It looks like I won’t be writing that book on jam/jelly making anytime soon. I’m still not sure WHAT I am doing wrong. I used the thermometer again, but also the freezer test on the plate. I cooked and cooked the heck out of this jam,  but it never “set up”.
The consistency is not as syrupy (is that a word?) as the previous peach jelly but not quite jelly or jam. I suppose I should have kept cooking it. Any ideas? Anyone?
Here is the process and results.
BUT. I have to say this is THE most delicious something I have ever tasted. It has the consistency of a really thick honey. Still good on hot buttered biscuits or toast.
So what is it? It is “supposed to be” ground cherry with chamomile jam which I found at  http://straightfromthefarm.net/ She has a wonderful post on this which you can read here AND she knows how to make jam! She got the idea from yet another blogger David Matthew which you can read about here .
This has been a labor of love.    It has taken me two years to get enough ground cherry plants to make this jam. Next year, I should have plenty as these ground cherries will be coming up everywhere. (Note – they could be considered invasive )
My “jam” is much darker, which I think may be due to the honey I used. My honey was much darker than straightfromthefarm’s. At any rate, I will consider this a semi-success as the 6 cups of ground cherries were not wasted and this stuff is really, really good.
I am putting up my jelly making gear for the winter, but come Spring I am going to conquer this jelly/jam making business!!
fromgardentotable 
just say it was supposed to be a syrup! it looks delicious no matter what the consistency. i noticed there was no pectin in the recipe…it’s possible your ground cherries didn’t have enough natural pectin to set the jam. the first time i tried making a fruit spread it was dandelion jelly, and i added pectin but apparently not enough. i re-processed it with more pectin and it set.
how many plants did you have that produced all this fruit? I envy your harvest…mine just started producing at the end of last season and none of them ripened 😦 but i’m trying again.
Hi Emily,
What a great suggestion about the pectin. I will definitely try that this year. I am hoping to have even more plants this year. They really, really multiply. I probably had fruit from about 10 plants. I will pay more attention this year as to how many plants produced how much fruit. This stuff was nectar from the gods it was so good. I’m also going to try a lighter colored honey this year.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Are you as ready for Spring as i am? Tammy