How to thicken jam for filling
Many housewives bake often and a lot, pampering their family with delicious and healthy homemade baked goods. Experienced housewives use all kinds of jam to bake pies and pies, even the kind that households are not very willing to eat in its pure form. But they eat such jam in pies and pies with great pleasure.
But sometimes the jam is too liquid and there is a risk that it will leak out of pies and pies during baking, burning, spoiling the taste of the product and its appearance. It turns out that even here you can find a simple, affordable and very effective way out.
The jam just needs to thicken before putting it in the pie. Housewives often thicken liquid jam by boiling it for several minutes with starch, flour, oatmeal or breadcrumbs. It’s very cool to thicken liquid jam with semolina - the jam becomes thick without any problems, and the taste of the pie does not change at all. Take our advice and you can easily thicken liquid jam for later use as a filling.
I think everyone has encountered liquid jam intended for a pie. Wherever I looked for advice on what to do, there were only 3 options: 1) boil until thick, 2) add starch, 3) add crushed crackers or nuts. I only succeeded in the third option, but the result was not pleasing. I thought and thought, and finally came up with an idea!!!
Of course, there was a powerful stimulus for thought in the form of liquid currant jam. And I have a great desire to bake a grated pie with it.
So what to do? Pour a glass of jam/jam/jelly into a saucepan, add 1 tsp. semolina, mix well and leave for 15 minutes for the semolina to swell. Then bring to a boil and after 2 minutes you get a wonderful thick jam. Jam. Jam. Semolina does not in any way affect the taste or appearance of the fruit filling of the pie. Of course, depending on the consistency of the original semolina product, you may need a little less or a little more than a teaspoon.
And one more little tip. As a rule, the most delicious jam is eaten outside of baking, and for pies, options that are not the family’s favorite are left. Adding the zest of just half an orange makes any fruit filling incredibly delicious, try it) Bon appetit everyone!
In the midst of the ripening of berries and fruits, since ancient times, people have tried to preserve all the charm of nature's summer gifts. For the long winter days they made preserves and made jam. In order for the cooked product to be thick, aromatic, with a pleasant color and taste, our grandmothers had many of their own secrets for preparing these products.
Nowadays, various thickeners have become popular. They are added during cooking to give the jam a bright, appetizing color and the desired thickness. They are not difficult to use and are economical in terms of adding sugar. The jam is cooked using a thickener for only ten minutes. At the same time, vitamins are preserved in it, the berries do not disintegrate, and the jam turns out thick with a beautiful shade.
The main components of the thickener are pectin, gelatin, starch, and agar-agar. Jelly-like compositions are widely used both in production and in cooking. For quick preparation of preserves, jellies, jams, marmalade, pastilles, pectin, agar-agar, and gelatin are used to impart viscosity and density to the finished product.
Pectin jam thickener
Pectin means “connecting” in Greek. This ability to combine with acid and sugar and dissolve in cold and hot water has been used to create gelatinous products. Pectin, a plant chemical compound, is present in many fruits and vegetables. The largest amount of pectin is in apples and sugar beets. It is also present in citrus fruits, carrots, pumpkin, and sunflower.
Apple pectin is especially valued in cooking. It is obtained by squeezing and concentrating apples, followed by drying the resulting substance. This natural, plant-based hydrocarbon is a white powder with absolutely no odor.
Positive properties of pectin when making jam
- Has the property of preserving the aroma of the product. It takes 10 minutes to cook strawberry jam when adding pectin. The usual method requires a longer cooking time. The product is less aromatic and sweeter.
- Pectin keeps fruits and berries intact without boiling them. The jam has the bright color of fresh berries.
- Reduced cooking time allows you to get a larger amount of finished product.
- Pectin is a harmless substance, but you should not get carried away with it. An overdose of pectin can lead the human body to intestinal obstruction and allergic reactions. If this happens, drink more fluids.
Little secrets of making jam with added pectin
- The amount of pectin added to jam depends on the amount of sugar and liquid in it. For 1 kg of fruit add from 5 to 15 grams of pectin. If the ratio of sugar and jam liquid is 1:0.5, 5 grams of pectin are added accordingly. In a ratio of 1:0.25 – up to 10 grams. If the jam is prepared without sugar, then 15 grams of pectin should be added per 1 kg of the original product.
- Pectin is added to the boiled jam, mixed in advance with a small amount of granulated sugar, to prevent its grains from sticking to each other. After adding pectin, cooking continues for no more than five minutes, otherwise its jelly-like properties will be lost.
Starch as a thickener for jam: is it possible?
- Starch is a white, powdery product without taste or odor. Produced from potatoes, rice, wheat, corn.
- Starch does not dissolve in cold water, but in hot water it turns into a transparent gelatinous mass - a paste.
- It is used for cooking jelly, compotes, custards, sweet sauces and, occasionally, jam.
- Starch reduces the taste of the finished product, so you have to add more granulated sugar and citric acid to the jam to improve the taste of the jam.
- In liquid jam that cannot be boiled to the desired thickness, a few minutes before it is ready, you can add a little starch, which must be diluted in a small amount of water. After adding starch, cooking continues for no more than three minutes. In this case, the cooled jam will become thicker.
Making jam with gelatin
The human body constantly needs substances such as amino acids and minerals. They have a positive effect on the health and condition of human skin, nails, and hair. All these substances are contained in gelatin, which is obtained by heat treatment of bones, tendons, cartilage of animals and fish.
Gelatin suppresses hunger and is therefore considered a dietary product. 100 grams of gelatin contain 355 kcal. It is mainly used for preparing jellied products, creams, ice cream, and jam. It prevents the sugar from crystallizing.
Classic jam with gelatin for the winter is easy to prepare: for 1 kg of berries and 1 kg of sugar you will need 40 grams. gelatin, which is mixed in dry form with sugar, and then jam is prepared according to the recipe.
Use of agar-agar thickener when making jam
Food agar-agar is made from seaweed, which contains a lot of iodine, iron and calcium. It is a white powder, tasteless and odorless, and is a vegetable substitute for gelatin. Very widely used in the confectionery industry.
Useful properties of agar-agar
- Complete absence of fat, which makes the product dietary.
- Its high iodine content normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland.
- Agar-agar does not contain calories and is an assistant in vegetarian nutrition.
- The agar-agar composition helps the body cleanse itself and strengthen the immune system.
- During cooking, it does not lose its thickening properties; on the contrary, it becomes dense and viscous and sets faster.
Agar-agar is associated with a sponge that absorbs useless substances and removes them from the body. But with all its beneficial properties, you need to adhere to the dosage and normalize the amount of its consumption. Otherwise, you are guaranteed to have intestinal upset. It must be remembered that agar-agar does not combine with such products as: wine and fruit vinegar, sorrel, chocolate, black tea.
When cooking jam with agar-agar, add 1 teaspoon of this thickener powder to 1 glass of liquid. First, fill it with water for 30 minutes and allow it to swell. Then the liquid is brought to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the formation of lumps and sediment. The prepared solution can be poured into the cooked jam and mixed. And put it into clean jars. When the product cools, it becomes a clear gel.
Every skilled housewife has her own ways of making jam, but you shouldn’t neglect ready-made industrial thickeners to make the cooking process easier. Choose for yourself which jam thickener you like, and get creative, create new culinary masterpieces. Enjoy your preparations.
I prefer to make pies with sweet and floating fillings in the oven. And I sculpt them with a double bottom. Moreover, I sculpt them in large quantities almost with one hand.
Now I’ll tell you how it’s done. But first, the filling.
Peel and core the apples and grate them on a coarse grater. Place a few pieces of butter on the bottom of the saucepan. For 5 apples - approximately 50 grams of butter. I put it on the stove, and as soon as the butter starts to melt, I add apples. Sprinkle with sugar (2 tablespoons). And I warm it up, stirring constantly. Until all the liquid (apple juice) has evaporated and the filling becomes dense, without liquid. This takes about five minutes.
You can add a little cinnamon to the finished filling. Or you can increase the amount of sugar right away and add a little lemon juice at the very beginning.
I make dough for piesin a safe way . It was for these pies that I made it a little steeper - in a ratio of 1 to 2 (per liter of water - two kilograms of flour).
When the dough had risen, I laid it out on the table and divided it into an equal number of pieces. (I have 90 pieces from three kilograms of dough, but don’t rely on me, I’m always on an industrial scale).
I roll out the dough into a flat cake. I immediately roll out the number of pies for one baking sheet. I cover the rest of the dough with film to prevent it from drying out.
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I spread out the filling.
And I begin to shape the pies.
I fold it in half.
I press the dough into a semicircle with my hand, squeezing the filling a little.
Look from the back.
And then I simply turn the pie to the side, and the fold is at the bottom (the bottom of the pie).
It turns out to be such an oblong bar.
I pat it a little with my palm to expand the shape of the pie.
And transfer it to a baking sheet.
I simply pinch the edges of the pies with my fingers. Like this.
The bottom of the pies is not even double, but triple. But in fact, it is not at all as thick as it might seem. But the filling does not leak.
For the sake of example, I made two pies with regular jam.
And I put them separately. To confirm your words.
I let the pies proof for 25-30 minutes.
Before putting in the oven, brush with an egg mixed in water.
I bake for 10 minutes at 200 degrees.
Here are the jam pies. Didn't leak.
But all the rest - the sweet filling didn’t leak anywhere either.
On the reverse side they look like this.
This method is suitable not only for sweet pies. It is very convenient when you need to quickly make a lot of pies. Because the sculpting process itself happens very quickly. With one hand they rolled it, pressed it, turned it over, flattened it, put it on a baking sheet, and pinched the corners.
And if you get the hang of doing it with both hands, it’s scary to think what unimaginable scale of production you can achieve. (kidding)
2. Tips from the Internet:
Culinary tricks for fruit fillings.
So that the jam filling does not leak out.
To prevent the fruit pie from becoming soggy from the filling.
Wet fillings: jam, jam, fresh fruit often create problems for beginners in the kitchen: the jam filling leaks out, the fruit pie becomes wet from excess juice and looks unbaked.
The simplest solution is to put less filling. Not everyone will like it, it tastes better when there is a lot of filling. In addition, if the fruit is very juicy, the pie will become soggy even with a small amount of filling.
Another solution is to thicken the filling with a product that absorbs moisture. It is advisable that this product does not impose its taste.
There cannot be an exact recipe regarding the amount of filler, because the jam used for the filling can be of different thickness, and the quality of filler products today differs from one manufacturer to another.
Housewives usually find their own method through experience.
To prevent the jam, marmalade or jam filling from leaking out, do this:
Boil the jam in advance, add semolina to it. On average, 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon (depending on the thickness of the jam or jam) per glass of jam. Cool, the jam will thicken and will not flow out;
Add berry or fruit jelly powder to the jam or marmalade - 1 tablespoon per glass of jam;
Add wheat or corn flour or oatmeal about 1 tablespoon per glass of jam or jam;
Add corn or potato starch; you can boil the jam with starch in advance. Which starch is better? Today many people write that corn is less noticeable, but this depends on the manufacturer. The same can be said about the amount of starch;
Add breadcrumbs to the jam, it is better if you make them yourself from a very good white bun;
Add ground cookies to the jam (crush with a rolling pin on a cutting board), preferably a cracker with a neutral taste, without flavoring fillers and not salty;
Especially for baking, prepare very thick jam using natural gelling agents: pectin, quittin, gelfix, marmalade.
P.s. By the way, it is with this kind of jam or marmalade that you can very easily and quickly prepare a fruit sponge roll:
Bake a thin rectangular sponge cake, roll it together with baking paper,
Then, when it has cooled, carefully unwrap it and spread it with jam or homemade marmalade, roll it up (without paper),
Place in a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour;
You can make the following filling: stir the jam well, beat with a fork, add egg whites whipped to a thick foam.
To prevent a pie with fruit filling from being too wet due to excess juice, you can do this:
Place the fruit or berry filling on the rolled out dough, sprinkle the filling with oatmeal flour (grind the oats in advance with a blender), for example: 1-2 tablespoons for 4-5 medium-sized apples. You don't have to grind the flakes;
P.s. Whole grain oatmeal does a great job of eliminating the problem and doesn't affect the taste. I use German ones; they have been sold everywhere for a long time.
Sprinkle the rolled out dough with starch or gelatin or ground breadcrumbs, you can also use neutral cookies, and lay the fruit filling on top. If the filling layer is high, sprinkle more on top;
P.s. I’m used to sprinkling Golden apple filling only on top.
Cut apricots, plums, small apples and pears into halves, remove seeds and cores, place in one layer, skin side down, sprinkle with sugar, almond petals, and ground breadcrumbs on top. To absorb moisture, you can add washed, but not soaked raisins or dried apricots to the fruit, but not dry as a stone;
Large apples and pears can be cut into slices and placed skin side down as in the German apple tart recipe;
Wash fresh cherries, drain, sprinkle with sugar, leave for half an hour or an hour to let them release juice, drain the juice. Place the cherries on the dough, sprinkle starch on top;
Prepare the filling from baked apples without skin;
Boil the fruit briefly beforehand;
If you add small pieces of fruit to the dough (instead of raisins): apricots, apples, pears, etc., they must first be rolled in flour.
And also, in order not to remove burnt jam or dried fruit juice from the baking sheet, always use baking paper for baking with wet fillings.
I, too, used to always have jam leaking out of my pies, until I saw my friend add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the jam or jam for filling. That's all I do now. Since then - no problems.
I pinch the dough by dipping my hands in flour and placing it pinch side down.
How to pinch the edges of puff pastry so that the filling does not leak out. I have a little secret - after I connect the edges with my hands, I go over them with a fork (teeth), the fork must be held perpendicular to the edge of the dough being pinched, and in this case the filling will not flow.
3. Pies with jam. How to roll out and pinch pies so that the filling does not leak out
The edges of the flatbread should be rolled out thinner than the middle, where the filling will be located. Brush the edges of the flatbread with egg white and pinch with dry fingers dusted with flour.
4. Pies with “Divine filling” from Alla Budnitskaya
What housewife has not encountered a problem? liquid jam, which upset all her plans related to baking a delicious pie or fragrant bagels? It’s sad when you want to please your family with pleasant smells, but the jam prepared specifically for this purpose suddenly runs out.
There is a way out, and this article will reveal to you little secrets that will remain in your cookbook for a long time, and most importantly, will save you at the most necessary moment! We will be happy to share with you how you can turn liquid jam into a thick jam that does not flow out of the dough and does not spoil all the baked goods!
Effective ways
There are many ways, born of experienced housewives, who can make something out of nothing. Let's look at the most accessible of them:
- The most commonly used is semolina. When it is added, the taste of the product does not deteriorate and does not change in appearance. You just need to boil the jam with a few tablespoons of cereal (1 tsp per 300 grams of semolina).
- The easiest way to make a thick mixture from liquid is to simmer the mixture over low heat for some time until it reaches the required consistency. The advantage is that you can control the desired thickness and viscosity yourself, as opposed to adding all kinds of thickeners. After all, you can not guess and overdo it with this matter.
- Many people use starch as a thickener. Moreover, you can use both potato and corn, adding it to the already heated mixture.
- To avoid suffering for a long time, you can simply buy an ordinary thickener in the store and add it to the liquid. The proportions are indicated on the packaging.
- Powdered nuts will remove excess water and add an amazing taste. Gelatin will turn your jam into a delicious jam. If you try to use flour for this purpose, the effect will be similar to how you prepare goulash. Stir a little flour in a small amount of water until smooth and pour into the jam, stirring constantly.
- Some even take egg whites. Beat it well and then pour it into the sweet mass.
- Hercules flakes will be able to absorb excess liquid without distorting the taste.
All these options have been tested by many savvy chefs and cooks who were able to find a way out of a difficult situation on their own and with their imagination.
Not everyone adds anything to the jam itself; some consider it advisable to simply sprinkle the surface of the cake with some kind of mass so that the liquid mixture does not penetrate into the dough and spoil it. Here are some of their recommendations:
- flour;
- cereals;
- starch, cookies (crushed);
- special powder.
The surface should be covered with these bulk mixtures as thickly as possible so that the liquid jam does not leak onto the cake.
Perhaps you, too, will be able to find some interesting way for yourself, with the help of which you will successfully eliminate any difficulty that has arisen on the way to preparing delicious food for your family.
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