Choosing which container to cook the jam in
1. Basin or pan - which is better to cook jam in?
When choosing the shape of a vessel for making jam, it is recommended to give preference to shallow containers with a wide bottom. This way, the dish will cook evenly, and the larger surface area will allow excess moisture to evaporate faster.
The larger the surface area of the jam container, the better. It is also important that the tender and soft berries retain their shape and do not turn into jam. When cooking jam in a pan, raspberries or blueberries can be crushed under the weight of a thick layer of food. In this case, a bowl for making jam is an ideal option.
2. In which container is it better to cook jam: aluminum, copper, or stainless steel
Its taste and beneficial composition depend on the container in which the jam is cooked. An incorrectly selected material for the cooking container can not only spoil the quality of the finished dish, but also affect the longevity of its storage. What is important is that the oxidation products of some metals can be harmful to health.
2.1. Stainless steel
The best utensils for making jam are stainless steel. It’s not for nothing that this material is called “food grade”: the metal does not react with food and food acids. Jam prepared in a stainless steel pan or basin will retain its taste and benefits.
A stainless steel basin is the best utensil for making jam If a dish is prepared in several stages, it can be left in the container without fear for the container itself and the jam.
2.2. If there is no steel cookware: aluminum or copper
The best recipes from our grandmothers recommend using a copper basin for making jam. If you want to completely repeat the cooking process to get the “taste of childhood”, this is acceptable. A container made of such metal has good thermal conductivity, and the dish in it cooks evenly, without burning.
But copper cookware has disadvantages:
- When heated, copper ions react with ascorbic acid, completely destroying beneficial vitamins;
- Copper oxides, which can get into a dish during cooking, are harmful to the human body.
It is important to polish the copper basin for making jam well before use. If you choose copper cookware, it must be thoroughly cleaned and polished. When the jam is cooked in several stages, you should not leave it in a copper basin to cool, but rather pour it into another container.
Copper containers are rare today, so housewives are wondering: is it possible to cook jam in an aluminum pan or basin? It is allowed to use utensils made of this metal, but only in extreme cases.
There will always be an oxide film on the surface of such containers, which is destroyed when interacting with food acids, and particles of the substance end up in the dish. Such utensils can be used for quick cooking in one stage, and the finished product should be immediately poured into jars.
2.3. Enameled utensils for making jam
The downside of enamel cookware is its fragility. At high temperatures, enamel tends to crack. Coating particles may fall directly into the jam. And the exposed metal reacts with acids that are released by berries and fruits, destroying valuable vitamin C.
It is not recommended to use enamel dishes for making jam.3. Modern utensils for jam, which is better: Teflon or ceramic?
When choosing which pan to cook jam in, Teflon is not the best option. This coating does not withstand high temperatures. You can use such dishes to prepare a small amount of delicacy using the quick cooking method.
Ceramic cookware has many advantages:
- long service life;
- uniform heating;
- insensitivity to temperature changes.
Ceramic cookware is ideal for quickly cooking jam But ceramics cools very slowly. Therefore, when cooking jam in several stages, it will have to be constantly poured.
4. Summary
By choosing the right utensils, you will greatly simplify the process of making jam. And the dish will not only be tasty, but will also retain the beneficial properties of berries and fruits.
The jam making season is coming. Modern housewives are wondering: what to cook it in? And the question is by no means an idle one. In a good way, jam should preserve not only the taste and aroma of summer berries and fruits, but also vitamins. And besides, do not absorb any harmful impurities from the dishes.
Our grandmothers traditionally boiled berries in copper basins. In Soviet times, such tubs with wooden handles on the sides were considered the highest chic. Not everyone had them, but every housewife in the USSR dreamed of this copper miracle. There was an opinion that it was in such a basin that the best and most delicious jam was made! But no, today the situation has changed.
It turns out that copper utensils are in no way suitable for these purposes. Firstly, copper oxides, which are harmful to our health, dissolved by fruit acids when cooking sour fruits (cherry plum, dogwood, etc.) can get into the jam. But that’s not even the point (a perfectly polished basin is safe in this regard). The problem is that it turns out that the smallest amount of copper ions leads to the destruction of ascorbic acid - and that’s it, there are no vitamins in the jam, just berries!
We turned to Candidate of Medical Sciences Natalya Tikhonycheva for comment:
Our grandmothers, indeed, preferred to cook jam in copper basins. But I would not advise housewives to adhere to this custom, because copper ions destroy the beneficial ascorbic acid in berries and fruits. If the household only has a copper basin, do not forget to properly care for it. Before and after cooking, thoroughly wash and rinse the basin with hot water, then dry until the moisture is completely removed. If copper oxide appears, thoroughly wipe it with sand, wash the basin with hot water and soap, dry it, and only then start making jam.
So what should you cook in? Aluminum cookware is also not suitable for our purposes. The high acidity of the jam will destroy the oxide film on the metal surface, and a small amount of aluminum will inevitably end up in our delicacy. In principle, enamel cookware works well. But a problem can arise with it: at high temperatures, the enamel runs the risk of chipping.
So the best vessel for making jam is stainless steel.
And now a selection of rare and interesting jam recipes from our grandmothers:
Rhubarb jam
Wash, peel and cut 1 kg of rhubarb, add about 600 grams of sugar and leave for 8 - 10 hours. Drain the resulting juice and put on the fire, bring to a boil, add another 600 grams of sugar. When the syrup boils, put pieces of rhubarb in it, bring the jam to a boil, remove from heat and let it brew for an hour. Then simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, add ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon if desired and immediately pour into pasteurized jars, roll up and turn upside down until cool.
Blackcurrant jam
Recipe: water - 3 glasses, sugar 14 glasses, currants - 11 glasses.
Boil syrup from all the water and half the sugar. As soon as the syrup boils, add all the berries. From the moment the syrup with berries boils, cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Then remove from the heat, add the remaining sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved; you can cook the jam, but do not boil. The jam turns out jelly-like and aromatic.
Pear and orange jam
Recipe: honey – 165 g, sugar – 200 g, lemon juice – 2 tbsp. spoons, cloves - 6 pcs., hard pears - 1 kg, small oranges - 4 pcs., lemon cut into slices - 1 pc., mint leaves - 4 pcs., water - 900 ml.
Mix honey, sugar, lemon juice and cloves in water. Peel the pear, remove the core, and leave the tail. Place the pears in the mixture with honey, stir, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat, close the lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears into a bowl, and put the oranges into the pan, remove the skin and white pulp from them, bring to a boil, cook the oranges without a lid for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the oranges to the bowl with the pears. Bring the syrup to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes without a lid. Pour the syrup over the fruit, add lemon slices and mint. Boil for 5 minutes, cool.
Small green tomato jam
For 1 kg of tomatoes: 1 kg of sugar, 4 lemons.
Green tomatoes – small ones – rinse, place in a bowl, add cold salted water (50 grams per 0.5 liter of water) and leave for 12 hours. Then boil, drain the water, and rinse the tomatoes with cold water 2-3 times. The juice is squeezed out of the lemons, the zest is finely chopped, combined and heated over low heat. Add the sugar slowly and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place tomatoes in the syrup and cook over low heat, periodically removing the foam, until the tomatoes become transparent. The finished jam is packaged in sterilized jars and rolled up. Tomatoes retain their bright natural color when cooked.
Chokeberry jam with apples
Recipe: 1 kg of rowan, 1 kg of Antonovka apples, 2 kg of sugar, water – 900 g.
Wash the berries, dry them, and pass through a meat grinder. Cut the apples into slices. Then combine with sugar, add water and cook until tender.
White acacia flower jam
400 grams of white acacia flowers, 1.2 kg of sugar, 1 tbsp. grape juice, 1 tbsp. water.
Peel the acacia flowers so that only white petals remain, rub them with your hands with 800 grams of sugar and leave in an enamel bowl for 12 hours. Boil syrup from water, juice and remaining sugar. Pour in the acacia flowers and cook for 30 – 40 minutes until fully cooked.
Barberry jam
Pour washed and seeded ripe berries with sugar syrup (1 kg of berries - 1 kg of sugar) and leave for a day. Water for syrup - 1 glass. Cook in three batches until done (usually 30 – 40 minutes). The jam is stored well in a cool place under a nylon lid.
Assorted jam
Gooseberries, cherries, strawberries, apricots - wash, dry. Remove pits from cherries and apricots - the weight of the fruit should be 1 kg. Boil the fruits in syrup for 30 minutes. (For 1.25 kg of sugar - 2 glasses of water). Cool the finished jam and package it in jars, close with plastic lids.
Pear jam
Pears – 1 kg, sugar – 1 kg, water 1.5 cups, citric acid 4 g.
Peel and core the pears, cut into slices, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water and cool in cold water. Dip the pears into hot syrup and cook in 3 batches, allowing to stand. At the end of cooking, add citric acid or the juice of 1 lemon.
Plum jam
Wash the plums and remove the pits. Boil the sugar syrup, put the plum halves into the syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, boil for 8 - 10 minutes and cool. During the cooking process, the jam should be shaken, not stirred. Place the finished jam in hot jars.
Zucchini jam with black currants
2 kg of peeled zucchini, cut into cubes, mixed with 1 kg of black currants, add 3 kg of sugar and leave for 12 hours. Cook in three batches for 5 minutes, letting the jam cool each time. Place the finished jam into jars and close with a lid.
Assorted jam
Cut pears and apples, 0.5 kg each into cubes, pour 0.5 tbsp. water and 300 grams of sugar, boil and leave for 10 hours. The next day, add 500 grams of pitted plums cut into 4 pieces, add another 300 grams of sugar, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, add 0.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and cloves. Stir and turn off. Place in jars and roll up.
Melon and raspberry jam
Recipe: melon – 1 kg, raspberries – 300 g, Saar – 800 g, water – 1 glass, lemon – 1 pc.
Wash the lemon, dry it, remove the zest, cover it with granulated sugar, pour over lemon juice and leave for 1 hour. Wash the melon, dry it, remove the peel, remove the seeds, cut into small pieces. Sort the raspberries, wash and dry quickly.
Drain the lemon juice from the peels, add water and simmer the syrup over low heat. After boiling, add melon, as soon as the melon is soft add raspberries, continue cooking until thickened. Place the jam in sterilized jars and close the lids.
Southern jam
Recipe: watermelon rinds – 1 kg, sugar – 1.5 kg, water – 500 ml, zest of one lemon, juice of one lemon.
Peel the watermelon rinds and separate the pulp. Cut the white peel into cubes. Pour hot water over the crusts and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, then place on a sieve and cool. Boil syrup from water and sugar, add zest, lemon juice, cook watermelon rinds for 20 - 30 minutes, then remove from heat and leave in syrup for 2 hours. Then repeat this operation, once again let the jam sit for 2 hours, cook for the third time on low heat until the crusts are transparent. Place the finished jam into jars.
Strawberry jam
Strawberries – 1 kg, sugar – 1 kg, juice of one lemon.
Sort the berries, wash, dry, place in a bowl in which the jam will be cooked, add sugar, lemon juice and leave for 5 hours. Then cook for 15 minutes on low heat. Cook until fully cooked in a day. Pour the finished jam into clean jars.
Strawberries (strawberries) in red currant juice
Strawberries (strawberries) – 1 kg, red currant juice – 300 g.
Wash the berries, dry them, place them in a saucepan, add juice, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, pour into sterilized jars and roll up.
Rosehip-rowanberry jam
Remove hairs and seeds from 600 grams of rose hips. Blanch 400 g of rowan fruits (preferably nevezhinskaya) for 2 - 5 minutes, and then cook in three batches until tender with the addition of 1 tbsp of blanching water and 1.3 kg of sugar. Pour the finished jam into clean jars. Blanching is boiling over high heat.
Gooseberry jam
Recipe: berries - 2 kg, honey 1 kg, walnuts - how much the berries will take.
Wash large unripe gooseberries, dry them, carefully remove the seeds without cutting the berries, fill the gooseberries with walnut kernels. You can make it in halves, but crush the nuts. Pour honey over the berries and cook the jam until tender.
Strawberry or strawberry jam
Sort the berries, wash them, and let the water drain. For 1 kg of berries take 1 kg of sugar and instead of water 1 glass of sour juice (red currants, apples, plums or gooseberries). Dip the berries into a hot syrup of sugar and juice and cook until tender, stirring continuously and skimming off the foam. After 30 - 35 minutes from the moment of boiling, the jam is ready. At the end of cooking, you can add 2 - 3 grams of citric acid - this gives a beautiful color. Pour hot jam into heated dry jars, and when cooled, close the lid. If the jam turns out liquid, you will have to sterilize the jars for 15 - 20 minutes and roll up the lids.
Raspberries mashed with sugar
For this jam, you can use both garden and forest raspberries. Sort through the berries and remove any damaged ones. If there are raspberry beetle larvae (white larvae), dip the berries in salted water (20 grams of salt per liter of water) for 10 - 15 minutes and the larvae will float to the surface. There is another way: scatter the berries on the table, the worms will crawl out on their own. Rinse the raspberries in a colander with water and beat with a mixer. Place the resulting mass in an enamel or porcelain bowl, add 1.5 kg of granulated sugar per 1 kg of raspberries and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place in clean, dry jars and seal airtight.
Pumpkin jam
Remove peel and seeds from pumpkin. Pour cold water into a basin or pan, put baking soda and put in the pumpkin, cut into large pieces. Leave for a day. Then drain the water, wash the pumpkin with cold water and place in a sieve. When the water has drained, cut the pumpkin into squares.
Boil the syrup, put the pumpkin in it, but do not stir. When the jam boils, remove it from the heat for several hours so that the pumpkin does not boil and it does not turn into jam. Then cook until done.
For 1 kg of pumpkin, 1.5 kg of sugar, 1 tablespoon of soda, 0.75 cups of water.
Pumpkin and apple jam
For this jam you will need: 5 kg of pumpkin, 2 lemons, 2 kg of apples, 5 kg of sugar.
Peel the pumpkin and remove seeds, pass through a meat grinder, add lemons without seeds, passed through a meat grinder. Wash the apples, core them, cut into cubes. Pour granulated sugar into the pumpkin, lemon and apples. Cook in three batches for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, stirring continuously.
Ginger-apple jam
1 kg of apples, 1 kg of sand, a tablespoon of grated ginger, 1 glass of water, 2 large lemons.
Wash the apples, dry them, remove the core and cut into thin cubes. Remove the zest from the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Boil syrup from sugar and water, add lemon zest and juice, apples, grated ginger to the syrup. Cook the jam until it thickens. Pour into dry, sterilized jars and close with a lid.
Rowan jam
It is better to take Nezhin rowan berries. Dip the berries in boiling water for 3 - 5 minutes or place in a warm oven for 1 - 2 hours. For 1 kg of rowan, take 1.5 kg of sugar and 3 glasses of water. Pour boiling syrup over the berries and cook after 6–8 hours, removing them several times for 10–15 minutes. Let the finished jam sit for 10 – 13 hours, then put it into jars. If the syrup is liquid, drain it, keep it on the fire to “evaporate” and pour the jam again.
The time is coming when your favorite fruits and berries ripen, but this time is short-lived, and you want to preserve these wonderful gifts of nature for the whole year.
And there is a way out - make jam. And the question immediately arises:
The main requirement is that the dishes must be wide enough and low enough. This is necessary so that the liquid evaporates faster. The pelvis has just this shape. Therefore, the basin is considered the best vessel for making jam.
- The wider the bottom, the better. With a large area of contact with the fire, the basin will heat up faster and more evenly, therefore, the lower section of the jam will not be overcooked.
- To prevent it from burning, choose a basin with a whole, even, flat bottom. Otherwise, you will have to spend a lot of effort and time scraping off carbon deposits in cracks and gaps.
We decided on the form. Now the material from which this very basin should be made.
Stainless steel cookware (food grade) recognized as the best for making jam. In such containers, all the beneficial substances of the wonderful berries will not be destroyed, and the acid from the jam being prepared will not affect the quality of the dishes. In addition, jam can be left in such basins for a certain time without fear for either the basin or its contents.
It’s good if the basin in which the jam is supposed to be cooked is brass or copper. Although natural copper is very expensive, it has special properties, namely high thermal conductivity and durability. When cooking in such a basin, the jam will heat up evenly and will not burn.
Enameled basins can be used when cooked jam needs to be kept in the same container until the next cooking, or when it needs to be stored for some time before packaging.
But there is one necessary requirement for enamel cookware: there should not be the slightest crack on it, much less a chip of the enamel. Otherwise, in this case, iron will pass into the jam, and this will affect not only the appearance, but also the quality of the jam.
Is it possible to cook jam in an aluminum container?
You can cook in it, but you cannot store foods, especially those containing acids and salts, since under their influence the protective oxide film on the surface of the aluminum is destroyed.
Therefore, if the jam is cooked in one go, then it can be cooked in an aluminum container, but immediately after cooking, transfer it, for example, to glass jars. But if the jam is cooked in several stages, and it needs to settle in the same container until the next cooking, then aluminum cookware is not suitable in this case!
What should be the volume of the container for making jam?
The optimal volume will be from 2 to 6 liters. It is better not to use an even larger container, since delicate berries (for example, such as raspberries or strawberries) can choke from their own weight, and in this case the jam will turn out more like jam.
In addition, the larger the container, the longer the jam cooking time. And increasing the cooking time does not have the best effect on the quality of the jam.
Good luck!
Hello, dear readers of the site “Note to the Family”! My article today is for housewives, especially young ones, who are going to make jam, but don’t know which container is best to do it in. But experienced housewives will also be able to find useful information for themselves, for example, on how to clean a jam bowl.
So, what is the best container to cook jam in? Let's read!
Basic requirements for a vessel for making jam: it must be wide enough and low enough. This is necessary so that the liquid evaporates faster.
The pelvis has just this shape. Therefore, the basin is considered the best vessel for making jam.
We decided on the form. Now the material from which this very basin should be made. It is best if the basin in which the jam is supposed to be cooked is brass or copper. Cans made from of stainless steel.
Some people like to cook jam in enamel dishes. Enameled basins can be used when cooked jam needs to be kept in the same container until the next cooking, or when it needs to be stored for some time before packaging.
BUT! There is one necessary requirement for enamel cookware: it should not have the slightest crack, much less chipped enamel. Otherwise, in this case, iron will pass into the jam, and this will affect not only the appearance, but also the quality of the jam.
A separate question that comes up very often:
Is it possible to cook jam in an aluminum container?
There are so many people here, so many opinions. Some people dote on their aluminum cookware. They say it lasts forever, is very convenient, and the jam in it never burns. They use it themselves, their mothers and grandmothers used it, and everything is fine for everyone. And someone, having read or heard enough fears about aluminum in cooking, threw away all their aluminum cookware.
These are all extremes. Although personally, I also prefer not to use aluminum cookware. But from a scientific point of view, you can cook in it, but you cannot store foods, especially those containing acids and salts, since under their influence the protective oxide film on the surface of the aluminum is destroyed. Therefore, if the jam is cooked in one go, then if you really want to, you can cook it in an aluminum container. Only immediately after cooking transfer it, for example, into glass jars. But if the jam is cooked in several stages, and it needs to settle in the same container until the next cooking, then aluminum cookware is not suitable in this case!
We've sorted out the material. Now let's talk about volume of dishes for making jam. The optimal volume will be from 2 to 6 liters. It is better not to use an even larger container, since delicate berries (for example, such as raspberries or strawberries) can choke from their own weight, and in this case the jam will turn out more like jam. There is one more negative point: the larger the container, the longer the jam cooking time. And increasing the cooking time does not have the best effect on the quality of the jam.
And some more useful tips.
- If in one day you need to make jam from the same berries several times, then you do not need to wash the basin after each cooking.
- Before starting to cook the jam, carefully check the basin. There should be no greenish oxide stains on it!
How to clean a bowl for making jam
- In order to remove greenish oxide stains from the surface of the basin, it can be cleaned with sand or sandpaper, and then washed with hot water. The basin should then be dried, after which it can be used to make jam.
- A copper basin can be cleaned with the following composition: take 6 parts water, 3 parts ammonia and 1 part chalk. Shake the resulting liquid thoroughly. Using a rag, apply this liquid to the surface of the basin, then wipe it until shiny with a cloth or woolen cloth.
- Another way to clean a copper basin: mix flour, small sawdust and vinegar to a paste consistency. Cover the basin with this mixture and leave until dry, then clean it off and wipe the basin until it shines.
Well, the very last thing. After the process of making jam is completed, the container in which the jam was cooked must, of course, be thoroughly washed, and then it is advisable to dry it on the stove until completely dry.
Now, I think, you will no longer have the question: “In what container should I cook jam?” If the article was useful to you, do not be lazy to press the social buttons. networks, share with others.
Now the harvesting season is in full swing. I want to recommend you my proven recipes:
I wish you delicious preparations!
And I’m waiting for you again on the pages of my site!
Greetings dear visitors to the site “Notes for the Family”! We continue with the PRESERVATION section. Today I want to give you a recipe for lecho for the winter. I really like lecho prepared this way...
“Recently, you can come across a variety of recommendations about what is best to cook jam in. Some experts (in particular, and in your magazine in the issue of 1988) say that copper utensils are not suitable. Others are enameled and at the same time praise “comfortable copper and brass basins.” What is the basis for such discrepancies?”
V. A. Kozhurnikov, pos. Medvedok Kirov region
This question is answered by senior researcher at the F. F. Erisman Research Institute of Hygiene of the Ministry of Health of the RSFSR, Candidate of Medical Sciences R. I. ANISKINA.
From a hygienic point of view, jam can be made in any tableware or kitchen utensil for food use. All of it is made from materials approved by the USSR Ministry of Health for contact with food.
However, berries and fruits contain organic acids, which can cause increased corrosion of surfaces in contact with the jam. Therefore, it is advisable to use stainless steel or enameled utensils.
It is allowed to cook jam in copper or brass basins. However, due to the fact that copper quickly corrodes in the presence of atmospheric oxygen, you should know:
You can't use honey
steel or brass basins
with darkened or coated
surface in summer. They should
we must always begin carefully
puppies and polished to a shine
Ready-made jam is needed
I can immediately pour it into another
dishes and basins immediately
How to clean burnt jam?
During the berry and fruit season, many housewives prepare jam for the winter. They try to closely monitor the process of cooking the sweet dish, but it happens that the delicacy burns. Read how to clean burnt jam and use various folk tricks for cleaning a pan, depending on what material it is made of.
Each pan has its own “pill”
It’s better to clean the jam pan the old fashioned way.
Not every housewife knows how to clean burnt jam using safe products. To clean enamel pans, it is strictly forbidden to use aggressive chemicals - alkaline powders. It is better to use soda, but rubbing the surface with a wire brush is not recommended. Soda is poured with water and boiled, then left overnight. In the morning, clean the pan with a simple soft sponge. An aluminum pan can also be washed using the same method.
Enameled dishes should not be filled with cold water immediately after transferring the jam. This leads to the formation of microcracks on the walls and bottom. But aluminum basins and pans should be immediately filled with cold water, before they have time to cool down.
Stainless steel pans can be cleaned well with regular salt. The salt in the pan is boiled in water, left for several hours and scrubbed with a hard sponge or iron brush.
The powder is suitable for stainless steel, so it can be used without fear of the pan being damaged by scratches.
If the jam is burnt, how to wash a Teflon-coated pan, because powder and iron brushes are not suitable here. You can soak dishes only with a solution that does not contain lye. The pan is filled with hot water or boiling water, left for a while and rinsed with cold water.
To remove stuck or burnt sugar, you can use citric acid by boiling it in a burnt pan over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
If the jam is burnt, keep in mind how to clean the pan using onion skins. The whole onion with the peel is boiled in a bowl. At the same time, housewives do not have to worry about the pungent odor - it disappears immediately.
Jam - what to cook it in, what container is best to cook it in:
Of course, it is best to cook jam in a wide and shallow container - in a basin. Indeed, in the process of repeatedly (usually 3 times) heating the berries with syrup to a boil, excess liquid evaporates and the jam becomes thick.
The 5-minute jam can also be cooked in a regular saucepan, because... After 5 minutes of boiling, the jam still does not become thicker. In this jam, thickness is achieved by gelling the contents.
The utensils for making jam can be made of food grade stainless steel, copper, brass or enameled.
Under no circumstances should you cook jam in an aluminum container! During cooking, the protective oxide layer on the walls of the aluminum cookware dissolves from the acid, which is always present in the berries and spoils the delicacy, and aluminum particles getting into the jam are harmful to health.
Enameled dishes are safe for health, but jam often burns in them, so it is better to choose a stainless steel basin or pan.
Copper or brass basins were very popular in the past; our grandmothers cooked their delicious jam in just such. In a copper basin, the jam does not burn and retains its color and aroma.
But we must remember that for jam, a bowl made of copper or brass must be perfectly cleaned of oxides. It turns out that copper oxides dissolved by fruit acids from the darkened basin penetrate into the jam. Therefore, a copper basin should simply shine; only then is it suitable for cooking.
Conclusion: the best container for making jam is a basin or wide stainless steel pan.
Buy yourself such dishes, and you will be sure that your jam is safe for health and has retained all its vitamins.
How to make jam
How to make jam
1. Proportions of fruits and sugar when making jam.
As a rule, 1 kilogram of sugar is used for 1 kilogram of berries.
2. What should you use to make jam?
The jam is boiled in brass or steel containers - ideally, the basins are wide enough so that the lower layers of the fruit do not soften under the weight of the upper ones.
3. Storing jam.
The jam must be poured into prepared jars: washed in hot water with the addition of soda and heated until completely dry in the oven (at a temperature of 60 degrees for 10 minutes). Store the jam at a temperature of 10-15 degrees in a dark place.
4. At what heat should you cook the jam?
The jam must be cooked over low heat.
5. When is the jam ready?
The jam is cooked when a drop of syrup becomes completely thick.
6. Should I skim the foam from the jam?
Skim off the foam when making jam.
7. What to do if the jam does not thicken?
8. How to make jam without cooking.)
For one can of fruit, take 1 can of sugar (or for 1 kilogram of fruit - 2 kilograms of sugar), grind with a mixer. Store the ground mixture in the refrigerator.
9. How to organize jam storage?
To store jam, you can print labels with the name of the preparations and the date. Or just write on the jar with a marker.
Utensils for making jam
The jam is boiled in a saucepan or basin. The good thing about the basin is that the large open surface ensures increased evaporation of liquid - the jam will be thick, but the fruits or berries will not be digested. The pan is more convenient to use; it takes up less space on the stove or on the table during breaks between stages of cooking jam.
Can be used:
Enameled dishes - they are suitable for making jam. But it is worth considering that even a small chip of the enamel makes it impossible to use a basin or pan.
Stainless steel cookware is suitable for making jam, but sometimes the finished product takes on a “metallic” taste.
Can not use:
Copper basins, although they are traditionally considered the best utensils for making jam. Modern research proves the opposite - copper is not suitable for making jam. Fruits and berries contain acid that can dissolve copper oxides that appear on the surface of the cookware in the form of a patina (dark coating). Even if the basin is torn off until it shines, it is still not worth using it for cooking - copper ions destroy ascorbic acid, depriving the jam of even a minimal amount of vitamin C.
It is better to pour jam into jars with a small ladle, because... The necks of the jars are usually narrow - there is a risk of spilling the jam.
About sugar in jam
When making jam, sugar acts as a sweetener, thickener and preservative. When cooking jam, sugar is divided into fructose and glucose, this facilitates its rapid absorption by the body.
When making jam, sugar obtained from sugar beets and cane is most often used. Exotic types of sugar: maple, palm, sorghum are rare in Russia and are not used for making jam, as is brown unrefined raw cane sugar.
If you reduce the amount of sugar, the jam will have less calories. But there is a risk that the resulting product will have the consistency of compote rather than jam. Sugar can be replaced with food additives based on pectin. These are “Confiturka”, “Quittin”, “Zhelfix” jams that improve the consistency.
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