fishertrop wrote:I have know idea how to make jam - any chance you could post an idiots-guide?
The basic method is to boil fruit and sugar together until the jam is ready to set as indicated by it reaching a specific temperature or the more common method of waiting until a drop put on a cold plate forms a skin.
The specifics depend upon what fruit you're using, and it's fairly important to follow a recipe since you need to have your fruit and sugar in the correct proportions.
If you have a go and have problems or successes, then the following is a good website (and not just for jam, but many of the practical things discussed here):
I know this isn't strictly speaking about living locally, but as you're on the subject of jam...
Anyone know of a good staple recipe book with an emphasis on nutritional meals that don't need cooking? Obviously I know fruit can be eaten raw, but what about vegetables, or things like bread?
As always cleanliness is of greatest importance when handling food and especially if you want it to last.
All fruit or berries (referred to as fruit from here onwards) should be of best quality for a good result. If the fruit does not come up to that standard jam can still be made but put it in small plastic containers and stored in the freezer.
The fruit should not be too ripe as the level of natural pectin in the fruit goes down. In the ripening process the pectin is changed into sugar and therefor the fruit gets sweeter as it ripens. The pectin is needed for thickening the jam. It can be bought and added if one has problems thickening the jam. It is also a good idea to add some lemon juice to make the mix more sour as the pectin benefits from that kind of environment.
The fruit should be cleaned from any dirt, leaves and peel & seeds (in some cases should be removed). Big fruit should be chopped up in bits.
The fruit and sugar relationship could be discussed but if you want to make a jam without other preservatives you need a high sugar contents. I use equal amounts of sugar and fruit. If you want to lower the sugar contents you could add sodium benzoate. There will be instructions on the packaging about how much to add. The normal ratio between fruit and sugar with sodium benzoate is 2 parts fruit to 1 part sugar. If you are sugar conscious it might be a better idea to use less sugar and store it in smaller plastic containers in the freezer. The sugar helps to thicken the jam too so it will be a runnier jam if no extra pectin is added.
Put the fruit in a saucepan, the wider the better as it helps to reduce the water contains while cooking the fruit. Add as little water as you can get away with and add the sugar. Cook the fruit until soft and lost its structure. I often use a hand blender to speed up the process. If it is only berries they can be cooked without water added but then it has to be mixed with sugar and left to stand overnight to bring out the juices from the berries. Then the jam boils up it foams. It is protein floating to the top taking bacteria and other things with it. Try to remove as much of the foam as possible with a ladle with holes (sorry can?t think of what they are called). As the jam reduces (water evaporating) it will start to thicken. As it start to form a ?skin? on top as it cools down it is ready. If you dip a spoon in the jam and put it to the side to let it cool you will see that it gets thick.
Use clean glass jars and lids for storage. Put them in boiling water including the lids. This is to clean them extra and to heat them up. Pour the piping hot jam in the jars almost to the top and secure the lid. The jam cooling down will create a under pressure in the jar and the lid get sucked down. This will make a good seal. Unopened jars can be kept in room temperature but lower temperatures like in a cellar or similar will be better. The jam will be fine for years as long as the seal is not broken. The opened jars should be kept in the fridge. If you go for secondary fruit or low sugar jam without preservative you should let the jam cool before putting it in plastic containers.
Thanks.
I have to take that as a complement, however, I m not the writing type. My husband likes to write books and he keeps going on about me doing so too. Are you a jam maker yourself or just generally interested in self-sufficiency?
How will we make jam when things get really tough and sugar is scarce? For eg, can honey be used instead of sugar? Can bottled fruit (without sugar) last as long as jam?
Jam requires sugar, but I see no technical problem with honey, however you would get a different favour, as honey in itself is full of flavours.
What we in everyday talk call sugar is sucrose, which is a molecule built up by one glucose and one fructose (fruit sugar) molecule, both simple kind of sugars, mono-sugars. When sugar is split into the two parts it is called invert sugar. Honey is invert sugar, water and some residue of pollen and other bits that the bees picked up, hence the flavour.
Canned fruit should be made in syrup. If you have a very clean environment like in food industries you can produce canned fruit in its own juice or water but it is not something I would recommend for homemade food. It might work if you use a lot of preservatives but what?s the point of that, it when would be better to store the produce in the freezer. If you want long lasting things it is better to dry the fruit or berries and soak them in water when needed and cook a jam-like pur?e from them, with or without some honey. It is not to be equalled to jam but in a situation where things gone that bad I am sure we would appreciate a treat like that.
. A year at least (unless it does go off), but its nice to have in your sandwiches each day,
