Making Fruit Jams
Jam is simply fruit cooked with sugar until the natural pectin binds the mixture into a spreadable gel. You bring the fruit and sugar to a rolling boil, testing the set by dropping a spoonful onto a cold plate; if it wrinkles when pushed with a finger, it is finished.
Balance is the goal
Use fruit that is just barely ripe; overripe fruit loses its ability to gel properly. Have your sterilized jars ready before you turn on the stove.
- wide-bottomed stainless steel pot
- potato masher
- small ceramic plate
- canning jars with new lids
What goes in.
- 4 cupsprepared fruit, chopped or mashed
- 3 cupsgranulated sugar
- 2 tbspfresh lemon juice
Spotting the gel point
Keep a small plate in the freezer from the start. When the jam begins to thicken in the pot, pull the plate out and drop a small dollop of jam onto it; if the surface wrinkles when you nudge it, the jam is ready to seal.
The method.
Macerate the fruit
Combine the fruit and sugar in your pot and let it sit for 30 minutes until the sugar draws the juices out of the cells.
Bring to a boil
Place the pot over medium-high heat. Stir constantly to prevent burning as the sugar dissolves. Once it reaches a rolling boil—a boil that doesn't stop when you stir it—add the lemon juice.
Cook to set
Maintain the boil. Use a spoon to skim any foam off the surface. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens and passes the cold plate test.
Jar and seal
Ladle the hot jam into warm, sterilized jars, leaving a quarter-inch of space at the top. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth, screw on the lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Do not double the recipe at once; large batches take too long to boil down and the fruit will overcook before it sets.
If your jam doesn't set, do not re-boil it for too long or the sugar will caramelize and lose its fruit brightness.
Store jars in a cool, dark place to maintain the color of the fruit.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I reduce the amount of sugar?
Sugar is a structural component of jam. Reducing it significantly will prevent the mixture from gelling, resulting in a thin syrup rather than a spread.
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