Here’s Why You Should Make Jam, Like, Right Now (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making jam? ›

The Magic of Macerating

One of my favorite tricks for jam-making is macerating the fruit first. Macerating is the process of coating the fruit in sugar and letting it rest for a few hours or overnight, which pulls some of the juice out of the fruit and creates a syrup with the sugar.

Jam-making methods are linked to some of the earliest ways of preserving food, which date all the way back to the Stone Age (around 2.6 million years ago!). During the Stone Age (also known as the Paleolithic period), people discovered ways to preserve food for storage, to make survival easier when food was scarce.

It should go without saying that the most important part of the jam-making process is cooking the fruit (since, well, it's what makes it jam). This is when water evaporates, not only thickening the mixture, but concentrating flavors.

Commercial pectin helps thicken jam made with low-pectin fruits, like blackberry jam, or vegetable jelly recipes, like pepper jelly. It comes in powder or liquid form, but the former is the most common. Add powdered pectin to the fruit juice, chopped fruit, or strained purée before heating the jam mixture.

Since pectin is activated by sugar, it requires using a considerable amount of sugar to activate the pectin and set (i.e. thicken) your jam. If you try to cut back on the sugar, it won't set properly.

Making a homemade version of your favorite jam or jelly is easy, and it'll likely be a healthier alternative to store-bought products.

Fibril theory

This theory states that when the sugar is added to the pectin solution, it destabilizes the pectin conglomerates and pectin-water equilibrium, forming a fibrils network through the fruit Jam. The fibrils network holds the sugar solution in the inter-fibrillar spaces.

The amount of sugar you need to make jam depends on the amount of pectin in your chosen fruit, but generally the fruit-to-sugar ratio for traditional jams is 1:1 (ie. 450g/1lb sugar to 450g/1lb fruit).

To ensure that my jam has a proper acid level to gel properly and limit bacteria growth, I always add lemon juice to a jam mixture. Plus, I like the flavor a pop of lemon juice adds to my jam. It balances the sweetness of the fruit and brightens most fruit jams.

How long should jam boil for? ›

Bring the mixture up to a boil, stirring frequently. Continue to boil while keeping an eye on it, still stirring frequently, until the fruit is jammy and thick, about 20 minutes. Begin checking the fruit for doneness. Start checking to see if the jam is set.

Pectin, naturally found in fruit is vital to make your jam set. With low-pectin fruits like strawberries, help them along by either mixing with pectin-rich fruit like gooseberries or by using jam sugar (with added pectin and citric acid).

Jam recipes mostly comprise equal weights of fruit and sugar. You can play with this 1:1 ratio as much as you want, but too much fruit and you may lose the preserving effects of the sugar; too much sugar and it may crystallise during storage.

As soon as the preserves are spooned or poured into the sterilised jars or bottles, they must be correctly sealed to prevent deterioration. Fill the hot dry jars right to the top – preserves shrink slightly on cooling and a full jar means less trapped condensation. Seal the jars while still hot.

Do Not Stir Once Mixture Is Boiling. Once your jam/marmalade it has reached a rapid rolling boil do not stir it. Stirring it will alter the temperature of the jam/marmalade meaning it will take longer to reach the setting point.