Jam from all kinds of fruits and berries is an excellent delicacy that allows you to extend the summer. What could be better than a cup of hot tea with fragrant sweet berries in the cold winter. Cooking the right and beautiful jam is a great art. Unfortunately, even experienced housewives may experience troubles with homework. It seems that the recipe was verified, and the jam was prepared according to all the rules, but the lid was swollen, or even completely flew off, and an unpleasant sour smell emanated from the finished product. This means only one thing: the product is spoiled, it is impossible to eat it. Many housewives are interested: if the jam fermented, what should I do? It’s a pity to pour it out. We will talk about this in the article.
Why did the bank “explode”?
The main reason the jar exploded was the insufficient heat treatment: our mothers and grandmothers cooked jam for a long time, so fermentation was a rare unpleasant event. Now there is more in the course of five-minute jam, and this requires additional measures when harvesting berries for the future:
- sterilization of cans and lids is mandatory;
- reliable spin, because it is air that contributes to the development of microorganisms;
- exact adherence to the recipe, lack of sugar leads to spoilage of jam;
- proper storage, the place should not be too warm, the optimum temperature is no higher than 12 - 15 degrees.
If the jam fermented, what should I do?
If the hostess caught on time, the jam is not moldy and the sour smell is not too felt, then the situation can be rectified quite easily. Using a colander, it is necessary to separate the syrup from the berries, then sugar is added to the solution at the rate of 1 glass of sand per 1 liter of syrup, all this is boiled. When a drop of syrup begins to hold its shape, then berries are added to the bowl and boiled for another 15-20 minutes. The jam is saved, but it should be eaten immediately.
If the jam has fermented, what should I do? To fix a very sour product, with additional cooking, you can add soda, for one liter of jam, 1 teaspoon is enough.
It is not recommended to eat moldy jam. Of course, the top layer of mold can be removed and eat the unfortunate jar, but in this case you should not be greedy. The fact is that the mold that infects the product consists of threads. The visible part is formed on the surface, and the invisible penetrates deep into. It is impossible to determine by eye how damaged the jam is, and food contaminated with mold spores can cause significant harm to health.
The main reasons for this trouble are saving sugar, reducing cooking time and packing jam in wet cans. By the way, many housewives mistakenly believe that any berries, even with visible defects, are suitable for jam, they say, anyway, everything will be digested. This is not true. Berries must be selected very carefully, and all damaged ones should be discarded.
The jam readiness indicator is the transparency of the product and the even distribution of berries in the syrup. If the fruits float on the surface or, conversely, are located at the bottom, this means that the sweet treat is not ready, and cooking should continue.
If the jam has fermented, what should I do? There is another great way to process it - to prepare a delicious homemade wine. Kill two birds with one stone: your work will not be wasted and you will get additional pleasure. The rules of winemaking in this case are almost the same for all berries. Jam should be poured into a large jar, add water, about the same volume, granulated sugar and a little raisins. Sugar needs about half a glass per 3 liters of the mixture, and raisins - about 1 tablespoon.
All is mixed, a rubber glove is put on the jar and the container is placed in a warm place for three weeks. At the end of this period, the solution is filtered, a little more sugar is added and the drink is bottled. After 2-3 months, the wine is ready.
What if fermented jam made from raspberries, currants, strawberries? This will be discussed further.
Blackcurrant jam wine
Blackcurrant berries are usually not boiled, but simply rubbed with sugar to preserve vitamins. If the storage location is chosen incorrectly, then this workpiece is most often subject to fermentation. So, blackcurrant jam fermented, what should I do? Here you don’t even know: to be upset or rejoice. Indeed, from currant jam, an excellent aromatic wine is obtained, which is easy to prepare at home.
If you have 1.5 liters of jam, then add the same amount of warm water and 100 g of granulated sugar. The amount of sugar can be slightly changed, it all depends on the sweetness of the raw materials. But sugar should be put necessarily, this is a necessary condition for the onset of fermentation. The capacity is put in a warm place, the readiness of the mash is determined by the location of the berry pulp: it should be on the surface. The liquid is filtered in prepared jars and set until the wine is fully ripe for another 3 months. Banks need to be washed and sterilized if possible so as not to get vinegar.
The finished product will contain a precipitate so that the wine does not turn out cloudy. It must be bottled gently using a flexible tube.
Wine from blackcurrant jam (2 recipe)
If you still have last year's uneaten stocks of blackcurrant jam, then in the summer you can make fragrant and beautiful wine from it. For one liter of jam, you need 2 liters of water, 200 g of rice and 200 g of fresh grapes. Place all of these products in a clean glass container. Rice is suitable for any - long-grain or round, it does not matter. Grapes can not be washed, but in this case you should be sure that it has not been processed with chemicals. Stir the food, put a rubber glove on the neck of the jar and place the dishes in a dark place. Do not forget to puncture the glove with a sharp needle. The gloved glove will tell you about the end of fermentation. After about 3 weeks, the finished wine can be filtered and bottled.
Raspberry Jam Wine
Raspberry jam fermented, what should I do? Again, the wine from such a product is simply amazing! To prepare it, you must adhere to the following proportion: 1 liter of jam requires 1 liter of water and 100 g of raisins. In a convenient jar, drain the jam and water, which should be at room temperature, add raisins. It is better not to wash raisins, it will serve as a kind of catalyst for starting fermentation.
The jar, closed with a tight lid, will stand in a warm place for about 10 days. Then the contents are filtered and poured again into a clean jar, on which we put on a rubber glove. As soon as the glove has fallen and the liquid has become transparent, the wine is almost ready. Using a rubber tube, it is bottled and infused in a dark place for about 2 months. It is better to store it in a horizontal position, as real winemakers store wine . If everything is done exactly according to the recipe, then the result will be high-quality wine of 10-12 percent strength.
Strawberry Jam Tincture
Strawberry jam fermented, what should I do? From this product, you can make wine using the previous recipe, or make a tincture: mix 100 grams of vodka with 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam. We stand this mixture for a day, and then add another half liter of vodka. To add a special flavor, you can add vanillin on the tip of a knife and citric acid. The tincture is ready.
Nowadays it is very difficult to surprise anyone with such a delicacy as jam, even from the most exotic fruits and berries. But use such an unpleasant phenomenon as a fermented product to your advantage, and surprise your guests with delicious aromatic wine. After all, it is not necessary to tell what it was prepared from.
Bon Appetit!