Homemade jams: Basic notions for their preparation (Part I)

Making jam is a pleasure, and enjoying it is a real joy. The main process for preparing it is really simple, but there are many points that are important to know. That is why we have asked Virginia, author of Sweet&Sour , to tell us a little more about them, hoping that you will find it interesting (*post updated in June 2018).

At the end of summer, there are plenty of fruits and vegetables at good prices, which makes all of us who enjoy cooking and homemade preparations start preparing homemade preserves.

Making jams at home is easy, but it is important to know a series of basic points that will help us to ensure that our preserves have a pleasant texture and flavour, do not lose colour, and last a long time in the pantry without running unnecessary health risks.

Over the course of two posts, we will examine everything from the different varieties of preserves, to the basic ingredients and their preparation, to the sterilization of jars, pasteurization and emptying of their contents.

Let's start at the beginning: We are used to calling jam almost all preserves prepared from fruit and/or vegetables with sugar. However, not all of them are jams, and not all of them are the same. Let's take a look at them:

I.- JAMS, PRESERVES AND JELLIES:

Within the canned fruits and vegetables with sugar we basically find 3 types of preserves: jams, preserves and jellies.

Jam is understood as the preserve of fruit and/or vegetables previously chopped and macerated in sugar for a few hours, with an addition of sugar that is usually between 45% and 100% of the weight of the clean fruit.

Jams are cooked for a long time, until the fruit practically turns into a puree. It is advisable to stir the mixture frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan due to the amount of sugar.

Note that the English term "marmalade" is only used for preserved citrus fruits.

(Left) Example of jam texture; (Right) Example of jelly

Jams are prepared from whole fruit and sometimes also from chopped fruit, but instead of using sugar directly, they are made with a syrup of about 250 ml of water per kilo of sugar, until a thick texture is achieved.

Jam is cooked for a shorter period of time, since in this case the fruit has to maintain a certain shape and consistency.

Ultimately, the most visual difference between a jam and a preserve is in the texture. A jam is a puree, whereas in a preserve we will find pieces of fruit, apart from the different proportion of sugar and the different way it is incorporated into the fruit.

Jellies , on the other hand, are fluid and almost transparent preserves and are made with sugar and concentrated fruit juice. The tastiest are those made with fruit, which contains a lot of pectin. They are basically used as desserts or as glazes for pastries and cakes, as they prevent the pastry base from softening with the filling, and also help marzipan to adhere better, for example.

To obtain fruit juice, a small fruit juicer is very useful, as it will allow us to obtain concentrated fruit juice.

II.- PREPARATION, INGREDIENTS AND THE DONENESS OF THE JAM

1.- To make fruit preserves, it is best to use fruit that is just at the right point of ripeness, neither too green nor too ripe. In fact, very ripe fruit contains less pectin, a fundamental element in the preparation of this type of sweet preserves that allows it to gelatinize due to the effect of heat.

Fruits must be washed well beforehand, especially if they are peeled or have skins that may contain pesticides. Washing must be done very carefully so as not to damage them, so that they do not lose their juices. In addition, they must be dried thoroughly so as not to add more water than strictly necessary to the preserve. We must also discard any damaged parts or fruits, as they can spoil our jam or preserve.

For stone fruits, such as cherries, it is very useful to use a good pitter ( I recommend the one from Oxo ). In addition to saving you time and keeping the fruit in its shape, it will prevent you from getting your hands too dirty.

Oxo Small Fruit Juicer and Cherry and Olive Pit Remover

2.- Sugar is a fundamental element, not only as a sweetener, but also as a preservative.
We must bear in mind that the fruit should never be cooked before the sugar has dissolved. That is why the fruit is left to soak in the sugar so that it slowly dissolves in jams. And in preserves and jellies, the sugar is added after being dissolved in water, in the form of syrup.

The proportion depends a little on the type of preserve, the type of fruit and the taste, even on the time we want to keep them, but it is an average of 700 g to 1 kg of sugar, per kilo of chopped and clean fruit.

You can use either white or brown cane sugar. There is also special sugar for jams on the market, which contains pectin.

3.- Lemon is also a common ingredient, as in addition to helping with preservation, it adds pectin and compensates for the lack of acidity in some fruits.

4.- Another fundamental element in the preparation of homemade jam is, as we have already seen, Pectin, as a gelatinizing element: pectin is a natural substance that some fruits contain, to a greater or lesser extent, and that when cooked turns into a gelatin that makes the jam “set”.
The fruits that contain the most pectin are apples, quince, citrus fruits and red fruits such as currants or plums.

When a fruit does not contain pectin, there are several solutions, from combining it with other fruits that do contain this element, adding pectin to commercial preparations, and even including apple skins, seeds or cores in a gauze during cooking and then removing them.

It should be noted that overcooking destroys pectin. This is why it is not advisable to overcook our fruit preserves.

Another thing to keep in mind when preparing a preserve made from fruit and sugar is that with the heat of cooking, the preparation is much more liquid, and as it cools it thickens. Therefore, to know the point of the jam, that is, to know when the jam is ready and we can remove it from the heat, we must use a thermometer (you can see the ones we have here , although I especially recommend the Gefu digital thermometer , cheap, precise and perfect for all types of food and preparations). The jam will be ready when it reaches a temperature of between 104º-105º C.

Another more homely option, to check the jam if we don't have a thermometer , and which is usually infallible, is to put a small amount of the preparation that we are cooking on a cold plate, cool it quickly by putting it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. After this time, take it out and push the jam with your finger. If it "wrinkles" and sticks to the plate it will be ready, otherwise it will have to be cooked for longer.

Although making our own preserves may seem more romantic by doing it with the more usual method, over the fire and stirring, it is worth mentioning that nowadays there is a really convenient option that many people already take advantage of, and that is to prepare them with the bread maker : many bread makers, or at least one of the most popular ones, the Moulinex bread maker , incorporate a program that is specific for jams. So, you put the ingredients (for example, the fruit, sugar and lemon juice) in the bread maker's bucket, press the program 15 button (in the case of the Moulinex), and the bread maker does the rest. There is a great advantage to this process, and it is that you do not have to keep stirring: the bread maker's blades stir the ingredients and ensure that they do not stick while the machine provides all the heat that the preparation needs.

Recipe for apricot jam in a Buyer saucepan , for the almond cake with jam

Finally, we must bear in mind that the preparation of sweet preserves must be done a few weeks before consumption, to give the ingredients time to settle their flavors.

To do this, it will be important to store them in properly sterilized jars or, if we are going to consume them in a short time, at least in vacuum-sealed jars. This is what we will see in the second part, which we will dedicate to preserves.

Finally, I would like to mention another utensil that you will find very useful, the wide-necked funnel , perfect for pouring your jams into jars.

For now and until next week, if you want to take note of some recipes to make your own jams, you can see the recipes of:

- Peach jam, in the recipe for almond cake with jam

- Rhubarb and Banana Jam with Citrus

- Cherry and blueberry jam

- Green Apple Jelly

If you are interested in making your own jams and preserves, there is a book that may interest you: From the garden to the pantry, by Mariano Bueno (here).