Jam can be made from various fruits and it contains all the nutrition that a fruit has. It is a sweet preserved food product which you can get very easily in the market but the taste of home made jam is different and it is savored with much more enthusiasm. Jam is made from the pulp of fruits and you can also mix a few common family fruits together to make mixed fruit jam. Jams made from berries taste a bit sour and hence add a great taste to sandwiches or different kinds of breads. Here’s a recipe for making jam. Follow the instructions and tips and end up preparing a yummy jam for you and your family. Read on.
Complexity Level: Moderate
Time required: 30-40 minutes
Resources required:
- Fruits or berries
- Pectin
- 5 cups of Sugar
- Paraffin wax
- Jars for canning
- various utensils
Instructions:
1. Wash the fruits
Wash the fruits and remove them of all the pesticides that are sprayed on them when they are grown. Wipe them with a dry cloth and remove all the excessive water on them.
2. Make a pulp
Peel the fruits if the peel can be removed. Then, mash the berries or fruits into a smooth pulp. Keep this pulp in a large bowl. When made into a pulp the jam will cook well and will mix well with the remaining ingredients.
3. Cook the pulp
Add the packet of pectin with the pulp of fruits you have just mashed. Pour this entire mixture in a cooking pot. Mix well and then cook this mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil and keep stiring the mixture continuously. If you do not stir it, it will tend to burn at the base. The mixture slowly starts turning thick.
4. Add sugar
When the mixture is at a stage when it cannot be stirred any more and becomes thick, you need to add 5 cups of sugar in it. The sugar should be in the form of small granules so that it mixes well with the pulp. Mix this well. All the sugar should be added at one time to ensure even melting. Now cook this mixture for only 2 minutes and bring to a boil.
5. Store in jars
Once the mixture boils and all the sugar melts, remove the pot from the heat and pour the mixture in clean and sterilized jars. The hot mixture should be poured in jars as once the mixture cools the jam will set and you cannot pour it. Apply little paraffin wax on the rim of the jars and then fit the lid so that it remains air tight and no water enters the jars.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How to make grape jam?
To make grape jam, first skin the grapes and cook the skins and pulp in different pots. Once the pulp cooks, using a sieve put the pulp in the pot where the skins are cooking. This will separate the seeds from the pulp. Seeds can be thrown away. Once the whole mixture is mixed, add the sugar. Cook the mixture till it becomes thick, for about 10 minutes. Then pour the mixture in jars.
Quick Tips:
- Paraffin wax ensures the jars remain air tight and also no moisture enters the jar. Jam can be preserved for long.
- Use sugar substitutes instead of normal sugar so that diabetic patients can eat the jam as well.
Things To Watch Out For:
- Store jam jars in a cool and dry place to get more life for them.
- Once you open a jam jar keep it in the refrigerator.
