Cookware for jam. How to cook jam
As in the whole world, and maybe even stronger, sweets in Russia have always been loved. And one of the most common, most beloved sweet dishes in Russian cities and villages has always been jam. Even in the most scarce, meanest times, the housewives tried to prepare at least a few jars of sweet, fragrant, smelling of a generous summer jam. Cooking methods were often kept secret, and well-prepared treats proudly boasted to the guests. And these good traditions are still alive today. In every house, in every family, a carefully prepared jar with this delicious and fragrant dessert is sure to be stocked. Today we will try to learn and remember how to make jam.
Almost any berries and fruits are suitable for making jam. Ripe fragrant strawberries, cherries and currants, strong ruddy apples, peaches and apricots, beloved blueberries and blueberries, and even such exotic fruits for our regions as walnuts and green tomatoes, everything goes into business. Various additives will also be useful when cooking delicious jam, for example, cherry leaves are suitable for gooseberry jam, blackcurrant leaves can be added to white currant jelly, and watermelon and melon peel jam is unthinkable without vanilla and lemon juice. Jam also differs in its consistency, it is convenient to spread a thick homogeneous jam on a morning toast or a sandwich, and the jam itself, which has a much more liquid syrup texture, but whole berries are so nice to eat with tea on cold winter evenings.
Today there are an infinite number of recipes and methods for cooking jam. Both cooking time and method differ 
preparing berries and fruits, and even the base of the syrup. Someone makes jam using sugar syrup, while someone, remembering old traditions, makes berries in honey. Everyone can choose a recipe according to their strengths and means. Nevertheless, the basic principles of preparation, little secrets and tricks developed by generations of our ancestors, are relevant to this day.
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 cookware for cooking your jam, try to pay attention to deep and wide basins or pots made of copper, aluminum or stainless steel. The best at all times were considered copper basins for jam with a convenient long handle. Jam in such a basin is prepared quickly, which helps to preserve the color and aroma of berries. However, it is important to ensure that no green oxide of copper oxides harmful to health is formed on the inner surface of such a basin. Aluminum and stainless steel pots and pans are free from this drawback. But it is better to refrain from using enameled utensils, it is too likely that your jam will burn and will be completely ruined.
2. Berries and fruits for jam, try to choose the best and freshest. Of course, only those berries that you picked in your garden on the day of cooking can be ideal berries for making jam, but, unfortunately, this is not available to everyone. When buying berries in the market or in the store, try to give preference to local fruits. Such berries and fruits make a much shorter way to our table, which means that they retain the fullness of taste and aroma much better. Most berries and fruits are best taken not quite ripe, but choose ripe cherries and plums. Carefully make sure that your berries do not have any visible flaws, damage, dark spots, bruises. Do not forget to smell the berries before buying, because the more vivid and expressive the aroma of fresh fruits is, the more delicious and fragrant your jam will turn out.
3. In order to prepare a truly delicious and beautiful jam, first of all, you should properly prepare sugar syrup. After all, only on well-prepared syrup can you make jam of the best quality, such a jam will have a clean, transparent syrup and whole, beautiful and fragrant berries. To cook such syrup is not at all 
complicated. Take 1 kg. sugar, pour into a bowl for cooking jam, add ½ cup of clean water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. After boiling, slightly reduce the heat, stop stirring and boil the syrup, only slightly shaking the basin, trying not to allow caramelization. Your syrup will be completely ready when it flows down from a spoon lowered into it with a thick viscous stream. You will see - berries boiled in such syrup perfectly retain their shape.
4. During the cooking of jam, a foam is formed on its surface, which must be removed, because this foam not only spoils the appearance of your dish, but can also cause premature souring. However, one should not rush and try to remove the foam as soon as it appears. Before the end of cooking, let your jam boil as much as possible and immediately remove from heat, then wait a couple of minutes until the berries settle. Now boldly pick up a slotted spoon and carefully remove all the resulting foam. This method will allow you to most carefully remove even the smallest remnants of the foam, without damaging the berries, and, which is also important, will save your time and effort.
5. It is equally important and to correctly track the end of the cooking process. After all, undercooked jam can ferment or sour, and overcooked sugar will surely be candied and will not be able to please you with a bright taste and aroma. In order to correctly determine the moment when your jam is already completely ready, it is enough to use simple tips. Jam is ready when the foam does not diverge along the edges of the pelvis, but gathers closer to the center. In the finished jam, the berries are evenly distributed in the syrup, and not collected at the surface. A drop of ready-made jam syrup placed on a saucer does not spread, but retains its shape. If all these signs coincide, rather remove your jam from the fire, 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 carefully, taking care not to damage the berries, and remove the green sepals. Let the water drain and transfer your strawberries into a bowl for jam jam. Pour the berries with one kilogram of sugar and put in a cool place for several hours until the strawberries start juice. Then place the bowl on a low heat and bring the strawberries with sugar to a boil with gentle but thorough stirring. As soon as your jam boils, immediately remove it from the heat and let it brew for 8 hours. Then boil the jam until cooked over the smallest fire, trying to prevent excessive boiling. Jam prepared in this way fully preserves the bright taste and aroma of the berries, and the syrup is clean and completely transparent.
7. It is even easier to cook tasty, aromatic and such healthy raspberry jam. Carefully sort one kilogram of raspberry berries, remove branches and sepals and rinse gently. Transfer the berries to a deep saucepan and cover with one kilogram of sugar. Leave the raspberries and sugar for 4 - 5 hours, then pour the resulting syrup into a bowl for cooking jam, bring to a boil and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Transfer your berries to 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 the resulting foam and pour the jam into jars. This jam preserves the taste and all the beneficial properties of fresh raspberries, but it should be stored in the refrigerator.
8. The recipe for delicious delicious cranberry and apple jam is offered to us by M. Syrnikov. Sort one kilogram of lingonberry, rinse and slightly drain. Peel three sour apples, remove the core and cut into 8 pieces each. Cook 1 kg sugar syrup. sugar and ½ cup of water, as described above. Pour the berries and slices of apples into boiling syrup, bring to a boil again, then remove from heat and leave for 2 hours. Put the cooled jam on the fire again, bring to a boil and cool again for two hours. Then put the jam on low heat and cook until tender, gently shaking the basin and avoiding burning. Cool the jam and put it in the jars.
9. Delicious gooseberry jam will require painstaking preparation, but will thank you with its exquisite aroma and amazingly beautiful color. 800 gr. thoroughly rinse the green unripe gooseberries, cut branches and the remnants of dried flowers, with a sharp knife make a small incision on each berry and carefully remove the seeds. In a deep saucepan, boil 2 liters of water, add 50 - 100 g. fresh cherry leaves, cook for 10 minutes, remove from heat and immediately pour the prepared gooseberry berries. Cover the pan and let stand for 12 hours. Then drain the resulting broth into a separate bowl and remove the cherry leaves. Place 1 ½ kg in the jam basin. sugar, add 1 cup of the stored broth and boil a thick syrup. When the syrup is ready, pour the berries into it, bring it to a boil again and cook on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, gently shaking the basin and avoiding burning. Cool the jam, remove the foam and pour your jam into the jars.
10. Indian cuisine invites us to try the original spicy and piquant jam from rhubarb and ginger. 400 gr. wash the rhubarb stalks, peel off the coarsened skin and cut into thin slices. Place rhubarb in a cooking pot, add 3 tbsp. tablespoons of grated fresh ginger, 1 ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of chopped lemon peel. Place the pan on the lowest heat and melt the sugar. Make sure sugar does not burn! When the sugar is completely melted and the rhubarb gives juice, add heat and bring your jam to a boil. Reduce the heat to a minimum and cook the jam for 20 minutes until cooked. Cool the jam and put it in the jars. Keep in the refrigerator.
And on the pages of "Culinary Eden" you can always find many new and proven recipes that will surely help you find the answer to the question of how to make jam.
The season of jam cooking is coming. Modern housewives ask the question: what to cook it in? And the question is far from idle. In a good way, jam should preserve not only the taste and aroma of summer berries and fruits, but also vitamins. And besides, do not get saturated with any harmful impurities from the dishes.
Our grandmothers traditionally boiled berries in copper basins. In Soviet times, such tubs with wooden handles on the sides were considered the highest chic. Not everyone had it, but every mistress in the USSR dreamed of this copper miracle. It was believed that it was in such a basin that the best and most delicious jam was obtained! But no, today the situation has changed.
It turns out that copper utensils are in no way suitable for these purposes. Firstly, copper oxides that are harmful to our health and dissolved in fruit acids when cooking acidic fruits (cherry plum, dogwood, etc.) can get into jam. But this is not even the case (the polished pelvis 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 all, there are no vitamins in the jam, only berries!
We asked for a comment on the candidate of medical sciences Natalia Tikhonycheva:
Our grandmothers, indeed, preferred to cook jam in copper basins. But I will not advise housewives to adhere to this custom, because copper ions destroy the beneficial ascorbic acid in berries and fruits. If the farm has only a copper basin, do not forget to properly care for it. Before and after cooking, thoroughly wash and rinse the pelvis with hot water, then dry until all moisture is removed. If copper oxide has appeared, wipe it thoroughly with sand, wash the basin with hot water and soap, dry it, and only then proceed with cooking the jam.
So what to cook? Aluminum utensils are 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 fall into our delicacy. In principle, enameled utensils work well. But a problem may arise with it: enamel at high temperatures risks breaking off.
So the best dish for cooking jam is stainless steel utensils.
And now a selection of rare and interesting jam recipes from our grandmothers:
Rhubarb jam
Rinse, peel and cut 1 kg of rhubarb, add about 600 g of sugar and leave for 8 - 10 hours. Drain the resulting juice and put on fire, bring to a boil, pour another 600 g of sugar. When the syrup boils, lower the rhubarb slices into it, bring the jam to a boil, remove from heat and let it brew for an hour. Then simmer for 5 minutes, add, if desired, ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and immediately pour into pasteurized jars, roll and turn upside down until it cools.
Blackcurrant jam
Recipe: water - 3 cups, sugar 14 cups, currant - 11 cups.
From the whole norm of water and half sugar, boil the syrup. As soon as the syrup boils, pour all the berries. From the moment of boiling the syrup with berries, cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Then remove from the fire pour the remaining sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved, you can cook the jam, but do not boil. The jam is jelly, aromatic.
Pear and Orange Jam
Recipe: honey - 165 g, sugar - 200 g, lemon juice - 2 tbsp. spoons, cloves - 6 pcs., solid pears - 1 kg, small oranges - 4 pcs., sliced \u200b\u200blemon - 1 pcs., mint leaves - 4 pcs., water - 900 ml.
Mix honey, sugar, lemon juice and cloves in water. Remove the peel from the pear, remove the core, leave the tail. Pear in a mixture with honey, mix, bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat, close the lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Transfer the pears with a slotted spoon to a bowl, and put the oranges in the pan, from which it is necessary to remove the skin and white pulp, bring to a boil, cook the oranges without a lid for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put oranges in a bowl with pears. Bring the syrup to a boil, boil for 10 minutes without a lid. Pour the syrup onto the fruit, add the slices of lemon and mint. Boil for 5 minutes, cool.
Small green tomato jam
For 1 kg of tomatoes: 1 kg of sugar, 4 lemons.
Rinse green tomatoes - small, rinse, place in a bowl, pour cold salt water (50 g per 0.5 liter of water) and leave for 12 hours. Then boil, drain the water, and rinse the tomatoes with cold water 2 to 3 times. Juice is squeezed out of lemons, the zest is finely cut, combined and heated over low heat. Falling asleep slowly, stir the sugar until sugar is completely dissolved. Put the tomatoes in the syrup and cook over low heat, periodically removing the foam, until the tomatoes become transparent. Ready jam is packaged in sterilized jars and rolled up. Tomatoes retain a vivid, natural color during cooking.
Aronia jam with apples
Recipe: 1 kg of mountain ash, 1 kg of Antonovka apples, 2 kg of sugar, water - 900 gr.
Rinse, dry, mince berries. Cut apples into slices. Then combine with sugar, add water and cook until cooked.
White Acacia 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 and grind with 800 g of sugar in your hands and leave in an enameled bowl for 12 hours. Cook syrup from water, juice and remaining sugar. Pour acacia flowers and cook for 30 - 40 minutes until cooked.
Barberry Jam
Washed and peeled ripe berries seeds pour sugar syrup (1 kg of berries - 1 kg of sugar) and leave for a day. Water for syrup - 1 cup. Cook in three doses until cooked (usually 30 to 40 minutes). Jam is well stored in a cool place under a nylon cover.
Assorted jam
Gooseberries, cherries, strawberries, apricots - wash, dry ,. For cherries and apricots, remove seeds - by weight there should be 1 kg of fruit. Cook the fruits in syrup - 30 minutes. (For 1.25 kg of sugar - 2 cups of water). Cool the prepared jam and put into jars, close with plastic lids.
Pear jam
Pears - 1 kg, sugar - 1 kg, water 1.5 cups, citric acid 4 gr.
Peel the pears from the skin and core, cut into slices, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water and cool in cold. Dip the pears in hot syrup and cook in 3 divided doses. At the end of cooking, add citric acid or juice of 1 lemon.
Plum jam
Wash the plums and remove the seeds. Cook sugar syrup, put the plums in syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, boil for 8 - 10 minutes and cool. During the cooking process, the jam should be shaken, not mixed. Put the jam in the jars hot.
Zucchini jam with black currant
2 kg of peeled zucchini, diced, mix with 1 kg of blackcurrant berries, pour 3 kg of sugar and leave for 12 hours. Cook in three doses for 5 minutes, each time allowing the jam to cool. Put the jam in the jars and close the lid.
Assorted jam
Pears and apples of 0.5 kg cut into cubes pour 0.5 tbsp. water and 300 grams of sugar, boil and leave for 10 hours. The next day, add 500 g of plums, cut into 4 parts, without seeds, pour another 300 g of sugar, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, pour 0.5 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and cloves. Stir on and off. Put in cans and roll up.
Melon and Raspberry Jam
Recipe: melon - 1 kg, raspberries - 300 g, Saar - 800 g, water - 1 cup, lemon - 1 pc.
Wash the lemon, dry it, remove the zest, cover it with sugar, pour over lemon juice and leave for 1 hour. Wash, dry, remove the peel, peel the seeds, cut into small pieces. Sort raspberries, wash and dry quickly.
Drain the lemon juice from the peels, add water and boil the syrup over low heat. After boiling add melon, as soon as the melon is soft add raspberries, continue to cook until thickened. Arrange the jam in sterilized jars and close the lids.
Southern jam
Recipe: watermelon peels - 1 kg, sugar - 1.5 kg, water - 500 ml, zest of one lemon, juice of one lemon.
Peel the watermelon peels from the top of the skin and separate the flesh. Cut the white crust into cubes. Pour the crusts with hot water and cook for 5 - 10 minutes, then put them on a sieve and cool. Cook syrup from water and sugar, add zest, lemon juice, watermelon peels, cook for 20-30 minutes, then remove from heat and leave in syrup for 2 hours. Then repeat this operation, let the jam stand for 2 hours, cook for a third time on low heat until the crusts are transparent. Put the jam in jars.
Strawberry jam
Strawberries - 1 kg, sugar - 1 kg, juice of one lemon.
Sort the berries, wash, dry, place in a bowl in which jam will be boiled, add sugar, lemon juice and leave for 5 hours. Then cook for 15 minutes on low heat. Cook until ready in a day. Pour the jam into clean jars.
Strawberries (strawberries) in red currant juice
Strawberries (strawberries) - 1 kg, redcurrant juice - 300 gr.
Wash, dry, lay the berries in a saucepan, pour the juice, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, pour into sterilized jars and roll.
Rosehip and mountain ash jam
600 g of rose hips clear of hairs and seeds. Rowan fruits 400 g (best Nevezhinsky) are blanched in 2 - 5 minutes, and then cook in three doses until cooked with 1 tbsp of water from blanching and 1.3 kg of sugar. Pour the finished jam into clean jars. Blanching - boiling over high heat.
Gooseberry jam
Recipe: berries - 2 kg, honey 1 kg, walnuts - how many berries will take.
Rinse large unripe berries of gooseberry, dry it, carefully remove the seeds without cutting the berries, fill the gooseberries with walnut kernels. You can make halves, but crush the nuts. Pour the berries with honey and cook the jam until cooked.
Strawberry or Strawberry Jam
Go through the berries, wash, let the water drain. N 1 kg of berries take 1 kg of sugar and instead of water 1 glass of sour juice (red currant, apples, plums or gooseberries). Dip the berries into the hot sugar and juice syrup and cook until tender, stirring constantly and removing 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 turned out to be liquid, you will have to sterilize the jars for 15 to 20 minutes and roll up the lids.
Raspberries with sugar
For this jam, you can use both garden and forest raspberries. Go through the berries, remove the damaged ones. If there are raspberry beetle larvae (white larvae), dip the berries for 10-15 minutes in salted water (20 g of salt per liter of water) and the larvae will emerge. Otherwise: sprinkle the berries on the table, the worms themselves will crawl out. Rinse raspberries in a colander with water and beat with a mixer. Put the resulting mass into enameled or porcelain dishes, add granulated sugar 1.5 kg per 1 kg of raspberries and mix to completely dissolve the sugar. Place in clean, dry cans and seal tightly.
Pumpkin jam
Peel the pumpkin from the peel and grains. Pour cold water into a basin or pan, put soda and lower the pumpkin, cut into large pieces. Leave for a day. Then drain the water, wash the pumpkin with cold water and place on a sieve. When the water drains, cut the pumpkin into squares.
Cook the syrup, put the pumpkin into it, but do not interfere. When the jam begins to boil, remove it from the heat for several hours, so that the pumpkin does not boil and it does not turn out to be jam. Then cook until cooked.
For 1 kg of pumpkin, 1.5 kg of sugar, 1 tablespoon of soda, 0.75 cups of water.
Pumpkin and apple jam
For such a jam you will need: 5 kg of pumpkin, 2 lemons, 2 kg of apples, 5 kg of sugar.
Peel the pumpkin and seeds, pass through a meat grinder, add lemons without grains, passed through a meat grinder. Wash apples, peel, cut into cubes. Pour granulated sugar into pumpkin, lemon and apples. Cook in three doses for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, stirring continuously.
Ginger apple jam
1 kg of apples, 1 kg of sand, tablespoons of grated ginger, 1 cup of water, 2 large lemons.
Wash apples, dry, remove the core thinly cut into cubes. Remove the zest from the lemon and squeeze the juice. From syrup and water, boil the syrup, add the zest and lemon juice, apples, ginger, grated to the syrup. Cook jam until thickened. Pour into dry, sterilized jars, close the lid.
Rowan jam
It is better to take berries of the Nezhin mountain ash. Dip the berries for 3 - 5 minutes in boiling water or put in a warm oven for 1 - 2 hours. For 1 kg of mountain ash, take 1.5 kg of sugar and 3 cups of water. Pour the berries in boiling syrup and cook after 6 to 8 hours, removing several times for 10 to 15 minutes. Ready jam date stand 10 - 13 hours, then put in jars. If the syrup is liquid, drain it, keep it on the fire to “evaporate” and pour the jam again.
To preserve the maximum benefit, jam is cooked in 2-3 doses for one minute cooking, leaving between cooking until completely cooled. This is a vitamins-sparing cooking method, although it can be cooked in one serving - usually from 10 minutes to the time it is dense enough. 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 chopped as desired, and then boiled with sugar. Sugar is a strong preservative, so any jam is stored for a long time, and if you follow the rules of hygiene, then the jam will last all winter.
1. The proportions of fruits and sugar when making jam.
As a rule, 1 kilogram of sugar is taken per kilogram of berries.
2. How to cook jam?
Jam is cooked in brass or steel utensils - ideally wide enough basins so that the lower layers of the fruits do not soften under the weight of the upper ones.
3. Storage of jam.
Jam must be poured into prepared jars: washed in hot water with soda and warmed to dry completely in the oven (at a temperature of 60 degrees 10 minutes). Store jam at a temperature of 5-25 degrees in a dark place, at least occasionally ventilated.
4. On what fire to cook jam?
Jam must be cooked over a quiet fire, so that it does not burn and that all useful substances are not boiled.
5. When is the jam ready?
Jam is cooked when a drop of syrup becomes completely tight.
6. Should I remove foam from the jam?
Foam when jam jam.
7. What if 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 give contained natural gelatin. Another option is to use dry powder.
8. How to cook jam without cooking? :)
For one can of fruit, take 1 can of sugar (or 1 kilogram of fruit - 2 kilograms of sugar), grind with a mixer. Store grated mass in the refrigerator.
9. How to organize the storage of jam?
To store jam, you can print labels with the name of the blanks and the date. Or just write on the bank with a marker.
Cookware for jam
Jam is boiled in pan or bowl. The basin is good in that a large open surface provides enhanced evaporation of the 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 in between the stages of jam cooking.Can be used:
Enameled cookware - it is suitable for cooking jam. But it is worth considering that even a small chip of enamel makes it impossible to use a basin or pot.
Stainless steel cookware is suitable for cooking jam, but sometimes the finished product acquires a “metallic” flavor.
Can not use:
Copper pots, although they are traditionally considered the best utensils for cooking jam. Modern research suggests the opposite - copper is not suitable for making jam. Fruits and berries contain an acid that can dissolve copper oxides, in the form of patina (dark plaque) protruding on the surface of the dishes. Even if the pelvis is torn to a shine, it is still not worth using it for cooking - copper ions destroy ascorbic acid, depriving jam of even a minimal amount of vitamin C.
Aluminum cookware categorically can not be used for cooking jam. Fruit acid destroys the oxide film on the walls of the pot or basin and aluminum molecules enter the product.
Pour jam into jars is better with a small ladle, because the mouths of the cans are usually narrow - the risk of spilling jam is likely.
About sugar in jam
- Sugar when cooking jam acts as a sweetener, thickener and preservative. When cooking jam, sugar is divided into fructose and glucose, this contributes to its rapid absorption by the body.When cooking jam, sugar is most often used, obtained from sugar varieties of beets and cane. Exotic types of sugar: maple, palm, sorghum in Russia are rare and are not used for cooking jam, like brown unrefined cane raw sugar.
If you reduce the rate of bookmarking sugar, jam will be less high-calorie. But there is a risk at the exit to get the consistency of compote, not jam. Sugar can be replaced with pectin-based food additives. This improves the consistency of jam "Confiture", "Quittin", "Zhelfiks" and the like.
Methods for cooking jam
1 way to cook jam - classic
1. Pour sugar into the dishes.2. Pour sugar with cold water.
3. Put 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 the berries.
8. Cool the jam for 5 hours.
9. Put on fire, bring to a boil again and cook for 10 minutes, gently stirring and removing the foam.
10. Cool again.
11. Last time bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
12. Cool and pour jam into jars.
2 way jam jam - fast
1. Wash and dry the fruits.2. Put the fruits in a bowl.
3. Pour in sugar and stir.
4. Leave for 5 hours.
5. Put a basin on the fire.
6. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly.
7. Cook for 5 minutes.
Jars for jam
Glass jars are used to store jam. They close the cans with tin lids using a seaming machine or twist the lids with a “twist” lid - they come in different diameters;Ready jam is laid out in clean, dry jars. If the product is packaged in a jar where drops of water remain, then the jam will not be stored - it will grow moldy or ferment. Banks are washed with hot water and soda. You need to rinse the jar inside and out with water, pour a teaspoon of soda on the sponge and thoroughly wipe the inner and then the outer surfaces of the cans. Then rinse the jar thoroughly with water. The fact that the jar is well washed, says a characteristic creak when holding a finger on its surface. Household chemicals (detergents for dishes) should not be used. These products have a strong smell, which is stored on the dishes and can ruin the aroma of the jam itself. Lids are also thoroughly washed with soda.
Clean jars in which it is planned to store jam must be sterilized. For this:
1. Pour water into the pan, install a special holder for cans and put on medium heat.
2. When the water begins to boil, place the can upside down on the holder (the neck enters the hole in the holder). Steam the can for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the jar from the holder (using a towel or potholders) and place it upside down on a clean towel. After five minutes, put the jar on its side - so 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 as directed.
4. Lids also need to be sterilized: put in a pot with boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Remove (pry with a fork) and put to dry on a clean towel.
More ways to sterilize cans:
- Pour 5-5 centimeters of water into a wide pan, install a microwave grate and put the cans upside down. When the water boils, steam will sterilize the cans. So it is necessary to sterilize them for 15 minutes.
- strengthen the jar on the spout of a boiling kettle;
- pour jar of boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes under the lid;
- in the microwave: pour a little (about 1 centimeter from the bottom) of water into the jar. Put in the microwave, power 700 W, processing time 2 minutes;
- in the oven: put wet cans on a baking sheet. Turn on the oven. The heating temperature is not more than 130 degrees, the processing time is about 5 minutes (until the cans dry inside and out);
- in a slow cooker: pour 2 cups of water into the appliance bowl, place the cans in a steaming grid. "Baking" or "Steaming" modes. Processing time 5 minutes after boiling water. This method is good for small jars.
Attention! If it overheats or changes in temperature (for example, cold water gets into a hot jar), the jar may burst. Be careful!
Fruit preserves
Berry jam
Other preserves
All about cooking jam
What is cooking?
- Blanks
- Jam
“Recently, you can find a variety of recommendations regarding what is better to cook jam. Some experts (in particular, in your journal No. 1988) say that copper utensils are not suitable. Others are enamelled and praise “comfortable copper and brass pots”. What are the reasons for such discrepancies? ”
V.A. Kozhurnikov, pos. Medvedok of the Kirov region
This question is answered by a senior researcher at the Research Institute of Hygiene named after F. F. Erisman of the Ministry of Health of the RSFSR, candidate of medical sciences R. I. ANISKINA.
From a hygienic point of view, jam can be cooked in any tableware or kitchen utensils for food use. All of it is made from materials permitted by the Ministry of Health of the USSR for contact with food.
However, berries and fruits contain organic acids, which can cause increased corrosion of jam-contacting surfaces. Therefore, it is advisable to use stainless steel or enameled cookware.
It is allowed to cook jam in copper or brass basins. However, due to the fact that copper in the presence of atmospheric oxygen quickly corrodes, you should know:
Do not use honey
basins or brass
with darkened or coated on
summer surface. They must
we must always be carefully started.
puppies and polished to a shine
Ready jam is needed
i can immediately transfer to another
dishes and pots immediately
How to wash burnt jam?
Many housewives in the berry-fruit period are preparing jam for the winter. They try to closely monitor the process of cooking a sweet dish, but it happens that a treat burns. Read how to wash burnt jam and use various folk tricks for cleaning the pan, depending on what material it is made of.
Each pan has its own “pill”
It’s better to clean the pan from jam in the old fashioned way
Not every housewife knows how to wash burnt jam using safe preparations. It is strictly forbidden to use aggressive chemicals, alkaline powders, to clean enameled pans. It is better to use soda, but rubbing the surface with an iron brush is not recommended. Soda is poured with water and boiled, then left overnight. In the morning, the pan is cleaned with a simple soft sponge. The aluminum pan is washed in the same way.
Enameled dishes are not poured with cold water immediately after shifting the jam. This leads to the formation of microcracks on the walls and bottom. But aluminum basins and pans should immediately be filled with cold water, before they have time to cool.
Stainless steel pans clean well with regular salt. Salt in a pan is boiled in water, left for several hours and rubbed with a hard washcloth or iron brush.
We use powder for stainless steel, so it can be used without fear that the pan will be damaged by scratches.
If jam has burnt, how to wash a teflon-coated pan, because powder and iron brushes are not applicable here. Soak dishes only with a solution that does not contain liquor. The pan is poured with hot water or boiling water, left for a while and rinsed with cold water.
To remove adhering or burnt sugar, you can use citric acid, boiling it in a burnt pan over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
If jam is burnt, keep in mind how to wash the pan with onion peel. A whole onion with husk is cooked in a bowl. At the same time, the housewives can not be afraid of a pungent smell - it immediately disappears.
Jam - what to cook in which dish is better to cook:
Of course, jam is best cooked in a wide and shallow dish - in the basin. Indeed, in the process of multiple (usually 3 times) heating to a boil of berries with syrup, evaporation of excess liquid occurs, and the jam becomes thick.
Jam 5-minute can be cooked in a conventional pan, because after 5 minutes of boiling, the jam still does not become thicker. In such a jam, the density is achieved by gelling the contents.
Cookware for jam can be taken from food stainless steel, copper, brass or enameled.
In no case should you cook jam in an aluminum container! During cooking, the protective oxide layer on the walls of aluminum utensils dissolves from acid, which is always present in berries and spoils the treat, and aluminum particles getting into the jam harm health.
Enameled utensils are safe for health, however, jam often burns in it, so it is better to choose a basin or pan from a stainless steel.
Copper or brass pots were very popular in the past, our grandmothers cooked their delicious jam in these. In a copper bowl, the jam does not burn and retains its color and aroma.
But we must remember that for jam the basin of copper or brass should be ideally cleaned of oxides. It turns out that copper oxides dissolved in fruit acids from a darkened basin penetrate the jam. Therefore, the copper basin should simply shine, only then it is suitable for cooking.
Conclusion: the best capacity for cooking jam is a basin or a wide pan of stainless steel.
Buy yourself such dishes, and you will be sure that your jam is safe for health and has retained all the vitamins.
How to make jam
How to make jam
1. The proportions of fruits and sugar when making jam.
As a rule, 1 kilogram of sugar is taken per kilogram of berries.
2. How to cook jam?
Jam is cooked in brass or steel utensils - ideally wide enough basins so that the lower layers of the fruits do not soften under the weight of the upper ones.
3. Storage of jam.
Jam must be poured into prepared jars: washed in hot water with soda and warmed to dry completely in the oven (at a temperature of 60 degrees 10 minutes). Store jam at a temperature of 10-15 degrees in a dark place.
4. On what fire to cook jam?
Jam must be cooked over a quiet fire.
5. When is the jam ready?
Jam is cooked when a drop of syrup becomes completely tight.
6. Should I remove foam from the jam?
Foam when jam jam.
7. What if jam does not thicken?
8. How to cook jam without boiling.)
For one can of fruit, take 1 can of sugar (or 1 kilogram of fruit - 2 kilograms of sugar), grind with a mixer. Store grated mass in the refrigerator.
9. How to organize the storage of jam?
To store jam, you can print labels with the name of the blanks and the date. Or just write on the bank with a marker.
Cookware for jam
Jam is boiled in a pan or basin. The basin is good in that a large open surface provides enhanced evaporation of the 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 in between the stages of jam cooking.
Can be used:
Enameled cookware - it is suitable for cooking jam. But it is worth considering that even a small chip of enamel makes it impossible to use a basin or pot.
Stainless steel cookware is suitable for cooking jam, but sometimes the finished product acquires a “metallic” flavor.
Can not use:
Copper pots, although they are traditionally considered the best utensils for cooking jam. Modern research suggests the opposite - copper is not suitable for making jam. Fruits and berries contain an acid that can dissolve copper oxides, in the form of patina (dark plaque) protruding on the surface of the dishes. Even if the pelvis is torn to a shine, it is still not worth using it for cooking - copper ions destroy ascorbic acid, depriving jam of even a minimal amount of vitamin C.
Pour jam into jars is better with a small ladle, because the mouths of the cans are usually narrow - the risk of spilling jam is likely.
About sugar in jam
Sugar when cooking jam acts as a sweetener, thickener and preservative. When cooking jam, sugar is divided into fructose and glucose, this contributes to its rapid absorption by the body.
When cooking jam, sugar is most often used, obtained from sugar varieties of beets and cane. Exotic types of sugar: maple, palm, sorghum in Russia are rare and are not used for cooking jam, like brown unrefined cane raw sugar.
If you reduce the rate of bookmarking sugar, jam will be less high-calorie. But there is a risk at the exit to get the consistency of compote, not jam. Sugar can be replaced with pectin-based food additives. It improves the consistency of jam "Confiture", "Quittin", "Zhelfiks".
In what dishes to cook the jam so that it does not burn, it turned out tasty, fragrant, healthy and stored for a long time in the pantry or cellar?
You need to choose taking into account the material, shape and volume. Not the last role in the selection is played by the type of berries and fruits used for harvesting. If different options are suitable for sweet apples, then for currants and cherries with a high acid content will have to be limited only to certain types. Learn the theory to make the right purchase.
The shape and volume of utensils for cooking jam
In a large volume, tender berries are remembered, so experienced housewives never make jam on 6-10 kg. The gentler the main ingredient, the smaller should be the serving. It is desirable to cook strawberries, strawberries and raspberries maximum 2 kgand apricots, cherries, currants and plums - 3 kg each.
For a small portion of jam, enough dishes with a volume of 4-4.5 liters. If you like to make blanks in bulk, look for a six-liter capacity. It is better to spend more time on two parties, but to prepare tasty preparations for the winter.
Proper utensils for cooking jam should be shallow but wide - by type of pelvis. In such a container, excess moisture will evaporate faster, and pieces of fruit will not be damaged, evenly warmed up and soaked in sugar syrup. High pots and figured dishes, in which the bottom and top are much narrower than the sides, do not fit.
Lids are not used in the cooking process, but they can come in handy at the stage when the berries are covered with sugar or jam for several hours and insisted in syrup. But if there is no lid in a suitable dish, it does not matter, you can cover it with a towel or pick up another lid.
Handles make it easy to turn jam on the stove and remove from the oven. If there are none, then there should be a neck, which you can grasp in handpieces in handpieces.
Ideal material for jam
When choosing a suitable dish for making jam, it is important to consider the features of the recipe. There are cooking methods in one go, and there are recipes that require threefold heating with infusion in between boiling. If you can’t leave the jam in the dishes for the night, you will have to pour it into another pan each time.
Copper basin - a classic of the genre
In ancient cookbooks, the most common recommendations for choosing copper utensils for jam. This was inherited from grandmother to granddaughter. Benefits:
- Copper is characterized by high thermal conductivity, so basins and cups quickly and evenly warm up.
- In copper utensils, it is easier to control the temperature, since it cools quickly after reducing 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 copper is viewed differently and it is impossible to say that a copper basin is the best choice for jam and jams. During the heat treatment, copper ions react with acids, destroying vitamins. In poor-quality cooking utensils, copper oxides hazardous to health can be ingested during cooking.
To eliminate oxidation, for the heat treatment of fruits and berries, you need to use tinned copper bowls with an inner coating. Most often used for coating tin - metal to be reduced. Not so long ago, manufacturers learned how to coat copper with stainless steel. This 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 for similar ones from other metals. Therefore, it is not advisable to buy cookware made of copper for jam blanks. Cheaper are brass pots made of copper-zinc alloy. If you inherited the copper utensils, make sure the integrity of the coating and, if necessary, turn in for repair.
Stainless steel - a modern approach
Stainless steel jam cookware meets all safety requirements and is considered the best of all for cherries, currants, apricots, cranberries. Stainless steel is an absolutely 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 jam from sour berries and fruits in several stages. In it you can fill the berries with sugar, leaving it in this form for several hours without any risk and fear. Useful substances and vitamins in stainless steel products are stored with a higher degree of probability, but during heat treatment they, of course, partially disappear.
Food grade steel is used to make dull and polished dishes. This is not reflected in 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.
More important to pay attention to metal thickness, especially in the bottom. A thin bottom for jam and jams, and especially for continuous cooking, will not work. The maximum for which thin-walled products can be used is the preparation of "five-minute" from strawberries, strawberries, currants, cherries and other berries that do not require long cooking.
On sale there are pots with a multilayer bottom, made by capsule technology. Such a bottom consists of several types of metals, which makes heating more uniform, protects against deformation and extends the service life of kitchen utensils.
Aluminum - Terms of Use
It is better not to choose aluminum utensils for cooking jam, since this metal tends to react with acids and oxidize. This interaction leads to the fact that harmful substances enter the product.
However, many housewives cook jam and jams in aluminum basins, observing safety measures:
- Choose aluminum utensils for cooking fruits and berries with low acidity - apples, figs, peaches, cherries, plums.
- Use aluminum exclusively for cooking on the stove. Sprinkle the berries with sugar and leave to insist before subsequent heating in another pan.
- Stir the mass constantly so that the contents do not stick.
- Refuse recipes for jams that require a long heat treatment and thickening.
Overview of products from online stores
This short review will help you get a good idea of \u200b\u200bwhat dishes for home-made jams, jams, marmalades, jams, and other fruit and berry sweets look like for the winter.
A stainless steel jam basin from the French company Mauviel has a bottom diameter of 36 cm, which is ideal for a home kitchen oven. The height of the walls is 12 cm. The inner surface is matte, the outer one is mirror. Two comfortable handles. The dishes are ideal for jam from cherries, cranberries, currants and other sour berries.
A 4.5-liter copper basin is suitable for small portions of fruit and berry preparations. The bottom of the dishes is smaller than the diameter of the top, which accelerates boiling, but requires stirring.
Inexpensive basin for jam "Kalitva" of a domestic manufacturer is made of aluminum. Suitable for quick cooking in one go. Better to use for sweet fruits. Volume - 12 liters. It is convenient for preparing fruits - washing, slicing, sorting the crop. The large diameter of the bottom is not suitable for all plates!
A 3-liter brass basin with a removable wooden handle is suitable for homemade workpieces on any stove except induction. The long handle is convenient for shaking the contents so that the syrup evenly covers pieces of fruit and berries.
Be sure to check the cost of goods in different stores. Even products with the same article number can cost differently. Products of European manufacturers are always more expensive than domestic and Asian. Russian brands have many good offers.
It makes no sense to buy a special basin if you plan a single harvest. Using the obtained theoretical knowledge, choose in which dish it is better to cook jam from the existing one.