As Spring approaches and all those luscious strawberries appear on the grocer's shelves, at the farmers markets, or in your own garden, it is time to consider making some homemade jam. Yes, even the busiest of cooks can treat their family to homemade jam! This recipe allows you to have your own homemade jam completed in around a half an hour. It makes 6 cups so you have plenty to freeze for use later. Be sure you have some small plastic freezer cartons on hand. Your family will love you for this. Diabetics are able to enjoy this jam, too, by following the directions included for making this jam diabetic friendly!
HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY JAM IN MINUTES
1 qt ripe strawberries
4 cups sugar (or Splenda granular for diabetics)
3/4 cup water
1 box sure-jell or other fruit pectin
Mash the strawberries, being sure you have 2 cups. Put into a large bowl and add the sugar OR Splenda granular. Set aside for about 10 minutes if using sugar or 15 minutes if using Splenda, stirring occasionally.
In a small saucepan stir the fruit pectic into the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Stir the hot mixture into the fruit mixture in the bowl. Stir together for about three to five minutes until the sugar or Splenda is completely dissolved.
Pour the jam into freezeable plastic containers to a half-inch from the lid. Cover with lids and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store one container in the refrigerator (it is now ready to use) and freeze the remaining containers.
Yield: 6 cups
Note: Jam may be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks. May be kept in the freezer for a year. Thaw frozen jam in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
For more of Linda's quick and easy recipes visit her blog at http://grandmasquickfixrecipes.blogspot.com
For her diabetic "sweet" recipes visit her at http://diabeticenjoyingfood.squarespace.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Carol_Wilson
Friday, 17 September 2010
Friday, 20 November 2009
How to Make Jam
The basics are simple; making jam is easy. General idea behind jam was to preserve fruit through winter months so families could have access to vitamin C where other fruit was unavailable.
To make jam a substance called pectin is required and just about any fruit will work; strawberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, blueberries, or pick your favourite.
Start with washing, peeling and seeding the fruit of your choice. About two pints of raw fruit is enough to make a small quantity of jam. Cut the fruit up into small chunks, then put it in a cooking pan with a bit of water, just about to cover the bottom of the pan, and cook slowly until tender. Add pectin before reaching boiling point and continue to simmer gently for a few minutes. Once your fruit and pectin mix comes to a boil, reduce the heat and add the sugar. Normally, with regular pectin this is about four cups per two pints of fruit. Low sugar pectin works with two cups sugar per two pints (or 40 ounces).
Bring the jam back to a boil and boil carefully for two minutes, watching that the jam does not boil over. Ladle the jam into canning jars and screw on a lid.
Tips:
• A really old fashioned way - Apple peels (skins) contain a lot of pectin. If you can't find pectin, bunch of apples are way to go. Peel the apples and save the peels in a saucepan. Cover them with water and boil gently for 15-20 minutes. Once the pectin has been extracted, drain the liquid off with a strainer and throw out the peels. Use the liquid as your pectin in your jam adventure.
• Boil the empty jars and lids before filling them in with the hot jam. Turn jars upside down. Turning them upside down during first 24 hours ensures air-tightness.
• Rose hips and/or nuts can be added to a jam mix.
• Take a walk and explore hedgerows for more wild fruit ideas.
• The best time to make jams is in the autumn when the fruit is ripe.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_C_Jones
To make jam a substance called pectin is required and just about any fruit will work; strawberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, blueberries, or pick your favourite.
Start with washing, peeling and seeding the fruit of your choice. About two pints of raw fruit is enough to make a small quantity of jam. Cut the fruit up into small chunks, then put it in a cooking pan with a bit of water, just about to cover the bottom of the pan, and cook slowly until tender. Add pectin before reaching boiling point and continue to simmer gently for a few minutes. Once your fruit and pectin mix comes to a boil, reduce the heat and add the sugar. Normally, with regular pectin this is about four cups per two pints of fruit. Low sugar pectin works with two cups sugar per two pints (or 40 ounces).
Bring the jam back to a boil and boil carefully for two minutes, watching that the jam does not boil over. Ladle the jam into canning jars and screw on a lid.
Tips:
• A really old fashioned way - Apple peels (skins) contain a lot of pectin. If you can't find pectin, bunch of apples are way to go. Peel the apples and save the peels in a saucepan. Cover them with water and boil gently for 15-20 minutes. Once the pectin has been extracted, drain the liquid off with a strainer and throw out the peels. Use the liquid as your pectin in your jam adventure.
• Boil the empty jars and lids before filling them in with the hot jam. Turn jars upside down. Turning them upside down during first 24 hours ensures air-tightness.
• Rose hips and/or nuts can be added to a jam mix.
• Take a walk and explore hedgerows for more wild fruit ideas.
• The best time to make jams is in the autumn when the fruit is ripe.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_C_Jones
Blackberry Jam
In late August and early September, if you take a walk in the English countryside, you will often see hedgerows full of plump juicy blackberries. If you have a garden or allotment, you may well have blackberries growing there too, and of course blackberries can also be obtained from "pick your own" farms, and ready packed and prepared in supermarkets. However you obtain them, although sometimes a little sour, blackberries can be quite delicious and can be used in a number of different recipes.
One of the best uses for blackberries is to make your own jam at home. In the past, many people used to make blackberry jam using ordinary sugar, water, and the juice and rind of lemons. While this can work wonderfully, it can also be a bit of a hit and miss affair, and it is not unknown for the jam not to set well and come out rather too runny.
An easier way to make blackberry jam is to use "Jam Sugar" - which you can find in most major supermarkets. Jam sugar contains pectin (usually obtained from apples), which is the essential ingredient for make jam gel properly. Basically, making the jam involves mashing the blackberries, gradually adding the jam sugar while heating, and a little knob of unsalted butter, and finally bringing to a boil for about 4 minutes. Then jam then needs to be removed from the heat, and transferred into jars (it is best to warm the jars up first so that they don't shatter when the hot jam is poured into them).
Using jam sugar, making blackberry jam is really quite easy and fun. Perhaps most importantly of all, homemade blackberry jam really does taste great. You will love it on buttered bread or toast!
By S. Tanna. Find the full instructions for the blackberry jam recipe at http://www.recipesmaniac.com/recipe_blackberry_jam.php
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunil_Tanna
One of the best uses for blackberries is to make your own jam at home. In the past, many people used to make blackberry jam using ordinary sugar, water, and the juice and rind of lemons. While this can work wonderfully, it can also be a bit of a hit and miss affair, and it is not unknown for the jam not to set well and come out rather too runny.
An easier way to make blackberry jam is to use "Jam Sugar" - which you can find in most major supermarkets. Jam sugar contains pectin (usually obtained from apples), which is the essential ingredient for make jam gel properly. Basically, making the jam involves mashing the blackberries, gradually adding the jam sugar while heating, and a little knob of unsalted butter, and finally bringing to a boil for about 4 minutes. Then jam then needs to be removed from the heat, and transferred into jars (it is best to warm the jars up first so that they don't shatter when the hot jam is poured into them).
Using jam sugar, making blackberry jam is really quite easy and fun. Perhaps most importantly of all, homemade blackberry jam really does taste great. You will love it on buttered bread or toast!
By S. Tanna. Find the full instructions for the blackberry jam recipe at http://www.recipesmaniac.com/recipe_blackberry_jam.php
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunil_Tanna
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)