Make Jam Yourself: This Is How The Sweet Fruit Spread Succeeds

Nothing beats homemade Jam! So that nothing goes wrong if you want to make your Jam, here are the best tips and recipes. If you make Jam yourself, you do nothing else than preserve fruit with sugar. Supremely sustainable, that is. Primarily if you use local fruit that is in season, in this way, you bring more variety to your jam kitchen at the same time.

Fortunately, making a jam yourself is not rocket science. Consider a few things to ensure that your fruit spread lasts as long as possible. Before we get to the jam recipes, we would like to give you a few tips in advance.

Which Fruits Are Best For Jam?

You can make Jam from any fruit. Fruits with a high pectin content are particularly suitable. Pectin is a natural binding agent and ensures that the fruit gels and the mess get the right consistency.

Important: 

The riper the fruit is, the less pectin it contains since the substance is broken down during the ripening process. To make Jam yourself, do not use overripe fruit.

Fruits High In Pectin Include:

• apples
• Grapes
• gooseberries
• currants
• blueberries
• cranberries
• citrus fruits
• quinces

But Jam can also be made from fruits with a low pectin content. However, you have to add additional pectin – for example, via gelling sugar or homemade pectin.

It’s So Easy To Make Pectin Yourself:

You need:

• 1 kg green apples (not quite ripe yet)
• 1 lemon (juice and seeds)
• about 1 liter of water

Wash the apples, chop them coarsely and bring to a boil in a thick-bottomed saucepan with the peel and core, lemon juice, lemon seeds, and water.

Then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Do not stir as this may cloud the pectin. Pass the apples through a sieve (do not press!). Allow the juice to cool and use immediately or freeze.

The recipe yields about 1 kg. Calculate 250-300 g of apple pectin per 1 kg of fruit.

Make Jam Yourself: With Preserving Sugar

The easiest and fastest way to cook Jam is by preserving sugar. In contrast to regular sugar, maintaining sugar already contains some pectin. This is especially handy for making Jam from fruits naturally containing little or no pectin.

These Include:

• cherries
• kiwis
• pineapple
• sea ​​buckthorn
• mango
• rhubarb

How Much Preserving Sugar Do You Need Concerning The Fruit?

Typically, gelling sugar is added in a 1:1 ratio. That means 500 g of preserving sugar for every 500 g of fruit.

Does it sound like a lot? It is. Jam sugars contain more pectin, so you need less jam sugar overall to thicken the Jam. This results in fruit-preserving-sugar ratios of 2:1 or 3:1.

important: 

The less sugar or preserving sugar there is in a jam, the shorter it will keep since the sugar is responsible for safeguarding it. To compensate, jam sugars in a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 often contain preservatives.

Make Jam Yourself: Without Jam Sugar

If you want natural Jam without preservatives or controversial palm oil (often found in jam sugar), you should avoid jam sugar. Instead, you preserve the fruit in conventional sugar.

In the case of fruit containing pectin, it is sufficient to add the juice of a lemon to thicken the Jam. Fruit with little or no pectin can be mixed with homemade apple pectin to make jams without jam sugar (see above). Alternatively, you can add agar (1 teaspoon per 500 g fruit) or locust bean gum (3 teaspoons per 250 g fruit) as a gelling agent.

In general, homemade Jam without jam sugar takes longer to cook because the pectin first has to be released naturally.

How Much Sugar Do You Need Concerning Fruit?

To prevent germs or bacteria from forming in your Jam, you should use 700-1000 g of sugar per kilo of fruit.

What Is The Difference Between Table Sugar And Canning Sugar?

Instead of white granulated sugar, you can use special preserving sugar (also called preserving raffinate) if you want to make Jam yourself. Unlike maintaining sugar, preserving sugar also contains no pectin.

However, preserving sugar is coarser than regular table sugar and should ensure that the jam foams less when cooking. You should always skim off the foam, as it forms a breeding ground for bacteria and mold.

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Make Jam Yourself: Without Sugar

It is even possible to make your Jam without sugar. However, the fruit spread can only be stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

Instead Of Sugar, You Can Use One Of The Following Sweeteners:

• honey
• agave syrup
• maple syrup
• xylitol
• Stevia

Dates (approx. 20 pieces per 500 g of fruit) are a natural sweetener for homemade Jam. Or you can grate some apples into the fruit mixture (1 apple per 500 g of fruit).

Quick Jam Without Cooking And Without Sugar: Puree the fruit with a hand blender and sweeten it to taste with one of the sugar substitutes mentioned above. When using the cold method for Jam, you can use 2-3 teaspoons of chia seeds or linseed as a binding agent.

It Would Be Best If You Had This To Make Jam Yourself

You don’t need a lot of accessories to make a jam yourself. Here are the essential materials (besides the cooking ingredients).

• Large stainless steel pot with a thick bottom
• spoon for stirring
• Ladle for skimming off the foam
• Hand blender
• High mixing vessel
• citrus press
• Small mason jars with lids
• Optional: fine-mesh sieve (for Jam without pits)
• Optional: Household thermometer (the optimum cooking temperature for the spot is 105 degrees)

Simple Jam Recipes To Imitate

In the cookbook “Panty: supplies simply made yourself,” you will find great recipes for Jam without artificial gelling agents. But that’s not all. You’ll also get a lot of inspiration for stocking up on other foods.

You will be taught everything in the tome from pickling to canning to pickling and salting. The perfect book for all do-it-yourselfers!

For starters, we’ll focus on three quick jam recipes that even a beginner should be able to pull off.

Recipe: Make Your Peach Jam

You Need These Ingredients:

For about 1.5 kg

• approx. 1.5 kg ripe peaches
• water to boil + 100 ml water
• juice of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 orange
• 900 grams of sugar

This Is How You Cook The Peach Jam:

1. Wash the peaches. Bring plenty of water to a boil in a saucepan. Blanch the peaches in several batches for approx. 1 minute. Remove and let cool slightly. Then skin, stone, and cut the flesh into small pieces.
2. Heat 100ml water, lemon and orange juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and cook uncovered until it reaches about 105 degrees. Stir occasionally and skim carefully.
3. Test the jelly and remove it from the heat when the Jam is ready. Pour into hot, well-cleaned screw-top jars, close, turn over and allow to cool.

Recipe: Make Your Strawberry Jam (classic)

You Only Need These Ingredients:

For approx. 1.4 kg

• 1 kg of strawberries
• 750 grams of sugar
• juice of 1 lemon

This Is How You Cook The Strawberry Jam:

1. Clean and wash the strawberries. Discard spoiled strawberries. Slice the strawberries and layer them alternately with the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Leave in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
2. Stir in the lemon juice and melt the sugar over low heat. Increase the heat and cook uncovered until it reaches about 105 degrees. Stir occasionally and skim carefully.
3. Pour into hot, well-cleaned screw-top jars, close, invert the pots, and allow to cool.

Recipe: Pineapple Banana Jam With Coconut

You Need These Ingredients:

For approx. 960 g

• 500 grams of pineapple
• 3 bananas
• 25-50 g grated coconut
• 100 grams of sugar
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp cornstarch

Here’s How To Prepare It:

1. Peel the pineapple, cut it up and cut out the stalk. Roughly grate the flesh. Peel and slice the bananas.
2. Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a saucepan, except for the cornstarch, and then simmer for approx. 10 minutes. She was occasionally stirring. Mash everything with a potato masher and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
3. Mix the cornstarch with a bit of cold water until smooth, pour into the fruit mixture while stirring, and bring to a boil, stirring, until it thickens.
4. Pour into hot, well-cleaned screw-top jars, close, invert the pots, and allow to cool. The Jam can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

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First Aid: This Is How Liquid Jam Becomes Solid

The gelling test tells you whether the consistency of your Jam is right: When the spot has simmered for 5 minutes, put a few tablespoons on a plate and wait 1-2 minutes. If the jam sample no longer melts afterward, it has thickened enough and is ready.

In the Jam is too runny (even after it has boiled down for a long time), you can add a grated apple to gel it. If the fruit is lovely, a little lemon juice can help.

If the Jam is too stiff, it is best to boil it again and add a little water and lemon juice.

How Do You Preserve Homemade Jam?

Due to the long cooking and the lots of sugar, homemade Jam can even last for several years. You have provided you keep them in the dark and cool place. However, it would be best to keep opened jams in the refrigerator.

Jam also freezes wonderfully. Then it would be best if you left a thumb’s width distance to the lid when filling. This gives the Jam enough space in the jar when it expands in the cold in the freezer.

Five Tips To Make Jam Last Longer

Use Pristine Fruit: Since overripe fruit will go moldy more quickly, you should only choose fruit with no mushy spots. You should also wash the fruit well before cooking. If you don’t have fresh fruit, you can use frozen fruit to make your Jam. Before that, you should thaw the frozen fruit briefly.

Use Several Small Jars: The Jam does not spoil as quickly if you fill it in many small pots instead of a few large jars.

Sterilize Jam Jars: Rinse the jars with hot water before pouring them into the hot Jam. Also, clean the lid thoroughly.

Turn Jam Upside Down: If you have filled the Jam freshly into the jar, you immediately close the lid and turn the sealed jam jar upside down for 5 minutes. The resulting vacuum extends the shelf life of the Jam.

Spoon Jam: Do not put your finger or the used knife into the jam jar. This allows bacteria to spread. Instead, always use a fresh spoon.

Refine Homemade Jam

If classic jams are too dull for you, you can pimp the recipes with fresh herbs, spices, or spirits.

Extra Ingredients For Refined Jams:

• vanilla bean
• cinnamon stick
• lavender flowers
• lemongrass
• desiccated coconut
• ginger
• chili
• mint
• basil
• rosemary
• thyme
• sparkling wine
• rum
• amaretto
• gin

The Difference Between Jam And Jam

Whether you make Jam or marmalade depends primarily on whether you crush the fruit before cooking or not.

• Jam is made from pureed fruit.
• Jam is cooked from whole or chunky fruit.
• Jelly is not made from fruit but pure fruit juice.

According to the EU regulation of 1979, “jam” consists of citrus fruits. Everything else is “jam.” There is, therefore, no such thing as strawberry jam or peach jam.

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