Thick strawberry jam for the winter with cooking secrets.
Everyone loves strawberry jam. It is sweet, bright, aromatic. But not everyone knows that there are some secrets to its preparation. And in this article I will reveal all the secrets so that your jam turns out delicious and does not spoil during storage. After all, cooking deliciously is half the battle. You also need to properly roll it into jars. And I'll tell you how to do it.
To ensure that the strawberries in the jam remain intact, you need to choose the right berries. Strawberries should be ripe, but not overripe, dense. If the strawberries are soft, they will immediately lose their shape when cooked. Also, the strawberries should not have any stains or signs of rotting. Jam made from spoiled berries will ferment quickly. The size of the berries also matters: they should be medium, approximately the same diameter as a 5-ruble coin. Small berries will boil quickly, but large ones may be hollow in the middle. In addition, large berries have little pectin, so the jam will turn out liquid.
Sterilization of jars.
Also, good sterilization of jars and lids is important for the preservation of jam. Before sterilization, jars are washed with soda; washing with dish soap is not allowed. No chemistry!
Traditionally, jars are sterilized over steam. To do this, fill a saucepan with water and boil it. Use a special sterilization lid with a hole for the jar. Or just take the oven rack. Place the jars upside down on this rack to steam. Sterilize for 10-15 minutes until the drops that form on the walls begin to flow down.
You can also sterilize jars in the oven. Just put them in a cold oven, turn on the heat at 140-150 degrees, when the oven is hot, sterilize the jars for 10-15 minutes.
Screw caps can also be sterilized in the oven. Lids with rubber bands need to be boiled.
Strawberry jam with cooking secrets.
This recipe is quite original. If everything is done correctly, the jam will not become moldy during storage. And each berry will be elastic and retain its shape. The color of the jam will also be bright.
To achieve this, you need to know some tricks, which I will write about below.
Ingredients:
- strawberries – 1 kg
- sugar - 1 kg (minimum 650 gr.)
- lemon juice - 1 tsp.
- natural vinegar (apple or wine) - 2 tbsp.
- water - 0.5 l
Cooking method:
1. First, it is important to choose the right strawberries. I wrote about this at the beginning of the article. Next, you need to wash it properly. To prevent strawberry jam from becoming moldy and fermenting, and to ensure that the berries retain their shape better, you need to wash the strawberries in a vinegar solution. Vinegar will kill harmful bacteria and strengthen the berries.
2.Pour 2 liters of water into a bowl, add 2 tbsp. vinegar. Place the strawberries in a sieve and lower into water. Keep the berries in the solution for 1-2 minutes, turning them slightly with your hands to wash them. If all the strawberries do not fit into the sieve, then wash them in portions.
When you wash the strawberries, let the water drain. Do not immediately remove it from the sieve.
3.The pan in which the jam will be cooked must be perfectly clean. To do this, wash it with soda, then rinse with boiling water and wipe dry with a towel. It is better to use stainless steel dishes for this purpose; they do not oxidize.
4.Remove the stems from the strawberries at this stage and place the berries in the prepared pan. There is no need to tear off the “tails” before washing, this will make the strawberries more watery.
5. According to this recipe, strawberries are filled with hot sugar syrup. There is no need to cover it with sugar and wait several hours for the berries to release their juice. To make the syrup, boil half a liter of water. Pour 1 kg of sugar into the water, stirring constantly. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
The more sugar in the jam, the longer it will last. With 1 kg of sugar per 1 kg of berries, the jam will be quite sweet. If you don’t like the cloying taste, reduce the amount of sugar to 700-800 g. for 1 kg of berries.
Cook the syrup for a few minutes. The sugar should completely dissolve and the color of the syrup will turn light yellow. To check if the syrup is ready, take a drop of syrup from a spoon onto your index finger and press it against your thumb. Try to unstick your fingers. The finished syrup should stretch like a thread. If the thread does not work out or it breaks, then you need to cook more.
6.As soon as the syrup is cooked, you need to immediately pour it over the strawberries. Don't let the syrup cool, pour boiling water on it! It is better to pour through a sieve, in which sugar crystals will remain.
7.Cover the strawberries with a clean towel and leave to soak in the syrup for 2 hours.
8.When the strawberries have stood, they can be boiled. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. There is no need to stir the jam so as not to mash the berries. Just take the pan and shake it a little in a circular motion. Stir in this manner every 2 minutes. Cook the jam after boiling for a total of 5 minutes.
Be sure to skim off any foam that forms. Foam is a coagulated protein that will turn sour very quickly if left. At the same time, do not touch the berries so as not to crush them.
9. After boiling the jam for 5 minutes, remove it from the heat, cover with a towel and let it brew for 2 hours. During this time, the berries will be saturated with syrup. Then cook the jam again for 5 minutes and leave it for another 2 hours. And cook the jam for the third time for 5 minutes.
Don’t forget to skim off the foam and stir when cooking.
10. During the third cooking, 1 minute before the end of cooking, add lemon juice to the jam. It will prevent the jam from becoming sugary.
To check if the jam is ready, place a drop on a saucer. The drop should not spread. If you take a drop between your fingers, a thread will not form, but your fingers will be difficult to unstick, and the syrup will be very sticky.
11.Remove the finished jam from the stove. You can't roll it up right away. Because the hot steam will condense on the lid and flow onto the jam. This moisture then causes mold to form. The ladle with which you will pour the jam into the jar also needs to be doused with boiling water so that it is sterile.
Pour the hot strawberry jam into sterile jars, leaving 1cm from the top. Leave to cool to 50 degrees for 20 minutes. Then cover with a lid and roll up.
12.Turn the jar over and check for leaks. Roll the can on the table a little. This jam can be stored for 2 years in a cool, dark place. The strawberries remain whole, soaked in syrup, firm and bright. This is a very tasty delicacy in the winter season.
Strawberry jam with whole berries.
This recipe differs from the previous one in that the strawberries are not filled with sugar syrup, but covered with sugar. Read how to do it.
Ingredients:
- strawberries – 1 kg
- sugar - 1 kg
Cooking method:
1. Wash the strawberries, dry them and remove the stems. Place in a saucepan in which you will cook the jam. Pour in sugar and leave overnight, or for a day. During this time, the strawberries will release juice and the sugar will sink to the bottom.
2.Place the strawberries on the stove over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Stir so that the jam does not burn and the sugar dissolves. Just do it carefully so as not to crush the berries. Be sure to collect the foam so that the jam does not ferment during storage.
3.After three minutes, turn off the heat, set the jam aside and let it cool completely. After completely cooling to room temperature, put it back to boil. Cook the same way as the first time - three minutes after boiling. Cool again. And boil for the third time for three minutes.
With each cooking, you need to periodically stir and skim off the foam.
To test your strawberry jam for doneness, pour some syrup onto a saucer and draw a line. If it remains, the edges do not join, which means the syrup is already boiled down enough.
4.Pour hot jam into sterilized jars. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes and roll up the lids.
Do not forget that both the lids and the ladle must be sterile and dry.
5. Turn the jar over and check that the lid is tightly rolled up. Leave the jam in the jar to cool and then store it.
I wish you, readers, delicious jam and a sweet winter! Don't be lazy to stock up in the summer. Everything will definitely work out if you follow these tips. And your strawberry jam will last a long time and will not spoil.
