, 10 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet and 15 minutes above 6,000 feet, in sterilized jars [9]. For low-pectin fruit, sterilized jars are the better choice, because the longer process unsterilized jars need can soften the gel; how long to process jam explains why and gives the unsterilized-jar times.

Your fruit's own page

For the fourteen fruits jam makers ask about most, the fruit pages give the tested recipes in full, with quantities and processing. If your fruit is not one of them, start with recipes you can trust to find a tested source, and see how long to process jam for both processing systems side by side at every elevation.