10 Tips: How To Make The Perfect Jam

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

This delicious pleasure, loaded with the aroma of summer, fruit and overflowing with sweetness, doubles when we prepare it ourselves. And when it becomes perfect and makes everyone thank us with pleasure, the satisfaction is immeasurable.

Here are some simple rules that would ensure that our jam will become perfect.

Choose nice seasonal fruits

Avoid spoiled fruit. And here it's like fish - you don't have to wait until it smells of ammonia to cook. Choose ripe fruits, but also a few that are not so much, because the more ripe the fruit, the less pectin it contains. And it is one of the necessary elements for the success of jam.

Prepare some fruit

Prepare a small amount of fruit to avoid oxidation, which gives the taste of iron jam. The ideal is 2 or 3 pounds at a time. Cut them in the same way after rinsing, except for raspberries, which should not be washed. Be careful with strawberries, they should be washed with the stalks.

Be creative

Be creative, dare to be original and yet logical - mix seasonal fruits such as strawberries and raspberries, blueberries and genies. Nuts can also flavor the recipe, but it's good to bake them before you put them on, because they can turn rancid in the jam.

Do not add too much sugar

Taste your fruit before deciding how much sugar to add. 650 to 700 grams of sugar are enough for 1 kilogram of peeled fruit. Choose unrefined sugar from sugar beets. Another sugar would "kill" the taste and color of the fruit. Also avoid sugar "especially for jam", which will probably reduce the cooking time, but can cause you problems in the first summer heat - if the fruits were not ripe enough, they will begin to ferment in the jars that will explode.

Put half a lemon in the jam

Prepare it from the night before. Put a whole lemon in a saucepan of cold water and bring to a boil and simmer for 7 minutes. Cut it in half. Once cool, put it in the refrigerator. These two processing steps will allow the best release of pectin in the jam.

Pay attention to the preparation of the syrup

Use a wide copper container for faster evaporation. Make a syrup with 200 g of water (or other liquid, wine for example), 650 - 700 g of sugar and half a lemon with the peel. When the mixture reaches 125 ° C, add the fruit - about 12-15 minutes after boiling.

Test the prepared

You need to put a small plate in the fridge beforehand. When the jam is ready for you, take it out and put a drop of jam on it. Passing a finger, the trace should remain on the plate. If this does not happen, continue to cook, but not more than 20 minutes. Or add 2-3 drops of lemon juice to tighten the mixture.

Save the foam until the end of cooking

It is needed because it contains pectin. Once finished cooking, remove the foam with a slotted spoon. You can also leave the impurities, but the jam will not be canned and will have to be eaten on the same day.

Use sterilized jars

Photo: Yanitsa Nikolova

You can boil the water in the microwave, so it's faster. After sterilizing them, dry the jars and pour the jam to the brim. Close the jars and turn them over. After about fifteen minutes, leave them under cold water and set them aside.

Store the jam in the shade

Store your jam in the shade and in a dry place. Consume it in the next two years, otherwise it will lose its color and taste.