With the onset of summer, every housewife tries to stock up more jam for the winter. This is not only sweetness, but also a source of vitamins and minerals, as well as protection against infections and viruses. And how many fragrant pies, bagels and cookies will be made in winter evenings from such blanks! The main thing is now not to miss the moment, cook the jam correctly, preserving all its useful properties, but preventing the possible souring of the product.
For beginners
This is the simplest workpiece, absolutely everyone will cope with it. Banks behave calmly, their lids do not swell. And all because jam contains a lot of sugar and it is boiled gradually, in several stages. He has no chance of an abyss, unless the basic rules of procurement have been violated. In particular, young housewives are interested in hot or cold jam in jars.
General rules
In order for the process of making blanks for the winter to please, you need to constantly select new recipes so that there is an element of surprise: what will come of it? Today, this is not a problem; e-books with recipes, forums and specialized sites are at your service. They are distinguished by the opportunity to exchange experiences. Here, the housewives will share how they prepare it, pour the jam into jars hot or cold.
Picking berries
In order for the finished dessert to have excellent qualities, you need to provide yourself with the best berries. To do this, they must be collected in warm and dry weather. If you do this in the rain, then the berries will nourish a lot of moisture, fall apart, and the treat will be watery. The whole collection should be the same in ripeness, then it will turn out much tastier. In parallel with the berries, you need to choose the dishes in which you will pour the finished product. Usually these are glass jars. It will directly depend on their preparation, pouring jam into jars hot or cold.
Before cooking
Berries or fruits should be washed and sprinkled with granulated sugar. They should stand for 3-4 hours to let the juice flow. If the jam is made from cherries, some housewives prefer to extract the seeds from the berries, which can be done using a special machine. At this time, the jars are washed well and prepared for rolling.
Berries, meanwhile, are poured into a wide bowl. A small basin is ideal. It is best to use 2-4 kg bowls. In a large capacity, delicate berries lose their shape. Do not forget that the cooking container must be perfectly clean. Do not use a basin if it contains rust or oxide spots. At this stage, you need to decide whether to pour the jam into jars hot or cold.
Cookware
Well-washed jars put on the table for inspection. It is very important now to notice any defect on the glass and immediately exclude such containers to prevent product damage. Actually, if the crack is small, then it is permissible to store jam in it. But in this case, it is better to leave it in the refrigerator.
To jam stood in the room, you will need to better take care of its safety. In this case, it is best to carefully sterilize each jar. You can use a kettle, oven or microwave. Based on this, it is already possible to decide how to pour jam, hot or cold. A well-cooked treat can be decomposed into sterile jars, even cold, nothing will happen to him.
Syrup first
Our goal is to prepare not only tasty, but also healthy treats. Therefore, you need to start with the preparation of syrup. Spread sugar and water in a bowl and bring to a boil. Once the crystals have completely dispersed, you can lay the berries and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
Be sure to remove the foam with a slotted spoon. By the way, it is very tasty. Children will gladly eat it with tea. To prevent the berries from wrinkling, after five minutes the pelvis is removed from the fire. After cooling, the mixture is heated again. Depends on the number of approaches, hot or cold to pour jam on the banks. Five minutes must be poured immediately, after cooking, rolled up and cleaned under a warm blanket. And if you boil the berries in 4 sets, then there is nothing to be afraid of.
Future plans
Already picking berries, the hostess knows what she plans to do with the blanks. Something can be left for tea, that is, to eat right now. And part should be kept until the cold. Based on this, jam should be poured hot or cold. For direct consumption in food, they usually make a five-minute period, which is not rolled up, but stored in the refrigerator. Therefore, it is better to pour it hot, this will help destroy all the bacteria that survived after washing. In addition, this measure saves time on sterilizing cans. The temperature of boiling jam is very high, it will completely replace the heating in the oven or for a couple.
For winter storage
In order for it not to become acidic during storage, only two things are important. The first is enough sugar. If it is not enough, then even prolonged boiling will not help. Therefore, act strictly on prescription. The second point is the duration of the preparation. You can simply turn on the fire and boil the mixture for 20 minutes. It will be stored normally, but will become like jam. Therefore, a phased approach to cooking is required. That is, we heat it for 3-5 minutes, then completely cool for three hours. It takes more than a day to cook, but then it will stand at room temperature. As you can see, it is difficult to say unequivocally how to pour the jam, hot or cold. It all depends on your plans for it.
Jam readiness
Before cooking, be sure to make sure that the product is completely ready. To do this, gently stir the jam. If it is ready, then the berries are evenly distributed in the syrup, and do not float up. Take a drop of syrup, cool on a silver platter and rub between fingers. If a thread forms, then you can turn it off. In addition, a drop on a saucer does not spread, but retains its shape.
How to close the jar
If the jam is intended for long-term storage, it should be completely cooled. Then it is poured into a clean, dry dish. But the metal cover is better not to use. It is best to use parchment paper and twine. Glass jars are washed thoroughly with soda, dried and kept over steam. After that, cool jams are laid out in hot jars. It will need to be stored in a dry room. The procedure is quite simple. Parchment is placed on the jar, a circle of cardboard on top and parchment again. It is pulled together with wet twine, which, when dried, blocks the flow of air into the jar. Some housewives use a different technique. They pour the jam hot and cork it under a metal lid. In fact, we’ve already described the best way to pour jam - hot or cold. The rest depends on your personal preferences.