The legitimate consequences of summer – making jam in five ways

When you look at the abundance in the garden you just want to start harvesting. But how to simplify this process, minimizing the effort and time?

For bread with jam

A bread maker is one appliance that is specifically designed to make jam and jam. The uncomplicated process consists of three steps. The first wash, peel, cut fruit and berries, put them into the baking pail, choose the mode, press the “start” button. The second stage is entirely taken care of by technology. The mass is continuously kneaded when heated gently. As a result, it boils gently, does not stick, and most importantly – does not require your attention. When the program is complete, the finished jam should be poured into sterilized jars and closed – this is the third step.

The rules of “jamming” in the bread machine are very simple:

– Take only ripe, fresh berries and fruits

– Cut large fruits into halves or quarters

– Observe the rules of laying they are prescribed in the instructions . For example, in my device poured fruit first, followed by liquid components, followed by sugar and butter if available in the recipe

– If the fruit contains little pectin, add 1-2 h. l. lemon juice.

The cooking program takes about 1 hour, at the end of which you get 350-600 grams of flavorful treat.

Pros: first of all a guarantee against sticking. It is achieved through the use of non-stick form, constant stirring, and heating on the principle of the oven: the heat is transmitted through the air, and not goes directly to the bottom of the dishes, as on the burner. In addition, you benefit from all the advantages of automation, that is, the work of the device in stand-alone mode without your participation, as well as a timer that allows you to postpone the start of cooking for a convenient time.

Disadvantages: the main one is a small volume of the resulting product, it is limited by the size of the bucket. At one time you can make one or two, at most three jars. Therefore, this method is more suitable for those who cook jam, buying components on the market, the owners of their own fruit gardens to prepare such volumes will simply be inconvenient. In addition, it is not entirely comfortable to manipulate with a hot, filled with jam bucket, but here you need to adapt and be sure to use kitchen gloves.

Making jam like in a stove

A slow cooker can be a wonderful helper in sweet preparations. The principle of its work is simple: a large ceramic pot 4-6.5 liters is heated in the selected mode at a temperature of about 70-80 degrees. Thick, solid ceramics and low temperatures prevent the most annoying phenomenon – sticking to the mixture.

However, you will still have to stand next to the spoon, so that the mixture is even, although very often hostesses, having laid the prepared products, leave the device unattended, absolutely not stirring – the result is good as it is.

The cooking process is slow – 4-12 hours, so jam and jam get the degree of boiling you need by varying the duration of the cycle.

Berries and fruits thanks to gentle cooking retain their color and flavor, are not overcooked, lose a minimum of their useful properties and more actively give the sugary substances in the dish, and therefore you can put less sugar.

In parallel with the boiling process, pasteurization occurs, ensuring reliable storage in sealed jars.

Cooking rules:

You need to peel the fruits or berries, chop them if the recipe requires it, put them in the pot of the appliance, pouring them with sugar and spices. Put the lid on. Make settings, stir in about 10 minutes and leave until the cycle is complete. Then the ready jam or jam is poured into jars.

Pros: not very high power consumption: it is 300-350 W according to the most popular models in America and the effect of cooking in a stone oven.

Since overheating the mixture is not so dangerous, you can fill the pot almost to the brim stepping back 1-2 fingers . In a slow cooker you can use your usual recipes, they will not require adaptation, as the automation is completely subordinate to the man, and the cooking cycle does not depend on the size of the portion.

Disadvantages: it takes quite a lot of time.

Make sure it doesn’t drip

To make sweet preparations help multicookers – special devices that are hermetically sealed

Pots, equipped with a heating element and automatics.

It should be borne in mind that the mixture when heated can strongly boil in a tightly closed space, and the process is more active with especially juicy raw materials.

Therefore, despite the capacious capacity often from 2 to 6 liters , in a multicooker you can make only 0.5-1.25 liters of jam at one time.

Cooking Rules:

Cooking jams and jams in the usual way. Pour sugar over berries or cut fruits, splash them lightly with water and keep them for about an hour.

Housewives, adapting the multicooker for the process of cooking jam, use the program of stewing, steaming or baking, or combine them, for example, choosing to start with the steam mode, and then stewing.

Pros: to make jam or jam in them do not need special recipes – enough to take their usual, given the volume of your device.

Disadvantages: during the process you will have to periodically stir the mixture, or it is better to immediately open the valve according to the instructions for the free release of steam.

In the wind

More “lazy” way of making jam offers an air grill. The dessert is cooked directly in the very jars in which it will be stored until the cold.

Cooking in the air grill is done with convection: the grill heater gives the heat, and the fan spreads it over the chamber, although in fairness it should be noted that in the ovens this mode is called a ventilated grill or turbo grill.

The peculiarity of the grill is well known: it heats not so much air like conventional heaters , as objects, and in our case – berries and jars. As a result, two processes go simultaneously: sterilization of jars and cooking jam.

Cooking rules:

Carefully wash jars, prepare fruits or berries, pour syrup or fill with sugar in advance and wait for the juice to flow out , put in an aerogrill, covered with lids.

Cooking can be done at 150 degrees, although more often put the heating pointensivnoe – 260 degrees from the lids have to remove the rubber bands .

The air circulation speed should be high, then keep the jam for 15-20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 120 degrees and leave it for 5 more minutes. At the end of this time, the jars should be taken out and the lids should be rolled up.

The pressure cooker can be used for making candied fruit. The most uncomfortable process in their preparation is drying: repeatedly cooked berries or pieces of fruit become sticky and fragrant, so you do not want to dry them in the air, attracting curious insects.

In the air grill, this process can be accelerated by making candied fruits as in a conventional oven. The temperature is set to 65 degrees, the future candied fruits are placed on the top rack and a high speed is turned on for 30 minutes.

It is not quite convenient to dried small candied fruits: you need to find a suitable grid that fits into the device and is small enough so that the pieces do not fall through it. Again, not a particularly large batch.

Pros: both sterilization and boiling are combined.

Disadvantages: you can place 4-6 jars inside the flask of the device. Very large jars when installing the expansion ring should not be taken in order to save yourself from the need to achieve uniform heating in a large thickness of the mixture.

7 minutes – and it’s done

Fast cooking of jam and other sweet preparations is available in pressure cooker. Here the cooking process goes at a moderate

The temperature about 100-120 ° C and high pressure up to 70 kPa .

The result is that sweet raw materials retain more of their healthy properties also because the oxidation process in the pressure cooker is not as fast and look much fresher – the color is juicier than after conventional cooking.

But the most important difference is the cooking speed, which is only 7 to 10 minutes at the most. By and large during this time you will have time to prepare dishes and clean up the kitchen.

Cooking Rules:

The cooking mode of jam is set to the slowest. Recipes are taken as usual, preserving all proportions. Just cooked jam poured into sterilized jars, then lids are rolled.

Pros: pressure cookers, as a rule, are very capacious 2.5-7 liters , and the owners of their own gardens and, consequently, large batches of fruit, to make preparations with their help will be very convenient.

Disadvantages: you have to sterilize the jars separately.