In the ripening season of berries and fruits, many housewives make jam, wanting to preserve the fruits until winter. This delicacy is really tasty, aromatic and healthy, but often the finished product turns out to be liquid. To avoid such a miss, you can use different thickeners for jam. They are added when cooking jams and marmalades, so that the product acquires a bright color and the desired consistency. Details about them are presented in the article.
The use of these products does not cause difficulties, in addition, for the preparation of the product does not need to increase the sugar rate. The fruit mass is boiled for about 10 minutes. The finished treat preserves vitamins, the berries remain intact, and the consistency of the jam will be thick. Jam thickeners are used both in the production environment and in home cooking. You can find various reviews of the hostesses about the use of these funds, but most of them use proven methods to make the product denser.
Selection of containers and components for jam
Every housewife knows the intricacies of preparing their dishes. This is evidenced by numerous reviews, which provide tips on getting tasty and healthy desserts. Jam can be prepared in a copper, aluminum or enameled container. It is important that it is wide and the walls are low. Then the product warms up evenly and the liquid evaporates better.
Berries and fruits should be picked in sunny, dry weather. Fruits must be ripe and intact. Bones must be removed before the heat treatment of the raw materials. If the berries have a thick skin, it can be pierced with a toothpick. In the case when the fruits gave a lot of juice, it is recommended to drain its excess. Sugar is better to use white rather than cane. Moreover, it is not added immediately, but in parts.
Pectin
This is a popular thickener for jam. The word from Greek is translated as “connecting.” It has the ability to dissolve in water, followed by combining with acids and sugar without distorting their taste, so pectin is suitable for any jelly-like products.
This substance as a natural chemical compound is found in various fruits and vegetables. Most pectin in apples and beet pulp - the product of sugar beet processing . Also it is in citrus fruits, pumpkin, sunflower. In cooking, apple pectin is in demand. It is created by squeezing and concentrating the apple mass, after which the intermediate is dried. The result is a natural, plant-based polysaccharide, presented in the form of a white powder, which is odorless.
Cooking Properties
- Preserves the aroma of the product. Strawberry jam with pectin is boiled for 10 minutes. For the standard version, when the thickener is not used, it will be necessary to spend more time on heat treatment, and the final product will turn out not so aromatic and with a sweeter taste.
- Berries and fruits remain intact, do not boil. Jam takes on the color of fresh berries.
- With such cooking, more finished product is obtained.
- Pectin is recognized as a harmless component, but do not use it often. Due to an overdose, intestinal obstruction, allergies are possible.
Cooking with pectin
- The rate of addition of pectin depends on the sugar and water content of the fruit. For 1 kg of fruit, it is enough to use 5-15 g of the substance. If the ratio of sugar to liquid is 1: 0.5, then 5 g of pectin will be required. At 1: 0.25 - up to 10 g. If there is no sugar in the jam at all, then 1 g of pectin can be added to 1 kg.
- How to make jam thick? Add pectin to a boiled fruit mass, pre-mixed with sugar, this will help to avoid the formation of lumps. After this, the cooking should last no more than 5 minutes so that the gelling properties do not disappear from the substance.
Quitin
Quitin jam thickener, due to the presence of pectin in its composition, has a gelling effect, so it also does not require prolonged dessert cooking. Only 5 minutes will be enough to prepare it. The tool will make the product tastier and healthier, since vitamins will be preserved.
One bag of Quitin jam thickener is enough to boil 2 kg of produce. It is used to make jam and marmalade. The result is a treat with a thick, viscous consistency.
Starch - can it be used?
It is a white powder with no taste or smell. Get it from potatoes, rice, wheat and corn. In cold water, the substance does not dissolve, but in hot water it becomes a transparent gelatinous mass - a paste. It is used for cooking jelly, stewed fruit, custards, sweet sauces, and sometimes jam.
With starch, the taste of the product decreases, so you need to add more sugar, citric acid. How to make jam thick? If the product is liquid, then a few minutes should be added a little of this substance, which is previously diluted in a small amount of water. After this, cooking lasts no more than 3 minutes. The cooled product will be thick enough.
Gelatin
The human body needs amino acids and minerals. They favorably affect the health, condition of the skin, nails, hair. These components are found in gelatin, which is obtained through the thermal treatment of bones, tendons, cartilage of animals and fish. The substance eliminates hunger, so the product is considered dietary. In 100 g of gelatin, only 355 kcal is present.
Gelatin is used to obtain jellied foods, creams, ice creams, jams. Thanks to it, sugar does not crystallize. How to use a thickener for jam? To prepare the preparation for the winter, you will need berries (1 kg), sugar (1 kg) and gelatin (40 g). The solids are mixed and then a sweet product is prepared following the recipe.
Agar agar
This thickener for jam is created from seaweed, in which there is iodine, iron, calcium. The substance is presented in the form of a white powder, which has no taste or smell, and serves as a vegetable substitute for gelatin. It is used in confectionery.
The list of advantages of this substance include the following features:
- There are no fats in it, so the product is dietary.
- Iodine, which is rich in agar-agar, restores the activity of the thyroid gland.
- This thickener is of vegetable origin, and therefore agar-agar can be used by people who are vegetarian.
- Its composition helps to cleanse the body and strengthen the immune system.
- With cooking, the properties of the thickener are not lost.
Although the substance has useful properties, it is nevertheless necessary to consume it, not exceeding the permissible norm, so as not to bring the matter to an intestinal upset. It should be borne in mind that agar-agar cannot be combined with wine and fruit vinegar, sorrel, chocolate, black tea.
How to make jam with this substance? For 1 cup of liquid you need to add 1 tsp. thickener. It is poured with water for half an hour, after which it should swell. Then the liquid must be brought to a boil, while the mass must be constantly stirred so that there are no lumps and sediment in it. The resulting solution is poured into the finished jam, which should be thoroughly mixed. After cooking, the product can be laid out in jars. Cooling, agar-agar is converted into a transparent gel.
Cooking
The thick jam recipe is simple. It is enough to complete all the steps:
- Fruits or berries must be chopped, leaving for several hours for the formation of juice.
- Juicy fruits can be chopped with a blender or processed through a meat grinder, and then lay the mashed potatoes in a colander.
- Excess juice needs to be drained, leaving a thick part of the fruit, which will be used for jam. It is important, however, that the juice covers almost all the fruits or berries that are placed in a cooking container.
- At the end, add chopped lemon. It makes the product jelly-like.
- Sugar increases the volume of syrup by about 60%.
- So that the jam is not liquid, sugar should be added gradually, little by little. So the finished treat will have the necessary consistency, and the product will not crystallize.
You can use the other thickeners mentioned above, with which you get an equally tasty and healthy product. It is important to monitor the amount of substance added so that the treat does not turn out to be too viscous. If the jam will be used to make pies and cakes, a small amount of breadcrumbs can be added to it before use.
Thus, natural thickeners for jam allow you to get a wonderful dessert. Each hostess has her own options for making jam, but sometimes you can use proven thickeners, as they make cooking easier. Thanks to them, tasty and healthy desserts are obtained, in which all the valuable vitamins are stored.