What to do if the jam turned out to be liquid? Recommendations

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

In some families, preservation recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Surely everyone has pleasant memories from childhood associated with fragrant grandmother's jam or marmalade, thick and viscous, sparkling like a gem. But many housewives complain that they cannot reproduce such a delicacy with their own hands - the density is not the same.

Our article will tell you what to do if the jam turned out to be liquid, and what measures should be taken during cooking to avoid this situation.

Old recipes

The name "jam" alludes to the long process of boiling. It used to be customary to cook it for a long time, warming up a container with berries or fruits sprinkled with sugar until boiling several times. The jam was allowed to cool completely and then heated again and allowed to boil.

Some housewives boiled a container of brew for a long time over low heat. This method has its advantages: the jam is thick and wellstored, because with prolonged exposure to high temperatures, all bacteria that can cause the fermentation process die. However, with this method, the beneficial substances contained in berries and fruits also suffered. In addition, the structure was destroyed.

What did they do if the jam turned out to be liquid, in the old days? There were several ways. It was possible to drain the excess syrup, boil the brew longer, or simply add sugar. We can use all these recommendations today.

Excess syrup

Draining the fruit juice mixed with sugar is easy. But this method is not suitable for all types of jam. Consider an example.

Blackcurrants, strawberries, cherries, and fruits such as plums, pears, and apples release copious amounts of juice when they react with sugar and heat. In this case, the structure of the fetus itself is not destroyed. The syrup is homogeneous. Therefore, from the jam from the listed ingredients, you can simply drain it through a colander or scoop out the right amount with a ladle into a separate container.

This method can be remembered, for example, when plum jam turned out to be liquid. What to do in this case, you already know - just drain the syrup.

But for rapidly deteriorating fruits, it is not suitable. For example, it will not be possible to save apricot jam in this way. Yes, and some varieties of cherry plum strive to fall apart into pieces at the first heating, turning the mass into a kind of jam.

By the way, the syrup collected from the jam can also be boiled and rolled intobanks. In winter, it is useful for impregnating biscuit cakes, making jelly and compotes. You can serve it with lazy dumplings or cottage cheese, casseroles and puddings, or just add a little to tea.

Saving liquid jam with boiling down

This method is not recommended for raspberries, because the longer the jam is cooked, the more vitamins it loses. And this berry is very rich in them, thanks to which preparations from it are considered not just a winter delicacy reminiscent of summer, but also an excellent therapeutic and prophylactic agent. In addition, raspberries contain a huge amount of organic acids, which do an excellent job of preservatives.

Do not boil strawberries for a long time. The berries fall apart, acquire an unaesthetic brown tint, and sometimes an unpleasant smell.

But for apples and pears, prolonged cooking will only benefit. Pieces of fruit, saturated with sugar, become like marmalade.

If you notice during the cooking process that the jam turned out to be excessively liquid, increase the time. Even fruits from the same tree, collected in different years, can differ in juiciness. The more liquid in the fruit, the more it will stand out in the jam.

If pear jam turned out to be liquid, what should I do? Boil it longer until it reaches the desired consistency.

There is one more little trick. It is necessary to drain the syrup and boil only it, and then pourhot liquid in a container with fruits or berries. Similarly, gooseberry jam, halves of large apricots, black currants, whole pears and other components can be thickened. This method will only benefit berries and fruits: the jam will turn out thick, retain its natural color, structure and vitamins.

Adding sugar

As the juiciness and sweetness of the fruits of different harvests may vary. Even if you have made jam from the fruits of the same tree more than once, it may happen that the usual amount of sugar will not be enough. The jam will not thicken properly and will more resemble baby puree.

In this case, the answer to the question of what to do if the jam turned out to be liquid is a little different. Try adding sugar and heating the container. To begin with, pour in a quarter of the original volume, and after two brews, evaluate the density. Sometimes you need to increase the amount of sugar by 1, 2-1, 5 times.

Modern thickening ingredients

Today there are many products that can make life easier for housewives. These include:

• pectin;
• gesfix;
• gelling sugar;
• agar-agar.

Some manufacturers offer ready-made solutions, which are called “Sugar for making jam”. The composition includes natural syrup thickeners, and the package contains detailed instructions.

Another advantage of such products is a significant reduction in cooking time. If ordinary jam is cooked in stages for 3-4 days, then cooked on suchthickener will be ready in a quarter of an hour. You just need to add the mixture to the berries, mix and heat to a boil.

The use of pectin affects the taste only positively. The syrup becomes like jam. And agar-agar is also very useful, it is even used in Vedic cuisine for making sweets.

Many housewives who have discovered similar ingredients completely switch to a new recipe. They do not have to fiddle in the kitchen for a long time and torment themselves in search of an answer to the question of what to do if the jam from the plums turned out to be liquid.

Irga berry

This medium-sized berry tastes like blueberries or cherries. Irgi juice is an excellent thickener. If the result of cooking does not please you, you can safely use this ingredient.

For example, irga will help if the plum jam turned out to be liquid. What to do in this case? Squeeze the juice of the berries and pour into the syrup before the next boil. The jam will begin to thicken before your eyes.

Prevention measures

No wonder they say that prevention is easier than fixing. In order not to wonder what to do if the jam turned out to be liquid, you can use a simple but reliable way.

Prepare berries or fruits, pour into a container in which you plan to cook jam. Add sugar at the rate of 100 g per kilo of fruits, mix and leave overnight. In the morning, drain the juice that has stood out, add sugar again (as much as indicated in the recipe) andcook jam in the usual way. Drained syrup can also be used! For example, pour them over ice cream.

How much sugar do you need?

If you are using a specific recipe, follow the proportions indicated. But there are also general recommendations. To prepare jam from sweet fruits, sugar is added in a 1: 1 ratio. If you cook sour berries or fruits (cherries, currants, cherry plums), you need to take one and a half times more sugar than fruits. You can also add sugar during the cooking process, for example, when the cherry jam turned out to be liquid.

You already know what to do to thicken certain fruit and berry delicacies. It remains to choose the most suitable method.