Clear Jel vs. Flour or Cornstarch
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Clear Jel…try it, you’ll like it! Before I knew any better, used to can apple pie filling and other pie fillings with flour or cornstarch as a thickener. If you are making pie fresh, it is great. But for canning you want to use a product called Clear Jel.
When I finally tried it… I was sold. Not only is it safe, it makes a fantastic home canned pie filling!
What is Clear Jel?
Clear Jel is a modified cornstarch made to withstand the heat of canning. Use it just like you would flour. The wonderful difference is…it stirs in much easier, without clumping.
If you’ll look at these pictures, you’ll see why. These are both apple pie fillings that I’ve canned. I’ll bet you can tell which one has flour as a thickener. Yep, the one on the left. The texture of the right one is much nicer!
I now know this is not safe.
Is it a quality issue or a safety issue?
Flour and/or cornstarch, even tapioca, are a safety risk as well as poor quality when used for home canning. These thickeners work great for making pie fresh, but when you put the filling in jars on the shelf, it changes everything.
When I researched this I noticed that not all extension websites mention the safety risk. Most only relate the quality issues. However, at least one extension does have this to say:
“Canning apple pie filling using tapioca or cornstarch as the thickener is an outdated and risky method. Botulism is not a major risk with this product because of the high acid content of the apple filling. However, using cornstarch or tapioca may cause the filling to be too thick for the heat to penetrate to the center of the jar and kill spoilage organisms throughout the product, which is a food safety issue. Cornstarch and tapioca will also break down during the canning process and your pie filling will be runny, which is a quality issue.”
Source: University of Minnesota Extension. (Edit update – It appears that the page where I got this quote has been moved or deleted.)
Two types of ClearJel
There are actually 2 types. Cook type and quick type. I’ve also heard people say regular or instant. They are both thickeners for fruit pie fillings and give similar results. The difference is in how it reacts to heat.
- Cook type clearjel is made to withstand the high temperatures of canning.
- Instant clearjel is good for using in gravies and other non-canning thickening.
The cook type is what you want for canning purposes.
The quick type (or instant) will start to thicken even in cool liquid. It will break down in the processing step and you’ll end up with runny pie filling.
The good news is you can use the cook type for non canning purposes as well. Use it for making gravy or thickening pie filling that you are just cooking for dessert.
What is clearjel made of?
It is a modified corn starch. Now exactly how it is modified, is a mystery to me. I did find this good description from King Arthur Baking.
Instant ClearJel is made of only one ingredient: modified food starch. While modified food starch can be made from a number of ingredients, including wheat, potatoes, and tapioca, ClearJel is derived from corn that has been ground and processed to sort out specific starches with certain sought-after gelling properties. KingArthurBaking.com
Where to Buy Clear Jel
It can be hard to find sometimes. It can often be found in old fashioned or Amish-type stores. Or possibly in health food stores. Clear Jel can be ordered online at Amazon.
What If I Can’t Find Clear Jel?
If you don’t have access, your best bet is to just can the fruit and then create your filling by thickening it when you want to make your pie.
Can You Substitute… Cornstarch or Sure Gel?
Often people ask about what to use if you don’t have clear jel.
Question: Can I ask you if it is safe to use cornstarch as a thickener when canning (say apple pie filling)…and do you know if Sure Gel and Clear Gel are interchangeable?
- No, you should not use cornstarch as your thickener when canning.
- No, you can not interchange Sure Jell and Clear Jel. The names are very similar. People often mistake one for the other, or assume they do the same thing. But they don’t.
Sure Jell is a pectin. You use it in a jam and jelly recipe, whereas Clear Jel is what you want for pies.
SureJell, Clear Jel and Gelatin are often confused. I did a comparison and explanation of thepurposes of each of these 3 thickers here.
Using Clear Jel for Non-canning purposes
Clear jel is a thickener. So yes you can use it outside of home canning too. You can thicken gravy with it, thicken soup, thicken sauce too.
Related Pages
Have you ever wondered what’s the difference between pectin, gelatin, or Clear Jel thickening products? Let’s discuss how you use these ingredients, which foods they go with, and the proper way to use them in your kitchen.
Pomona’s Pectin is a very low-sugar alternative for canning jams/jellies.
Canning apple pie filling is for more than making pie. Pop open a jar and heat for a delicious treat, or pour over ice cream!
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Does this mean that Clear Jel is a geneticly modified product?
I don’t know. I do know it is made out of corn. It is definitely highly processed. But exactly how they ‘modify’ it. I couldn’t find specifics. Great Question!
Hi, every Christmas I make a veggie and mustard relish/chutney to serve with ham. Its so amazing, and stays well in the fridge for months at a time. Out of curiosity I canned it on two occasions last year. Both sets have lost the colour and consistency and have turned ransid. Could this be the flour in the recipe? How can I substitute with Clear Jel? Would it be 1:1 as with corn starch?
I would not recommend canning this. Many homemade recipes are simply not suitable for canning. Neither for quality reasons nor safety. You might try freezing it. Flour is not recommended for canning. I like to emphasize that canning is not the same as cooking. There is some science involved and you should stick with tested recipes and methods.
How do you know how much to use when canning, like pot pies and meals that need to be thickened?
Hi Lisa, I suggest you look for tested recipes that include that information. For the most part pie filling is the one that will have the ingredients thickened in the jar. For pot pies or things like that I suggest you can your ingredients without thickener, then thicken it when you open the jar to use it. You can use a quart of mixed vegetables, add a pint of your choice of canned meat, mix it together and thicken to your liking and bake the pie. You could also use some home canned meaty soup, then thicken it and use… Read more »
Can clear Jel be used in pressure canning Mrs. Wages salsa?
No, you would not want to add clear to salsa. If you’ve got Mrs Wages packets then it should not be needed anyway. If you want your salsa thicker you could add something when you open the jar. But not prior to canning. I’ve done things like add tomato powder, or tomato paste when I open the jar.
Hi! I am looking at making a pecan pie filling to be used with hand pies. I think that by using a “canned type” filling, I might be able to achieve a filling thick enough to hold up in my turnover style pies. One recipe I am looking at uses Clear Jel. I was wondering if I could substitute cornstarch for Clear Jel, since it will be used immediately (once cool) and I won’t have to worry about shelf life? Also if in your opinion its possible, do you happen to have an idea on substitution ratio? Clear Jel to… Read more »
If you are just going to make your pies and you will not be storing this in jars on the shelf then yes… you can use cornstarch instead. Clear jel is the only one that will make it shelf stable. (Just want to be sure there is no misunderstanding.) You can substitute one for one on the cornstarch. so 1 cup cornstarch = 1 cup clear jel.
And just for anyone reading this later… I want to emphasize I only recommend substituting cornstarch for making pies fresh. Never for canning purposes. 🙂
Thank you for the measurements! My pie filling calls for 1 cup cornstarch, and since it is an outdated recipe, I will use 1 cup Clear Jel for my Apple Pie Filling.
Can Clear Jel be used after the fruit has been canned with a runny syrup?
Yes if you are simply opening jars of home-canned fruit you can add any thicker you want as you open the jars to make your pie. Just don’t try to process it with flour or cornstarch. 🙂 I like to use the clear jel even when I’m just making a pie and not canning. I like the look of the pie filling.