Utensils for making jam. How to make jam correctly
Just like throughout the world, and maybe even more, sweets have always been loved in Russia. And one of the most common, most beloved sweet dishes in Russian cities and villages has always been jam. Even in the leanest, stingiest times, housewives tried to prepare at least a few jars of sweet, fragrant jam that smelled of the generous summer. Cooking methods were often kept secret, and a well-prepared treat was proudly boasted to guests. And these good traditions are still alive today. Every home, every family must have a carefully prepared jar of this delicious and fragrant dessert. Today we will try to learn and remember how to make jam.
Almost any berries and fruits are suitable for making jam. Ripe fragrant strawberry, cherries and currants, strong ruddy apples, peaches and apricots, blueberries and blueberries loved by many, and even such exotic fruits for our region as walnuts and green tomatoes, everything goes into action. When making delicious jam it will not be superfluous to various additives, for example, suitable for gooseberry jam cherry leaves, you can add black currant leaves to white currant jelly, and jam from watermelon and melon rinds is unthinkable without vanilla and lemon juice. Jam also differs in its consistency; thick, homogeneous jam is convenient to spread on morning toast or a sandwich, but jam itself, which has much more liquid consistency syrup, but whole berries, so nice to eat with tea on cold winter evenings.
Today there are an endless number of recipes and methods for making jam. Cooking time and method vary 
preparing berries and fruits, and even the base of the syrup. Someone makes jam using sugar syrup, and someone, remembering long traditions, boils berries in honey. Everyone can choose a recipe according to their strengths and means. And yet, the basic principles of cooking, little secrets and tricks developed by generations of our ancestors are still relevant today.
Today “Culinary Eden” has prepared for you a selection of the most important tips and secrets that can help even those who are going to cook this sweet dish for the first time, and will fully explain to you how to make jam.
1. When choosing dishes for cooking your jam, try to pay attention to deep and wide basins or pans made of copper, aluminum or stainless steel. Copper jam basins with a comfortable long handle were considered the best at all times. The jam is prepared quickly in such a bowl, which helps preserve the color and aroma of the berries. However, it is important to ensure that a green coating of copper oxides that are harmful to health does not form on the inner surface of such a basin. Basins and pans made of aluminum and stainless steel do not have this drawback. But it’s better to refrain from using enamel cookware; there’s too much of a chance that your jam will burn and be completely spoiled.
2. Try to choose the best and freshest berries and fruits for jam. Certainly, perfect berries To make jam, you can only use those berries that you collected from your garden on the day of cooking, but, unfortunately, this is not available to everyone. When buying berries at the market or in a store, try to give preference to local fruits. Such berries and fruits make a much shorter journey to our table, which means they retain the fullness of taste and aroma much better. It is better to take most berries and fruits when they are not fully ripe, but choose absolutely ripe cherries and plums. Carefully ensure that your berries do not have any visible flaws, damage, dark spots, or bruises. Don’t forget to smell the berries before buying, because the brighter and more expressive the aroma will be fresh fruits, the more tasty and fragrant your jam will turn out.
3. In order to cook truly tasty and beautiful jam, first of all, you should prepare the sugar syrup correctly. After all, only with well-prepared syrup can you make your own jam best quality, such jam will be pure, clear syrup and whole, beautiful and fragrant berries. It’s not at all easy to cook this syrup. 
difficult. Take 1 kg. sugar, pour into a bowl for making jam, add ½ cup clean water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. After boiling, slightly reduce the heat, stop stirring and cook the syrup, shaking the bowl only slightly, trying to prevent caramelization. Your syrup will be completely ready when it flows from a spoon dropped into it in a thick, viscous stream. You will see that berries cooked in this syrup retain their shape perfectly.
4. When cooking jam, foam will certainly form on its surface, which must be removed, because this foam not only spoils appearance your dish, but can also cause premature souring. However, you should not rush and try to remove the foam as soon as it appears. Just before the end of cooking, let your jam boil as hot as possible and immediately remove from heat, then wait a couple of minutes for the berries to settle. Now feel free to pick up a slotted spoon and carefully remove all the foam that has formed. This method will allow you to most thoroughly remove even the slightest traces of foam without damaging the berries, and, what is also important, it will save your time and effort.
5. It is equally important to correctly track the end of the cooking process. After all, undercooked jam can ferment or sour, and overcooked jam will definitely become sugary and will not be able to please you with its bright taste and aroma. In order to correctly determine the moment when your jam is completely ready, just use simple tips. The jam is ready when the foam does not disperse along the edges of the basin, but collects closer to the center. In the finished jam, the berries are evenly distributed in the syrup and do not collect near the surface. A drop of finished jam syrup placed on a saucer does not spread, but retains its shape. If all these signs coincide, quickly remove your jam from the heat, it is already completely ready!
6. Let's try to cook tasty, bright and fragrant jam from garden strawberries, sometimes unfairly called strawberries. Rinse one kilogram of strawberries thoroughly, being careful not to damage the berries, and remove the green sepals. Let the water drain and transfer your strawberries into a bowl for making jam. Cover the berries with one kilogram of sugar and place in a cool place for several hours until the strawberries release their juice. Then place the bowl over low heat and bring the strawberries and sugar to a boil while stirring gently but thoroughly. As soon as your jam boils, immediately remove it from the heat and let it sit for 8 hours. Then simmer the jam until tender over low heat, being careful not to let it boil too much. The jam prepared in this way completely preserves bright taste and the aroma of berries, and the syrup turns out clean and completely transparent.
7. It’s even easier to cook something tasty, aromatic, and so on. healthy jam from raspberries. Carefully sort one kilogram of raspberries, remove the branches and sepals and rinse carefully. Place the berries in a deep saucepan and add one kilogram of sugar. Leave the raspberries with sugar for 4 - 5 hours, then pour the resulting syrup into a bowl for making jam, bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Place your berries in the finished syrup, bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5 - 10 minutes, gently shaking the basin. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, remove any foam that has formed and pour the jam into jars. This jam completely retains its taste and that’s it. beneficial features fresh raspberries, but should be stored in the refrigerator.
8. A recipe for superbly delicious lingonberry and apple jam is offered to us by M. Syrnikov. Sort out one kilogram of lingonberries, rinse and lightly dry. Three sour apples Peel, core and cut into 8 pieces each. Boil sugar syrup from 1 kg. sugar and ½ glass of water, as described above. Pour berries and apple slices into the boiling syrup, bring to a boil again, then remove from heat and leave for 2 hours. Place the cooled jam on the heat again, bring to a boil and cool again for two hours. Then put the jam on low heat and cook until done, gently rocking the bowl and avoiding burning. Cool the finished jam and place it in jars.
9. Delicious gooseberry jam will require painstaking preparation, but will thank you with its exquisite aroma and amazing beautiful color. 800 gr. Wash the green unripe gooseberries thoroughly, cut off the twigs and remains of dried flowers, use a sharp knife to make a small cut on each berry and carefully remove the seeds. Boil 2 liters of water in a deep saucepan, add 50 - 100 g. fresh leaves cherries, cook for 10 minutes, remove from heat and immediately add prepared gooseberries. Cover the pan with a lid and leave for 12 hours. Then pour the resulting broth into a separate bowl and remove the cherry leaves. Place 1 ½ kg in a bowl for making jam. sugar, add 1 cup of reserved broth and cook thick syrup. When the syrup is ready, pour the berries into it, bring to a boil again and cook over low heat for 15 - 20 minutes, gently rocking the basin and avoiding burning. Cool the finished jam, remove the foam and pour your jam into jars.
10. Indian food invites us to try the original spicy and savory jam from rhubarb and ginger. 400 gr. Wash the rhubarb stems, remove any rough skin and chop thin slices. Place the rhubarb in a cooking saucepan, add 3 tbsp. spoons of grated fresh ginger, 1 ½ cups sugar and 1 teaspoon chopped lemon zest. Place the pan over the lowest heat and melt the sugar. Be careful not to burn the sugar! When the sugar has completely melted and the rhubarb has released juice, turn up the heat and bring your jam to a boil. Reduce the heat to low again and simmer the jam for 20 minutes until tender. Cool the finished jam and place it in jars. Store in the refrigerator.
And on the pages of “Culinary Eden” you can always find many new and proven recipes that will certainly help you find the answer to the question of how to make jam.
The jam making season is coming. Modern housewives They wonder: what to cook it in? And the question is by no means an idle one. In a good way, jam should preserve not only its taste and aroma summer berries and fruits, but also vitamins. And besides, don’t get drunk on any harmful impurities from dishes.
Our grandmothers traditionally boiled berries in copper basins. IN Soviet time Such tubs with wooden handles on the sides were considered the highest chic. Not everyone had them, but every housewife in the USSR dreamed of this copper miracle. There was an opinion that it is in such a basin that the best and most delicious jam! But no, today the situation has changed.
It turns out that copper utensils are in no way suitable for these purposes. Firstly, copper oxides, which are harmful to our health, dissolved by fruit acids when cooking sour fruits (cherry plum, dogwood, etc.) can get into the jam. But that’s not even the point (a perfectly polished basin is safe in this regard). The problem is that it turns out that the smallest amount of copper ions leads to the destruction of ascorbic acid - and that’s it, there are no vitamins in the jam, just berries!
We turned to Candidate of Medical Sciences Natalya Tikhonycheva for comment:
Our grandmothers, indeed, preferred to cook jam in copper basins. But I would not advise housewives to adhere to this custom, because copper ions destroy the beneficial ascorbic acid in berries and fruits. If the household only has a copper basin, do not forget to properly care for it. Before and after cooking, thoroughly wash and rinse the basin hot water, then dry until moisture is completely removed. If copper oxide appears, thoroughly wipe it with sand, wash the basin with hot water and soap, dry it, and only then start making jam.
So what should you cook in? Aluminum cookware is also not suitable for our purposes. The high acidity of the jam will destroy the oxide film on the metal surface, and a small amount of aluminum will inevitably end up in our delicacy. In principle, enamel cookware works well. But a problem can also arise with it: enamel when high temperatures risks breaking off.
So the best vessel for making jam is stainless steel.
And now a selection of rare and interesting jam recipes from our grandmothers:
Rhubarb jam
Wash, peel and cut 1 kg of rhubarb, add about 600 grams of sugar and leave for 8 - 10 hours. Drain the resulting juice and put on the fire, bring to a boil, add another 600 grams of sugar. When the syrup boils, put pieces of rhubarb in it, bring the jam to a boil, remove from heat and let it brew for an hour. Then simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, add ¼ teaspoon if desired ground cinnamon and immediately pour into pasteurized jars, roll up and turn upside down until cool.
Blackcurrant jam
Recipe: water - 3 glasses, sugar 14 glasses, currants - 11 glasses.
Boil syrup from all the water and half the sugar. As soon as the syrup boils, add all the berries. From the moment the syrup with berries boils, cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Then remove from the heat, add the remaining sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved; you can cook the jam, but do not boil. The jam turns out jelly-like and aromatic.
Pear and orange jam
Recipe: honey – 165 g, sugar – 200 g, lemon juice– 2 tbsp. spoons, cloves - 6 pcs., hard pears - 1 kg, small oranges - 4 pcs., lemon cut into slices - 1 pc., mint leaves - 4 pcs., water - 900 ml.
Mix honey, sugar, lemon juice and cloves in water. Peel the pear, remove the core, and leave the tail. Place the pears into the mixture with honey, stir, bring to a boil. high fire. Then reduce the heat, close the lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears into a bowl, and put the oranges into the pan, remove the skin and white pulp from them, bring to a boil, cook the oranges without a lid for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the oranges to the bowl with the pears. Bring the syrup to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes without a lid. Pour the syrup over the fruit, add lemon slices and mint. Boil for 5 minutes, cool.
Small green tomato jam
For 1 kg of tomatoes: 1 kg of sugar, 4 lemons.
Green tomatoes – small – rinse, place in a bowl, pour over cold salty water (50 g per 0.5 liter of water) and leave for 12 hours. Then boil, drain the water, and rinse the tomatoes cold water 2 – 3 times. The juice is squeezed out of the lemons, the zest is finely chopped, combined and heated over low heat. Add the sugar slowly and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place tomatoes in the syrup and cook over low heat, periodically removing the foam, until the tomatoes become transparent. The finished jam is packaged in sterilized jars and rolled up. Tomatoes retain their bright natural color when cooked.
Chokeberry jam with apples
Recipe: 1 kg of rowan, 1 kg of Antonovka apples, 2 kg of sugar, water – 900 g.
Wash the berries, dry them, and pass through a meat grinder. Cut the apples into slices. Then combine with sugar, add water and cook until tender.
White acacia flower jam
400 grams of white acacia flowers, 1.2 kg of sugar, 1 tbsp. grape juice, 1 tbsp. water.
Peel the acacia flowers so that only white petals remain, rub them with your hands with 800 grams of sugar and leave in an enamel bowl for 12 hours. Boil syrup from water, juice and remaining sugar. Pour acacia flowers and cook for 30 - 40 minutes until full readiness.
Barberry jam
Washed and seeded ripe berries pour in sugar syrup(1 kg of berries – 1 kg of sugar) and leave for a day. Water for syrup - 1 glass. Cook in three batches until done (usually 30 – 40 minutes). The jam is stored well in a cool place under a nylon lid.
Assorted jam
Gooseberries, cherries, strawberries, apricots - wash, dry. Remove pits from cherries and apricots - the weight of the fruit should be 1 kg. Boil the fruits in syrup for 30 minutes. (For 1.25 kg of sugar - 2 glasses of water). Cool the finished jam and package it in jars, close with plastic lids.
Pear jam
Pears – 1 kg, sugar – 1 kg, water 1.5 cups, citric acid 4 g.
Peel and core the pears, cut into slices, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water and cool in cold water. Place the pears in hot syrup and cook in 3 batches, allowing to stand. At the end of cooking add citric acid or juice of 1 lemon.
Plum jam
Wash the plums and remove the pits. Boil the sugar syrup, put the plum halves into the syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, boil for 8 - 10 minutes and cool. During the cooking process, the jam should be shaken, not stirred. Place the finished jam in hot jars.
Zucchini jam with black currants
2 kg of peeled zucchini, cut into cubes, mixed with 1 kg of black currants, add 3 kg of sugar and leave for 12 hours. Cook in three batches for 5 minutes, letting the jam cool each time. Place the finished jam into jars and close with a lid.
Assorted jam
Cut pears and apples, 0.5 kg each into cubes, pour 0.5 tbsp. water and 300 grams of sugar, boil and leave for 10 hours. The next day, add 500 grams of pitted plums cut into 4 pieces, add another 300 grams of sugar, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, add 0.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and cloves. Stir and turn off. Place in jars and roll up.
Melon and raspberry jam
Recipe: melon – 1 kg, raspberries – 300 g, Saar – 800 g, water – 1 glass, lemon – 1 pc.
Wash the lemon, dry it, remove the zest, cover it with granulated sugar, pour over lemon juice and leave for 1 hour. Wash the melon, dry it, remove the peel, remove the seeds, cut into small pieces. Sort the raspberries, wash and dry quickly.
Drain the lemon juice from the peels, add water and simmer the syrup over low heat. After boiling, add melon, as soon as the melon is soft add raspberries, continue cooking until thickened. Place the jam in sterilized jars and close the lids.
Southern jam
Recipe: watermelon rinds– 1 kg, sugar – 1.5 kg, water – 500 ml, zest of one lemon, juice of one lemon.
Peel the watermelon rinds and separate the pulp. Cut the white peel into cubes. Pour hot water over the crusts and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, then place on a sieve and cool. Boil syrup from water and sugar, add zest, lemon juice, cook watermelon rinds for 20 - 30 minutes, then remove from heat and leave in syrup for 2 hours. Then repeat this operation, once again let the jam sit for 2 hours, cook for the third time on low heat until the crusts are transparent. Place the finished jam into jars.
Strawberry jam
Strawberries – 1 kg, sugar – 1 kg, juice of one lemon.
Sort the berries, wash, dry, place in a bowl in which the jam will be cooked, add sugar, lemon juice and leave for 5 hours. Then cook for 15 minutes on low heat. Cook until fully cooked in a day. Pour the finished jam into clean jars.
Strawberries (strawberries) in red currant juice
Strawberries (strawberries) – 1 kg, red currant juice – 300 g.
Wash the berries, dry them, place them in a saucepan, add juice, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, pour into sterilized jars and roll up.
Rosehip-rowanberry jam
Remove hairs and seeds from 600 grams of rose hips. Blanch 400 g of rowan fruits (preferably nevezhinskaya) for 2 - 5 minutes, and then cook in three batches until tender with the addition of 1 tbsp of blanching water and 1.3 kg of sugar. Pour the finished jam into clean jars. Blanching is boiling over high heat.
Gooseberry jam
Recipe: berries - 2 kg, honey 1 kg, walnuts - how much the berries will take.
Wash large unripe gooseberries, dry them, carefully remove the seeds without cutting the berries, in kernels. walnuts fill the gooseberries. You can make it in halves, but crush the nuts. Pour honey over the berries and cook the jam until tender.
Strawberry or strawberry jam
Sort the berries, wash them, and let the water drain. For 1 kg of berries take 1 kg of sugar and instead of water 1 glass sour juice(red currants, apples, plums or gooseberries). Dip the berries into a hot syrup of sugar and juice and cook until tender, stirring continuously and skimming off the foam. After 30 - 35 minutes from the moment of boiling, the jam is ready. At the end of cooking, you can add 2 - 3 grams of citric acid - this gives a beautiful color. Pour hot jam into heated dry jars, and when cooled, close the lid. If the jam turns out liquid, you will have to sterilize the jars for 15 - 20 minutes and roll up the lids.
Raspberries mashed with sugar
For this jam, you can use both garden and forest raspberries. Sort through the berries and remove any damaged ones. If there are raspberry beetle larvae (white larvae), dip the berries in salted water (20 grams of salt per liter of water) for 10 - 15 minutes and the larvae will float to the surface. There is another way: scatter the berries on the table, the worms will crawl out on their own. Rinse the raspberries in a colander with water and beat with a mixer. Place the resulting mass in an enamel or porcelain bowl, add granulated sugar 1.5 kg per 1 kg raspberries and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place in clean, dry jars and seal airtight.
Pumpkin jam
Remove peel and seeds from pumpkin. Pour cold water into a basin or pan, put baking soda and put in the chopped pumpkin large pieces. Leave for a day. Then drain the water, wash the pumpkin with cold water and place in a sieve. When the water has drained, cut the pumpkin into squares.
Boil the syrup, put the pumpkin in it, but do not stir. When the jam boils, remove it from the heat for several hours so that the pumpkin does not boil and it does not turn into jam. Then cook until done.
For 1 kg of pumpkin, 1.5 kg of sugar, 1 tablespoon of soda, 0.75 cups of water.
Pumpkin and apple jam
For this jam you will need: 5 kg of pumpkin, 2 lemons, 2 kg of apples, 5 kg of sugar.
Peel the pumpkin and remove seeds, pass through a meat grinder, add lemons without seeds, passed through a meat grinder. Wash the apples, core them, cut into cubes. Pour granulated sugar into the pumpkin, lemon and apples. Cook in three batches for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, stirring continuously.
Ginger-apple jam
1 kg of apples, 1 kg of sand, a tablespoon of grated ginger, 1 glass of water, 2 large lemons.
Wash the apples, dry them, remove the core and cut into thin cubes. Remove the zest from the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Boil syrup from sugar and water, add lemon zest and juice, apples, grated ginger to the syrup. Cook the jam until it thickens. Pour into dry, sterilized jars and close with a lid.
Rowan jam
It is better to take Nezhin rowan berries. Immerse the berries in boiling water for 3 - 5 minutes or put them in warm oven for 1 – 2 hours. For 1 kg of rowan, take 1.5 kg of sugar and 3 glasses of water. Pour boiling syrup over the berries and cook after 6–8 hours, removing them several times for 10–15 minutes. Ready jam Let the date stand for 10 - 13 hours, then put it into jars. If the syrup is liquid, drain it, keep it on the fire to “evaporate” and pour the jam again.
To preserve maximum benefits, the jam is cooked in 2-3 batches of one minute each, leaving between cooking sessions until it cools completely. This is a vitamin-friendly method of cooking, although you can cook it in one batch - usually from 10 minutes until it is sufficiently dense. If a drop of boiled jam syrup does not spread in a spoon, but retains its shape, the jam is cooked.
How to make jam
General principleBerries or fruits are peeled, washed and cut as desired, and then boiled with sugar. Sugar is a strong preservative, so any jam can be stored for a long time, and if you follow hygiene rules, the jam will last all winter.
1. Proportions of fruits and sugar when making jam.
As a rule, 1 kilogram of sugar is used for 1 kilogram of berries.
2. What should you use to make jam?
The jam is boiled in brass or steel containers - ideally, the basins are wide enough so that the lower layers of the fruit do not soften under the weight of the upper ones.
3. Storing jam.
Jam must be poured into prepared jars: washed in hot water with the addition of soda and heated until completely dry in the oven (at a temperature of 60 degrees for 10 minutes). Store the jam at a temperature of 5-25 degrees in a dark place, at least occasionally ventilated.
4. At what heat should you cook the jam?
The jam must be cooked over low heat so that it does not burn and so that all the beneficial substances are not boiled out.
5. When is the jam ready?
The jam is cooked when a drop of syrup becomes completely thick.
6. Should I skim the foam from the jam?
Skim off the foam when making jam.
7. What to do if the jam does not thicken?
It is recommended to bring the jam to a boil again. Or add a little gelling component. You can use lemon juice - it will release the contents natural gelatin. Another option is to use dry powder.
8. How to make jam without cooking? :)
For one can of fruit, take 1 can of sugar (or for 1 kilogram of fruit - 2 kilograms of sugar), grind with a mixer. Store the ground mixture in the refrigerator.
9. How to organize jam storage?
To store jam, you can print labels with the name of the preparations and the date. Or just write on the jar with a marker.
Utensils for making jam
Jam is boiled in pan or basin. The good thing about the basin is that the large open surface ensures increased evaporation of liquid - the jam will be thick, but the fruits or berries will not be digested. The pan is more convenient to use; it takes up less space on the stove or on the table during breaks between stages of cooking jam.Can be used:
Enameled dishes - they are suitable for making jam. But it is worth considering that even a small chip of the enamel makes it impossible to use a basin or pan.
Stainless steel cookware is suitable for making jam, but sometimes finished product acquires a “metallic” taste.
Can not use:
Copper basins, although they are traditionally considered the best dishes for making jam. Modern research They convince us of the opposite - copper is not suitable for making jam. Fruits and berries contain acid that can dissolve copper oxides that appear on the surface of the cookware in the form of a patina (dark coating). Even if the basin is torn off until it shines, it is still not worth using it for cooking - copper ions destroy ascorbic acid, depriving the jam of even minimum quantity vitamin C.
Aluminum cookware absolutely cannot be used for making jam. Fruit acid destroys the oxide film on the walls of the pan or basin and aluminum molecules enter the product.
It is better to pour jam into jars with a small ladle, because... The necks of the jars are usually narrow - there is a risk of spilling the jam.
About sugar in jam
- When making jam, sugar acts as a sweetener, thickener and preservative. When cooking jam, sugar is divided into fructose and glucose, this facilitates its rapid absorption by the body.When making jam, sugar obtained from sugar beets and cane is most often used. Exotic types of sugar: maple, palm, sorghum are rare in Russia and are not used for making jam, as is brown unrefined raw cane sugar.
If you reduce the amount of sugar, the jam will have less calories. But there is a risk that the resulting product will have the consistency of compote rather than jam. Sugar can be replaced food additives based on pectin. These are jams that improve the consistency: “Confiturka”, “Quittin”, “Zhelfix” and the like.
Methods for making jam
1 way to make jam - classic
1. Pour sugar into a bowl.2. Pour cold water over sugar.
3. Place the dishes on the fire.
4. Stir the sugar until completely dissolved.
5. Bring the syrup to a boil.
6. Boil the syrup for 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
7. Add berries.
8. Cool the jam for 5 hours.
9. Put on the fire, bring to a boil again and cook for 10 minutes, stirring gently and skimming off the foam.
10. Cool again.
11. Bring to a boil for the last time and cook for 3 minutes.
12. Cool and pour jam into jars.
Method 2 for making jam - quick
1. Wash and dry the fruits.2. Place the fruits in a bowl.
3. Add sugar and stir.
4. Leave for 5 hours.
5. Place the basin on the fire.
6. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly.
7. Cook for 5 minutes.
Jam jars
Used for storing jam glass jars. Banks are closing tin lids using a seaming machine or screwing the lids with a “twist” - they come in different diameters, you need to choose the right size for the neck of the jar.The finished jam is placed in clean, dry jars. If the product is packaged in a jar with drops of water remaining, the jam will not be stored - it will become moldy or ferment. The jars are washed with hot water and soda. You need to rinse the jar inside and out with water, pour a teaspoon of soda on a sponge and thoroughly wipe first the inside and then the outer surface of the jars. Then rinse the jar thoroughly with water. The fact that the jar has been well washed is indicated by a characteristic squeak when running a finger over its surface. Household chemicals(dishwashing detergents) should not be used. These products have a strong odor that lingers on the dishes and can spoil the aroma of the jam itself. Wash the lids thoroughly with baking soda.
Clean jars in which you plan to store jam must be sterilized. For this:
1. Pour water into a saucepan, install a special jar holder and place on medium heat.
2. When the water boils, place the jar on the holder with the bottom up (the neck fits into the hole in the holder). Steam the jar for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the jar from the holder (using a towel or oven mitts) and place it neck down on a clean towel. After five minutes, put the jar on its side - this way the wet steam will come out, and the hot walls of the jar will dry the inner surface. After 5 minutes, a clean, dry jar can be used for its intended purpose.
4. The lids also need to be sterilized: place in a saucepan with boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Remove (pry with a fork) and place to dry on a clean towel.
Other ways to sterilize jars:
- Pour 5-5 centimeters of water into a wide saucepan, install a microwave rack and place the jars upside down. When the water boils, the steam will sterilize the jars. So it is necessary to sterilize them for 15 minutes.
- attach the jar to the spout of a boiling kettle;
- fill the jar boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes covered;
- in the microwave: pour a little (about 1 centimeter from the bottom) water into the jar. Place in the microwave, power 700 W, processing time 2 minutes;
- in the oven: wet cans place on a baking sheet. Turn on the oven. Heating temperature is no more than 130 degrees, processing time is about 5 minutes (until the jars dry inside and outside);
- in a multicooker: pour 2 glasses of water into the bowl of the device, place the jars in a mesh for steaming. “Baking” or “Steaming” modes. Processing time is 5 minutes after water boils. This method is good for small jars.
Attention! In case of overheating or temperature changes (for example, hot jar will hit cold water) the can may burst. Be careful!
Fruit preserves
Berry jams
Other jams
Everything about making jam
What are we cooking?
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- Jam
“Recently, you can come across a variety of recommendations about what is best to cook jam in. Some experts (in particular, and in your magazine in the issue of 1988) say that copper utensils are not suitable. Others are enameled and at the same time praise “comfortable copper and brass basins.” What is the basis for such discrepancies?”
V. A. Kozhurnikov, pos. Medvedok Kirov region
This question is answered by senior researcher at the F. F. Erisman Research Institute of Hygiene of the Ministry of Health of the RSFSR, Candidate of Medical Sciences R. I. ANISKINA.
From a hygienic point of view, you can cook jam in any tableware or kitchen utensil food purposes. All of it is made from materials approved by the USSR Ministry of Health for contact with food.
However, berries and fruits contain organic acids, which can cause increased corrosion of surfaces in contact with the jam. Therefore, it is advisable to use stainless steel or enameled utensils.
It is allowed to cook jam in copper or brass basins. However, due to the fact that copper quickly corrodes in the presence of atmospheric oxygen, you should know:
You can't use honey
steel or brass basins
with darkened or coated
surface in summer. They should
we must always begin carefully
puppies and polished to a shine
Ready-made jam is needed
I can immediately pour it into another
dishes and basins immediately
How to clean burnt jam?
During the berry and fruit season, many housewives prepare jam for the winter. They try to closely monitor the process of cooking the sweet dish, but it happens that the delicacy burns. Read how to clean burnt jam and use various folk tricks for cleaning a pan, depending on what material it is made of.
Each pan has its own “pill”
It’s better to clean the jam pan the old fashioned way.
Not every housewife knows how to clean burnt jam using safe products. For cleaning enamel pans It is strictly forbidden to use aggressive chemical substances– alkaline powders. It is better to use soda, but rubbing the surface with a wire brush is not recommended. Soda is poured with water and boiled, then left overnight. In the morning, clean the pan with a simple soft sponge. An aluminum pan can also be washed using the same method.
Enameled dishes should not be filled with cold water immediately after transferring the jam. This leads to the formation of microcracks on the walls and bottom. But aluminum basins and pans should be immediately filled with cold water, before they have time to cool down.
Stainless steel pans are easy to clean regular salt. The salt in the pan is boiled in water, left for several hours and scrubbed with a hard sponge or iron brush.
The powder is suitable for stainless steel, so it can be used without fear of the pan being damaged by scratches.
If the jam is burnt, how to wash a Teflon-coated pan, because powder and iron brushes are not suitable here. You can soak dishes only with a solution that does not contain lye. The pan is filled with hot water or boiling water, left for a while and rinsed with cold water.
To remove stuck or burnt sugar, you can use citric acid by boiling it in a burnt pan over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
If the jam is burnt, keep in mind how to clean the pan using onion peel. The whole onion with the peel is boiled in a bowl. At the same time, housewives do not have to worry about the pungent odor - it disappears immediately.
Jam - what to cook it in, what container is best to cook it in:
Of course, it is best to cook jam in a wide and shallow container - in a basin. Indeed, in the process of repeated (usually 3 times) heating of berries with syrup to a boil, evaporation occurs excess liquid, and the jam becomes thick.
The 5-minute jam can also be cooked in a regular saucepan, because... After 5 minutes of boiling, the jam still does not become thicker. In this jam, thickness is achieved by gelling the contents.
The utensils for making jam can be made of food grade stainless steel, copper, brass or enameled.
Under no circumstances should you cook jam in an aluminum container! During cooking, the protective oxide layer on the walls of the aluminum cookware dissolves from the acid, which is always present in the berries and spoils the delicacy, and aluminum particles getting into the jam are harmful to health.
Enameled dishes are safe for health, but jam often burns in them, so it is better to choose a stainless steel basin or pan.
Copper or brass basins were very popular in the past; our grandmothers cooked their delicious jam in just such. In a copper basin, the jam does not burn and retains its color and aroma.
But we must remember that for jam, a bowl made of copper or brass must be perfectly cleaned of oxides. It turns out that copper oxides dissolved by fruit acids from the darkened basin penetrate into the jam. Therefore, a copper basin should simply shine; only then is it suitable for cooking.
Conclusion: best capacity for cooking jam - a basin or wide stainless steel pan.
Buy yourself such dishes, and you will be sure that your jam is safe for health and has retained all its vitamins.
How to make jam
How to make jam
1. Proportions of fruits and sugar when making jam.
As a rule, 1 kilogram of sugar is used for 1 kilogram of berries.
2. What should you use to make jam?
The jam is boiled in brass or steel containers - ideally, the basins are wide enough so that the lower layers of the fruit do not soften under the weight of the upper ones.
3. Storing jam.
The jam must be poured into prepared jars: washed in hot water with the addition of soda and heated until completely dry in the oven (at a temperature of 60 degrees for 10 minutes). Store the jam at a temperature of 10-15 degrees in a dark place.
4. At what heat should you cook the jam?
The jam must be cooked over low heat.
5. When is the jam ready?
The jam is cooked when a drop of syrup becomes completely thick.
6. Should I skim the foam from the jam?
Skim off the foam when making jam.
7. What to do if the jam does not thicken?
8. How to make jam without cooking.)
For one can of fruit, take 1 can of sugar (or for 1 kilogram of fruit - 2 kilograms of sugar), grind with a mixer. Store the ground mixture in the refrigerator.
9. How to organize jam storage?
To store jam, you can print labels with the name of the preparations and the date. Or just write on the jar with a marker.
Utensils for making jam
The jam is boiled in a saucepan or basin. The good thing about the basin is that the large open surface ensures increased evaporation of liquid - the jam will be thick, but the fruits or berries will not be digested. The pan is more convenient to use; it takes up less space on the stove or on the table during breaks between stages of cooking jam.
Can be used:
Enameled dishes - they are suitable for making jam. But it is worth considering that even a small chip of the enamel makes it impossible to use a basin or pan.
Stainless steel cookware is suitable for making jam, but sometimes the finished product takes on a “metallic” taste.
Can not use:
Copper basins, although they are traditionally considered the best utensils for making jam. Modern research proves the opposite - copper is not suitable for making jam. Fruits and berries contain acid that can dissolve copper oxides that appear on the surface of the cookware in the form of a patina (dark coating). Even if the basin is torn off until it shines, it is still not worth using it for cooking - copper ions destroy ascorbic acid, depriving the jam of even a minimal amount of vitamin C.
It is better to pour jam into jars with a small ladle, because... The necks of the jars are usually narrow - there is a risk of spilling the jam.
About sugar in jam
When making jam, sugar acts as a sweetener, thickener and preservative. When cooking jam, sugar is divided into fructose and glucose, this facilitates its rapid absorption by the body.
When making jam, sugar obtained from sugar beets and cane is most often used. Exotic types of sugar: maple, palm, sorghum are rare in Russia and are not used for making jam, as is brown unrefined raw cane sugar.
If you reduce the amount of sugar, the jam will have less calories. But there is a risk that the resulting product will have the consistency of compote rather than jam. Sugar can be replaced with food additives based on pectin. These are “Confiturka”, “Quittin”, “Zhelfix” jams that improve the consistency.
In what container should you cook jam so that it doesn’t burn, it turns out tasty, aromatic, healthy and can be stored in the pantry or cellar for a long time?
You need to choose taking into account the material, shape and volume. The type of berries and fruits used for preparations plays an important role in the choice. If suitable for sweet apples different variants, then for currants and cherries with high content acids will have to be limited only certain types. Learn the theory to make the right purchase.
Shape and volume of containers for making jam
IN large volume tender berries will be crumpled, so experienced housewives They never prepare 6-10 kg of jam. The more delicate the main ingredient, the smaller the portion should be. It is advisable to cook strawberries, wild strawberries and raspberries maximum 2 kg, and apricots, cherries, currants and plums - 3 kg each.
For a small portion of jam, a container with a volume of 4-4.5 liters is enough. If you like to make blanks in large batches, look for a six-liter container. It's better to spend more time on two batches, but cook delicious preparations for the winter.
The right dishes to make jam there must be shallow but wide- according to the type of pelvis. In such a container, excess moisture will evaporate faster, and the pieces of fruit will not be damaged, they will warm up evenly and are soaked in sugar syrup. Tall pots and shaped dishes with the bottom and top much narrower than the sides are not suitable.
Lids are not used during the cooking process, but they can be useful at the stage when the berries are covered with sugar or jam for several hours and infused in syrup. But if a suitable container does not have a lid, it doesn’t matter, you can cover it with a towel or choose another lid.
Handles make it easy to turn the jam on the stove and remove it from the oven. If they are not there, then there should be a neck that you can grab with your hands using oven mitts.
Ideal utensil material for jam
When choosing the right container for making jam, it is important to take into account the specifics of the recipe. There are methods of cooking in one step, and there are recipes that require heating three times with infusion in between boiling. If you cannot leave the jam in the bowl overnight, you will have to pour it into a different pan each time.
Copper basin - a classic of the genre
In vintage cookbooks Most often there are recommendations for choosing copper utensils for jam. This was passed down from grandmother to granddaughter. Advantages:
- Copper has high thermal conductivity, so basins and cups heat up quickly and evenly.
- It is easier to control the temperature in copper cookware, as it cools quickly after turning down the heat or turning off the stove.
- Copper has natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties, kills E. coli, salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus even without high temperatures.
However, today they look at copper differently and claim that a copper basin is the best choice for preserves and jams, it is not possible. In progress heat treatment Copper ions react with acids, destroying vitamins. In low quality kitchen utensils Copper oxides, which are hazardous to health, may enter food during cooking.
To prevent oxidation, tinned copper bowls with an internal coating should be used for heat treatment of fruits and berries. Most often used for coating tin- metal to be restored. Not long ago, manufacturers learned to coat copper with stainless steel. This one is not afraid of acids. But all copper products require careful handling and careful washing.
The price of copper basins and cups is several times higher than similar ones made of other metals. Therefore, it is not advisable to buy copper utensils for making jam. Brass basins made from a copper-zinc alloy are cheaper. If you inherited copper utensils, make sure that the coating is intact and, if necessary, have it repaired.
Stainless steel - a modern approach
Utensils for making jam made of stainless steel meet all safety requirements and are considered the best of all those considered for cherries, currants, apricots, cranberries. Stainless steel is a completely inert material that does not oxidize and does not react with products.
A stainless steel basin is not afraid of contact with acids, so it is suitable for making jam from sour berries and fruits in several stages. You can sprinkle the berries with sugar in it, leaving them in this form for several hours without any risk or fear. Useful material and vitamins in stainless steel products are more likely to be preserved, but during heat treatment they, of course, partially disappear.
Matte and polished utensils are made from food grade steel. This does not affect consumer properties. A matter of taste. Polished looks stylish, but water stains may remain on the surface if you do not immediately wipe it dry.
It is more important to pay attention to metal thickness, especially in the bottom area. A thin bottom is not suitable for jams and jams, and especially for long-term cooking. The maximum thing you can use thin-walled products for is preparing “five-minute” strawberries, wild strawberries, currants, cherries and other berries that do not require long cooking.
There are basins on sale with a multi-layer bottom made using capsule technology. This bottom consists of several types of metals, which makes heating more uniform, protects against deformation and extends the life of kitchen utensils.
Aluminum - rules of use
It is better not to choose aluminum utensils for making jam, since this metal tends to react with acids and oxidize. This interaction leads to harmful substances entering the product.
However, many housewives cook preserves and jams in aluminum basins, observing the following precautions:
- Choose aluminum cookware for cooking fruits and berries with low acidity - apples, figs, peaches, cherries, plums.
- Use aluminum exclusively for stovetop cooking. Cover the berries with sugar and leave to infuse before heating in another pan.
- Stir the mixture constantly to prevent the contents from burning.
- Avoid jam recipes that require prolonged heat treatment and thickening.
Review of products from online stores
This short review will help you get a correct idea of what cookware looks like. homemade preserves, jams, marmalade, confitures and other fruit and berry sweets for the winter.
The stainless steel jam bowl from the French company Mauviel has a bottom diameter of 36 cm, which is ideal for home kitchen oven. The height of the walls is 12 cm. The inner surface is matte, the outer surface is mirrored. Two comfortable handles. The dish is ideal for jam from cherries, cranberries, currants and other sour berries.
Copper basin with a capacity of 4.5 liters is suitable for small portions fruit and berry preparations. The bottom of the pan is smaller than the diameter of the top, which speeds up boiling, but requires stirring.
The inexpensive Kalitva jam bowl from a domestic manufacturer is made of aluminum. Suitable for fast cooking in one go. Best used for sweet fruits. Volume – 12 liters. Convenient for preparing fruits - washing, cutting, sorting the crop. The large bottom diameter is not suitable for all slabs!
A 3-liter brass basin with a removable wooden handle is suitable for home cooking on any stove except induction. The long handle is convenient for shaking the contents so that the syrup evenly covers the pieces of fruit and berries.
Be sure to check the cost of goods in different stores. Even products with the same article number may have different prices. Goods European manufacturers always more expensive than domestic and Asian ones. Russian brands have many good offers.
There is no point in buying a special basin if you plan to prepare it once. Using the theoretical knowledge you have acquired, choose in which container it is better to cook the jam from the existing one.