Homemade Jams
When we think of fruit, eating them as they are always comes to mind, which by the way is the healthier and richer they are. But the truth is that they also have their place in the kitchen and not only in sweet preparations but also salty. One of the most popular elaborations with fruit in which they are the real protagonists are the jamswhich could be defined as fruits cooked with sugar and that are generally canned to last for many months in our pantry.
The jams can be bought already made but it is a pleasure to prepare them at home since the flavor is much more powerful, with seasonal fruitschosen of the best quality and you can also flavor them as you like. That is why I have prepared this fantastic compilation so that you have no doubts about what ingredients and proportions to use, with what ingredients to aromatize the jams, how to use and preserve them and of course a list with the complete recipes of the richest jams that you can prepare at home.
Tell me in comments what your favorite jams are and how you usually use them. I must confess that some toasts with apricot jam lose me and I also love plum and pumpkin jam to accompany some pancakes or crepes but also some savory canapé or an appetizer with cheese.
Ingredients and proportions to prepare homemade jams:
The main ingredient is always a fruit, which in case of having a peel is removed (such as oranges and pumpkin) and there are others in which it is optional, as is the case of plums or apricots for example. You can use the amount you prefer and based on that we will add the sugar in proportion. Of course, if you prepare a large quantity at once, keep in mind that you will need more cooking time since more liquid has to evaporate.
The other essential ingredient is sugar, since it helps the jam to retain its particular texture and also acts as a preservative, in this way they last for a long time as freshly made. The proportion is usually half the amount of sugar than fruit, although there are those who add the same amount of both. I usually tend to lower the sugar level a bit and, for 500 g of fruit (without skins or seeds if they have to be removed, just as it is going to be cooked), I use 200 g of sugar, although I indicate the proportions in each prescription.
Last but not least is the lemon juice. Far from being used to add flavour, its mission affects the texture since fruits contain pectin, which is a natural fiber present mainly in their skin and helps thicken jams and leave them with that particular gel texture. There are fruits with more or less pectin, almost all of the ones I use in this list have high levels of pectin and to activate it you need that dash of lemon juice, which is nothing more than an acidic element that helps the final result to be that particular texture.
What if we aromatize the jams?
It is fantastic to aromatize jams and many ingredients can be used, highlighting among them the spices. A cinnamon stick, a vanilla pod, some cloves or star anise are great and simply remove at the end of the process and that’s it. You can also use these same spices already ground and I add ground cardamom to the list.
They can also be flavored with citrus, adding lemon, orange, grapefruit or tangerine skin, either in a large piece to remove it at the end or finely grated to form part of the jam. Of course, trying not to include the internal white part because it makes it a bit bitter.
The richest homemade jams you can prepare:
- Orange marmalade (bitter or not)Jam: It is a very popular jam, with a fantastic acid point and very intense when prepared at home. The trick to make it bitter or not is super simple, so you can leave it to your liking.
- apricot jam: my land is full of apricots (although less and less, a pity) and I love to eat them when they are yellow and still a little green, but to make jam I wait to pick them when they are very orange and about to fall, ripe and sweet, and the jam that is achieved is spectacular.
- Apple jam with cinnamonApple and cinnamon always work wonderfully in any type of dessert and when preparing apple jam I always flavor it with this spice or with cardamom or with both.
- Pumpkin jam with cinnamon: Well, yes, the pumpkin jam is fantastic, it already brings its own sweetness and is a real delight. Again I have flavored with cinnamon although practically all the spices that I mentioned above are good for the pumpkin, even if a little of each is added.
- Yellow plum jam: It is one of my favorite jams to accompany toast for breakfast and it is spectacular. You can choose whether to leave the skins or remove them or crush them, although I always leave them because they are very tender.
- Blackberry jam, with or without seeds: taking advantage of the blackberry season I like to pick them wild and prepare this delicious jam. Personally, the seeds bother me a bit, so if it happens to you like me in the recipe, you will know how to remove them easily.
- Fig or fig jam: I would say that figs are jam in themselves thanks to their natural texture, but if we want to preserve them beyond their short season and enjoy them all year round, there is nothing better than preparing a jam with them.
- Tomato jelly: Well yes, the tomato is also a fruit and with it a spectacular jam is prepared. That if, personally I love to use it with savory dishes, accompanying cheeses or foie above all. In any case, everything is to throw imagination and I will tell you that it is spectacular crowning a good cheesecake.
And very related to jams are these other preparations:
- Quince jam or quince meat: the process is very similar to that of jam but the result is denser and more compact. It is a fantastic sweet to accompany cheeses or pâtés (with a good Cabrales it is incredible) and the ideal is to prepare it once for the whole year.
- Homemade Strawberry Coulis: the coulis consists of cooking the fruit and finally obtaining a kind of syrup with a fairly concentrated flavor and with little added sugar. With its texture, it is ideal for sauce dishes, whether they are pancakes or a dish of pork or duck, for example.
- Homemade applesauce, with (or without) sugar: It is fruit cooked with a little sugar, usually apples, and whose texture can be left lumpy or not and is fantastic to accompany or fill desserts and sweets of all kinds.
- Pumpkin angel hair, an exquisite sweetJam: It is not a jam in itself either, but the process to prepare it is similar and, although the final texture remains in strands, it can have the same uses as any other jam. That if, being more consistent is fantastic as a filling for sweets, empanadas, puff pastries…
In what recipes to use them?
The most typical use of jams is on toast for breakfast, either as it is on bread or on a layer of butter. It also looks great spread out on some great homemade pancakes or in some homemade american pancakesand even accompanying some delicious and warm homemade waffles or waffles. Continuing with the sweet options, it would go great crowning crowning this delicious Baked Cheesecake or a classic panna cotta or italian panna cotta. They can also be used to cover and fill biscuits and also muffin.
And if we go to salty, it is ideal in canapés like these crispy brie cheese and filo pastry with homemade quince jamaccompanying the homemade duck micuit foie grasyou can substitute caramelized onion for these homemade goat cheese burgers or put a sweet touch on these walnut and basil blinis with cottage cheese and dried tomato.
You can also mix a little jam with the salad dressing (if it has a rather fluid texture) to give it a slight sweet touch. It would be ideal in salads like burrata with fig salad, pine nuts and basil vinaigrette or to the Lamb’s lettuce salad with goat cheese, nuts and honey vinaigrette.
How to keep them?
If you want to prepare a jam preserve, I recommend you follow a recipe with these small proportions that I indicate and, if you like how it turned out, start making a large quantity to have it all year round in your pantry.
Once done, before it cools down, pour it into closed glass containers (not too big to have it divided into portions). You can leave them in fridge (the jams usually last perfectly for several weeks), in freezer (they last for months) or do preserveswhich means you can have them in your pantry for 1 year or more.
To keep them preserved You must use sterilized jars. To do this, place them open together with their lids in a pot with a cloth on the bottom and covered with water, put on a high heat and boil for 2o minutes. Then, carefully take them out (you can help yourself with tweezers) and put them face down on a cloth to dry completely.
Fill them almost to the top with the jam, close them well, stand them up in a pot with a cloth underneath, cover with water and excess on top, put the heat on high and let it boil for about 20-30 minutes for jars like the ones you can see in the pictures, they are not very big. Take them out and put them upside down until they cool down, and then you can store them in the pantry for 1 year without problems.
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