Jam is a thick, homogeneous jam made from fruits and berries, which are boiled in sugar syrup until a thick mass is formed. Hardening (gelation) depends on the pectin content of the fruit. Jam is made from whole fruits, which are either mashed or cut into pieces. This distinguishes it from jam, where the fruit remains whole, and from jelly, which is made only from squeezed fruit juice boiled with sugar.
Combining the taste of fresh fruits with nuts, spices, dried fruits, liqueurs and other alcoholic drinks, you can get a whole range of unusual jams.
Jam can be made from almost any fruit and berries. The method is very simple: the fruits are simmered over low heat until soft, then sugar is added and the mixture is boiled until the thickening process begins. Pre-boiling over low heat softens the fruits and gradually extracts pectin from them. Rapid boiling causes the pectin and sugar to thicken.
If you use fruits that require additional acid and pectin, they must be added separately and at different stages of preparing the jam. Acid, usually in the form of lemon juice, is added at the initial stage of boiling; it helps extract the pectin they contain from fruits.
BERRIES WITH HIGH PECTIN CONTENT: black currants, red currants, apples, some varieties of plums, quince and gooseberries.
BERRIES WITH LOW PECTIN CONTENT: blackberries, cherries, pears, rhubarb, strawberries, medlar.
In the second stage of cooking, after adding sugar, time is a critical factor. If the mixture is not boiled enough, the jam will turn out runny. If you simmer for too long, the sugar will caramelize and the jam will be thick and very dark.
You can determine the readiness of the jam using a spoon: tilt the spoon with a small amount of hot jam on its side; If the jam forms two drops on the side of the spoon at the same time and they fall completely, the jam is ready and will thicken when it cools. When the jam begins to thicken, it can be placed in jars and sealed. You just need to remove the foam first, otherwise the jam will lose its appearance. Prepared canned food is stored in a dry, dark and cool place to maintain its quality and appearance.
Golden rules for making jams
Always use high-quality fruits, preferably slightly unripe ones, as they contain the most pectin. Overripe and rotten fruits are not very suitable, since the pectin in them has begun to turn into pectose and the jam will not be stored for long.
Jars must be thoroughly sterilized.
Use the exact amount of sugar called for in the recipe. Sugar reacts with pectin and is necessary for making jam.
The amount of sugar depends on the amount of pectin in the fruit, but basically the ratio for jams is 450 g of sugar per 450 g of fruit. Sometimes there is more sugar, sometimes less, depending on the pectin and acidity of the fruit. Very sour berries, such as blackcurrants, contain a lot of pectin, and if you add an extra 50g of berries for every 100g of sugar, the jam will be very juicy. Fruits like strawberries contain little pectin but are much sweeter, so you need a little less sugar.
Large granulated sugar, especially for jams, dissolves more slowly, and the jam turns out better. Fine sugar dissolves too quickly.
Do not add water when cooking sugar-rich fruits such as strawberries, raspberries or blackberries.
Don't overcook the jam. After adding sugar, it cooks very quickly if there is a lot of pectin. To check if the jam is ready, place a spoonful of jam on a cold plate (from the refrigerator) and refrigerate for a few minutes. If you then move this drop of jam and wrinkles appear on the surface, it is ready.
Always seal the jars immediately after adding jam to prevent mold from appearing on the surface.
Store in a cool, dry place away from sunlight and use within a year.
Strawberry jam
1 kg strawberries
1 kg granulated sugar
In making jams, long boiling is necessary for thickening. However, the longer the fruits are cooked, the less they retain their color, taste and shape.
For this reason, fruits cooked without thickening (and they can be used in the same way as other jellies and jams) retain more of their natural flavor.
To obtain this result, the fruits are most often simply boiled in sugar syrup until they become soft. To prepare candied strawberries, which will be discussed in this recipe, however, a different method is used, which is suitable only for these berries and makes it possible to make the most of their juiciness and sweetness.
First, a small portion of strawberries is boiled in sugar syrup for one minute. At the same time, juice is extracted from the berries, which they, along with their color, give to the syrup. The berries, which have become soft and pale, are set aside to dry. The syrup is thickened to concentrate color and flavor. Then the next portion of berries is placed in the syrup, and the procedure is repeated.
When all the berries have been boiled in this way, the juice that drained from them during drying is poured into syrup, which is then thickened to its original volume.
All berries are boiled in condensed syrup. During this second boiling, a remarkable change occurs in the berries: they absorb most of the thickly colored liquid and become red and round again, ready for jarring.
The main thing in this process is to re-thicken the juice-rich syrup. As a result of condensation, five kilograms of berries yield only about two and a half kilograms of jam.
Condensation concentrates the sugars in strawberries and their natural flavor. But it is necessary to add a small amount of sugar to prepare the syrup for pre-boiling.
Since it is impossible to accurately determine the proportion of sugar in the finished product, it should not be stored for as long as similar products prepared in the usual way. But even in this case, the product will last for several months. To store it longer, sterilize for 5 minutes.
Jam is a product made from fruits and berries, boiled in sugar syrup to a jelly-like consistency, in which part or all of the fruits are in a boiled state. Here's a description: how to make jam.
To make jam take good quality fruits and berries. You can use ripe and overripe ones that are not suitable for jam, with cracks, bruised and small ones. Cook the jam in a shallow copper or brass basin with a capacity of 2-5 liters. It must be cleaned of traces of copper oxide and dried.
Jam is most often made from , strawberries,. Prepared fruits are first boiled in water or a weak sugar solution (per kilogram of fruit - 15 g of sugar, 0.5 cups of water, for 15 minutes). The first cooking achieves the formation of a gelling substance. Then the fruits are poured with sugar syrup (per kilogram of fruit - one kilogram of sugar, 1.5 glasses of water). Cook the jam until tender over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning.
Cook according to general rules. The berries are sorted, sepals and stalks are removed, and washed by placing them in a colander in water. Place the prepared berries in a basin, add water (one glass of water per kilogram of berries), bring to a boil and, stirring, cook until completely boiled. Then the berries are poured with syrup (for one kilogram of sugar - one glass of water) and boiled for 15-20 minutes from the moment of boiling. Instead of syrup, the berries can be covered with granulated sugar.(for one kilogram of berries - one kilogram of sugar). Five minutes before the end of cooking, add 2g to the jam. citric acid. Hot jam is placed into jars, covered and pasteurized at a temperature of 90°C: in half-liter jars for 10 minutes, in liter jars - 15.
Cooked according to the same recipe strawberry jam.
How to make apple jam
To make apple jam, the fruits are sorted, washed, peeled, seed nests and stalks are removed and cut into slices. Apples that have delicate skin (Antonovka, White filling) are boiled with the skin on.
The chopped slices are boiled in water (for one kilogram of apples - 2 glasses of water) until completely softened and even boiled (10-15 minutes). Then syrup is added to the fruit (for one kilogram of sugar - one glass of water) or sugar (for one kilogram of fruit - one kilogram of sugar). During cooking Stir the jam mixture regularly. Cooking time from the moment of boiling is 30 minutes.
Cooks according to generally accepted technology. The fruits are sorted, selecting them according to their degree of ripeness for more uniform penetration of sugar into the fruit, wash, remove stalks and seeds. Large fruits are cut into halves or slices.
The prepared fruits are placed in a bowl of water (water 10-15% of the weight of the fruits), boiled for 3-5 minutes, depending on the degree of ripeness of the fruits, until cracks appear. Then pour in syrup (for one kilogram of sugar - one glass of water), cook the jam until ready.
Ready the jam must match the color of the fruit, and the taste is without the aftertaste of burnt sugar. Cooking duration is no more than 40-45 minutes.
Likewise make jam from peaches, plums and cherry plums.
It is not necessary to sterilize finished jams, but when hot, immediately pour them into jars and cover with lids.
Jam is a jelly-like mass containing whole fruits and berries boiled in sugar syrup, or the same ones, but cut into pieces. How is jam different from preserves? Unlike the latter, the syrup in jams is not separated from the fruits, but forms a single thick mass with them. The fruits themselves are soft and boiled. A type of jam - confitures have a denser structure than jams.
In many countries (eg England) jams– the only type of fruit preserved with sugar. In our country, jams are a fairly popular preparation for the winter. After all, jams are very convenient for making pies and sweet pies, since they are more heat-stable than preserves and usually do not spread during baking. For making jams They use fruits with a high content of pectin, a substance that determines the jelly-like consistency of jams. Apples, quince, apricots, plums, currants, and gooseberries are rich in pectin substances. Unripe fruits contain more pectin. But usually when preparing jams, they proceed as follows - add a small amount of unripe, sour fruits to ripe fruits. When using fruits poor in pectin, gelling additives are added - juices and fruits rich in pectin, gelatin, agar-agar. If you do everything right, then make jam from your favorite fruits or berries it will be easy and simple.
There are two ways to make jams.
- First way Suitable for fruits and berries rich in pectin.
- The fruits are pre-cooked for 10-15 minutes so that the pectin of fruits or berries better demonstrates its gelling properties. The fruit decoction or part of it is used to prepare sugar syrup. Sometimes the broth is pre-filtered. In some recipes, the fruits are additionally boiled in a small amount of water (per 1 kg of ripe fruits - 50 ml of water, unripe - 100 ml) so that they release juice.
- The boiled fruits are covered with sugar (if soft, well-ripened fruits or berries are used) or poured with sugar syrup. When preparing blackcurrant (or gooseberry) jam, the berries are slightly crushed for better soaking in sugar syrup. Boil until done, pour hot into hot sterilized jars, roll up, and store in the cold.
- The fruits are preheated with sugar, and then poured with pectin extract or juice with a high content of pectin substances, or other gelling agents are added.
- Boil the jam until ready. Pour into jars and seal.
Features of jam cooking:
- Preparation operations must be carried out quickly to prevent the pectin substances from being destroyed.
- Begin cooking jams over high heat - this destroys enzymes that are destructive to pectin. Therefore, it is best to prepare jams in a container with a thick bottom and low walls, which imposes a limit on the number of fruits - no more than 1.5 kg per cooking.
- It is advisable to add sugar (in recipes where syrup is not used) in small portions so as not to interrupt the cooking process.
- Check the readiness of the jam by the way it drips from the spoon. The finished jam drips from the spoon like a thin thread. If it drops, continue cooking. If the cooled jam falls off the spoon in pieces, then it is ready and can be removed from the stove. A cooled drop of finished jam wrinkles (the surface is not smooth). When rubbed, cooked jam does not stick to your fingers. If you have a technical thermometer, then the temperature of the finished jam should be 106.5-107 degrees if it is not further sterilized, and 104-105 if it needs to be pasteurized.
The unusual taste of lemon and watermelon jam, made in the right proportion, will allow you to experience the unique taste of sweet and sour joy that melts in your mouth instantly.
Necessary ingredients for our jam:
Watermelon pulp 1 kg; lemon 1 pc.; sugar 1 kg; water 60 ml.
You can make equally wonderful jam from ripe, tasty watermelon. This is the recipe I will share with you now. For this we need:
Watermelon and red currant are a rather unusual combination. It is from these ingredients that I suggest you make jam. We will need:
- watermelon pulp 1 kg;
- red currants 1 kg;
- sugar 1.5 kg
Delicious juicy melon makes wonderful jam. In order to prepare it we need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of peeled melon;
- 1.5 kg of sugar;
- lemon acid;
- vanillin
Today we will make apricot-orange jam, for the preparation of which we will need the following ingredients:
- apricots 1 kg;
- orange 1 pc;
- sugar 0.5 kg;
- Zhelfix 2:1 one sachet;
- water 200 ml
To make watermelon jam we will need:
watermelon rind - 1kg
sugar - 0.5kg
water - 0.25 cups
lemon - 0.25 pcs.
orange peel - 1 tbsp. spoon
Cooking method:
In order to prepare lingonberry and plum jam, we will need the following ingredients:
- lingonberries 0.5 kg;
- “Hungarian” plums without seeds 0.5 kg;
- sugar 0.75 kg
I am sharing with you, dear housewives, a recipe for plum jam with bananas and cinnamon. This recipe produces a very tasty and aromatic delicacy that the whole family will appreciate.
Ingredients:
- plum 1 kg;
- banana 1 piece;
- cinnamon 1/3 tsp;
- 1 tbsp sugar;
- cloves 8 pcs
Today we are going to prepare aromatic peach jam, which has an unsurpassed taste and is “devoured by both cheeks.”
Ingredients:
- 600 grams of peaches;
- 300 grams of sugar;
- juice of one lemon;
- 1 bunch of fresh rosemary;
- 10 g gelatin
You can not only eat juicy ripe strawberries, but also prepare various delicacies from this beautiful berry, for example, strawberry jam for the winter.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg strawberries;
- 1 kg sugar
I present to you, my dear hostesses, a recipe for making “Economy” apple jam, for which we will need the following ingredients:
- apples 2 kg;
- sugar 1 kg;
-water ½ cup
Today I will tell you how to make delicious cherry jam. To make cherry jam we need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of cherries;
- zest of 1 lemon;
- juice of two lemons;
- 2 tbsp sugar
To make apple mint jam we need the following ingredients:
- apples 1 kg;
- mint syrup 250 ml;
- sugar 200 gr;
- juice of half a lemon
I present to your attention, skillful housewives, a recipe for making plum and nut jam with raisins.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of Hungarian blue plums;
- 4 glasses of sugar;
- 200 grams of walnuts or almonds;
- 100 grams of seedless raisins;
- cinnamon
Today we will make a very tasty winter pear jam. To prepare it we need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of winter pears;
- 1 kg of sugar;
- 2 packets of vanilla sugar;
- 1 sachet of gelling agent for cooking
Apple and orange jam is great for both delicious tea and as a filling for pies.
Ingredients:
- oranges 1 kg;
- apples 1 kg;
- sugar 1.2 kg;
- water 2 tbsp
Apple jam is the most common jam. This is what we will be preparing today.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of apples;
- 500-550 grams of sugar;
- 4-5 g citric acid
Redcurrant and strawberry jam is a wonderful treat for the whole family. We will need ingredients:
- 0.2 kg of red currants;
- 0.5 kg strawberries;
- 500 g sugar
Let's make pear jam today according to the following recipe. We will need ingredients:
- pears (peeled) 4 kg;
- sugar 2 kg;
- vanillin 3 g;
- cinnamon 1 tsp;
- citric acid 1 tsp.
Wild strawberry jam prepared according to the recipe described below turns out very tasty, aromatic and beautiful.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of wild strawberries;
- 1.3 kg of sugar;
- 0.5 l of water;
- 1 - 2 tsp. citric acid
In order to make wild strawberry jam, we need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of forest strawberries;
- 1.5 kg of granulated sugar;
- 1.5 glasses of water
I advise you, dear housewives, to prepare plum jam according to the recipe below.
We will need ingredients:
- ripe plums 1 kg;
- sugar 1 kg
I suggest you, dear housewives, to prepare strawberry jam according to the following recipe. It turns out not only very tasty, but also quickly.
Ingredients:
- 400 g strawberries;
- 50 grams of sugar;
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
To prepare lingonberry jam in Slovakian style, we will need:
lingonberries 1kg
apple 1kg
pear 1kg
lemon 1 pc.
sugar 1kg
Cooking method:
Lingonberries have been valued for their healing properties since ancient times. We advise you to prepare lingonberry jam for the winter according to the recipe below.
Ingredients:
- 4 glasses of lingonberries;
- 1.5 cups sugar;
- 3 tbsp. water
I present to your attention an unusual recipe for plum jam, the taste of which is very rich.
Ingredients:
- plums 500 gr;
- brown sugar 250 gr;
- chopped almonds (you can take any nuts) - 100 g;
- cinnamon 4 sticks;
- dry white wine 130 ml;
- ground cinnamon 1 tsp.
Dear housewives, I would like to offer you a recipe for a very tasty, quick to prepare and extremely healthy grape and gooseberry jam. So, we will need the following ingredients:
- 1.5 kg of grapes;
0.5 kg gooseberries;
- 570 grams of sugar;
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Gooseberry jam is very healthy and tasty, so I recommend every housewife to prepare it for the winter.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of gooseberry puree;
- 800 grams of sugar;
- optional - several pieces of sour apples
Strawberry jam perfectly preserves the taste and aroma of strawberries, and is ideal as a filling for pies and pies. Strawberry jam also goes great with tea.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of strawberries;
- 200 ml sour juice;
- 1 kg sugar
Jam can be made, like preserves, from various fruits and berries. Making jam differs from jam in that when it is cooked, the fruits and berries are well boiled. The most suitable fruits for making jam are quince, plum, strawberry, raspberry, black currant, gooseberry, cranberry, as well as sour varieties of apples.
To make jam, you need to take sufficiently ripe, high-quality fruits and berries. If the fruits have been stale and spoiled (mouldy, fermented), then they are no longer suitable for use. Crumpled and soft fruits can be suitable for making jam.
Jam needs to be boiled in basins. Before cooking, blackcurrant berries, as well as apple fruits, need to be boiled in boiling water. After the fruits are prepared for further work, they must be measured, placed in a basin and filled with thick sugar syrup. Jam, as a rule, is cooked in one step, gradually increasing the heat and vigorously stirring the mass with a spoon or slotted spoon. As soon as the mass boils, you need to turn up the heat and make sure that the entire mass boils evenly, and that any foam that appears needs to be removed.
From the moment of boiling, the jam should be cooked for another 20-30 minutes, but no more, so as not to deteriorate the quality of the jam by prolonged cooking. You can check the readiness of the jam by placing a drop on a plate: the drop should thicken quickly and strongly.
After cooking, the jam should be quickly packaged in clay or glass jars with a capacity of 0.5-2 liters. When the jam in the jars has cooled and a thick crust appears on its surface, the jar must be immediately sealed, covered with parchment paper and tied with twine.
Plum jam
You will need: 1 kg of plums, 1 glass of water, 1-1.2 kg of sugar. 
Cooking method. Remove the pits and cook the plums over high heat in a small amount of water, stirring thoroughly all the time. Let the jam boil for 5-8 minutes, then add sugar and cook until tender over high heat, remembering to stir so as not to burn, and be sure to skim off any foam that appears.
Once the jam is ready, transfer it to hot, dry glass jars, cover with a towel and let cool. If the jam has been cooked well, a crust will form on its surface. Seal the jars tightly using parchment paper and tie them. With this sealing, the aroma, color, taste and all the nutrients of the fruit are preserved in the jam.
Blueberry jam
You will need: 400 g of berries, 300 g of sugar.
Cooking method. Sort out the blueberries and rinse them. Dry and mix with sugar. Cook everything over low heat, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. Fill glass jars with the resulting jam and sterilize half-liter jars in boiling water for 30 minutes, and liter jars for 50 minutes. After sterilization, immediately roll up the hot jars.
Preparing jam does not take more time than making marmalade, but retains more vitamins from the fruits and berries used.
