Plum jam with pectin. Plum jam for the winter. From wood to jam

You can make delicious jam from any type of plum. Preparing for the winter is a rewarding endeavor, so take your time, stock up on fruit and roll up your sleeves. The sweet delicacy is useful for morning toasts and croissants, baking bagels, buns and pies.

It is served with casseroles, ice cream, and soaked into biscuits. And if you make jam according to an unusual recipe, then you won’t be ashamed to serve it to your guests for tea. You never know where dessert will come in handy, the main thing is that there is a treasured jar in the bins.

How to make delicious plum jam for the winter

The variety and color of the fruit does not matter much - the cooking process will not change. As a result, you will get an amazing plum jam with a rich, deep color and a slightly recognizable sourness.

Do you need gelatin? Some recipes do not require the use of special thickeners, since the fruit contains enough natural pectin. But if you want to make jam with a very thick consistency, there is also this cooking method.

How to determine readiness? Usually they look at the thickness of the workpiece. Boil the plums so that the jam does not spread. Run a spoon along the bottom of the cooking container; if the path is clear and fills smoothly and slowly, the jam is ready.

Classic plum jam without seeds

Required:

• Hungarian (any other plum) – kilogram.
• Water – 100 ml.
• Granulated sugar – 350 gr.

How to make jam for the winter:

1. Select ripe fruits without signs of spoilage. Wash and remove seeds.
2. Place in a basin, pour in water. If the plum is very juicy. You can do without additional liquid.
3. Let's cook. When the mixture boils, cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir and remove foam.
4. Turn the slightly cooled mass into puree using any available method (blender, sieve, meat grinder, or masher, if you want to leave some chunks).
5. Return the fruit to the bowl and add sugar. Adjust the amount of sweetness based on the acidity of the plum. For sour, you can increase to 500 g. per kilogram of fruit weight.
6. Let the jam boil, reduce the heat. Continue cooking slowly, remembering to stir, for 20-25 minutes from the time it boils.
7. Once you have reached the desired consistency, turn it off. Fill sterilized jars and roll up.

Chocolate jam - a simple recipe

Original jam with chocolate and cinnamon is a delicious treat. I advise you to make at least a jar of delicious treats from the delicacy series.

You will need:

• Plums - kilogram.
• Sugar – 700 gr.
• Cinnamon stick (0.5 cm per liter jar).
• Thickener (gelfix, marmalade) – sachet.
• Dark chocolate – bar 100 gr.

How to make unusual jam:

1. Divide clean plums into halves and select the core.
2. Chop with a blender or pass through a meat grinder. Decide for yourself how finely you chop it. Personally, I prefer it when there are pieces of plum pulp in the pureed mass.
3. Place the puree in a saucepan, add sugar. After boiling, cook for a quarter of an hour.
4. Remove from the burner and cool slightly. If you still decide to make the mass jelly-like, rub through a sieve. If you don't want to, skip this step.
5. Let the jam boil, add crushed cinnamon and chocolate broken into pieces.
6. Continue cooking for the last 5 minutes. Let it boil vigorously, turn it off, and fill the jars with dessert. Turn the sealed jars over and cool before storing.

To the collection of recipes:

Plum jam with apricots

Plum is a soft fruit, so it is often combined with denser ones - apples, apricots. Here is a traditional, easy recipe for making jam with apricots.

• Fruits – a kilogram of apricots and plums.
• Water – 150 ml.
• Granulated sugar – kilogram.
• Citric acid - on the tip of the knife.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. Select ripe apricots and plums, sort them, wash them. Remove the seeds from both fruits.
2. Place in a cooking container, add water. Turn on the gas and wait until it boils. Cooking time depends on the ripeness of the fruit and the desired thickness. Tune in for 20-30 minutes.
3. If desired, the jam can be additionally pureed using a blender or other devices.
4. Let it cook again, adding sugar. Cook for 20-30 minutes, if the consistency is not satisfactory, continue cooking. At the end, add citric acid, stir, let it boil and turn off.

Apple and plum jam - recipe using a meat grinder

Apples are friends with plums, they ripen at the same time, it would be a shame not to make jam. Both fruits have a high content of pectin, so the dessert will be thick and rich in flavor.

• Per kilogram of sweet plums and apples – 500 g. Sahara.

1. Slice the fruit, remove the core and remove the seeds. Cut the apples into slices, leave the plums in halves.
2. Grind in a meat grinder, cover the puree with sand, add a pinch of citric acid.
3. After boiling, note the time for an hour. Boil the mixture over low heat, remembering to stir.
4. Pack the finished dessert into jars and store in the pantry.

How to make jam with gelatin

Plums are famous for their natural pectin; the jam will be thick in any case. If you want to make the syrup thicker, add gelatin or other pectin additives.

Required:

• Fruits – 1 kg.
• Citric acid – 2 g.
• Gelatin – 10 gr.
• Granulated sugar – 500 gr.
• Water – 50 ml.

Preparation:

1. Grind clean fruits in any desired way - grind into puree.
2. Place in a saucepan, add acid and sand.
3. Cook for an hour and a half.
4. At the same time, pour hot water over the gelatin. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, pour it into the jam.

How to make jam in a slow cooker

If you are the happy owner of a modern gadget, then after swirling the fruit into the puree, place it in the multicooker bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients, cook on “Jam” or “Stew” for 1.5 hours. Of these, the last half hour is with the lid open.

Plum jam with walnuts in the oven

Few people know this recipe; the dessert is usually prepared much simpler. True, you will have to spend a little money on wine and rum, but it will be very unusual, elegant and tasty.

Required:

• Fruits – 500 gr.
• Sugar (brown) – 250 gr.
• Cinnamon – 4 sticks.
• Ground cinnamon - teaspoon.
• Walnut (almond) – 100 gr.
• Dry white wine – 130 ml.
• Rum – glass (optional).

Preparation:

1. Cut the plums into large slices. Place in baking dish.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Leave on the counter for 40 minutes.
3. Place in the oven preheated to 170 o C. Bake for an hour. After cooking, the mass can be rubbed into jelly.
4. Cool the jam, transfer to a jar, sprinkle sugar on top, cover with parchment paper and close with nylon lids. Keep refrigerated.

Video with a recipe for simple plum jam. Successful pre-winter efforts to you!

Many housewives today are engaged in homemade preparations for the winter, among which preserves and jams take their place of honor. This segment of conservation is especially relevant for those who have their own plot or garden. After all, during the years of a good harvest, it must be processed in some way so that it does not go to waste. And the best way to process it would be a recipe for jam with pectin. It hardens well, cooks relatively quickly, as usual there is a smaller amount of sugar, and the above ingredient itself serves as a thickener. Well, if you are ready, then we can start?

A little about pectin

First, a few words about what this substance is and what, as they say, it is eaten with. Well, seriously, pectin comes in different forms: liquid and powder, and is sold under different names. So, first of all, carefully read the composition indicated on the package. Pectin is a purified polysaccharide. This is a complex chemical substance, a dietary compound, a soluble fiber found in plants (referred to as additive E440 in the production of many products).

Its range of functions is varied: it is used as a thickener, as a stabilizer with a clarifier, and as a liquid-holding reagent. And as a source of the compound, citrus peels, beet pulp, apple pomace or sunflower baskets are usually used. Moreover, it is pectin from apples that is most often used for confectionery purposes and for preservation. And in order for the recipe for jam with pectin, or rather its result, to be completely satisfactory and useful for the body, we must use exactly this one. Well, now - the recipes themselves!

Plum delicacy

The recipe for jam with plum pectin is simple. To implement it, we will need two kilos of ripe fresh fruits. They need to be peeled (blanched) and the seeds removed. You also need to have: juice from half a lemon, one and a half kilograms of sugar, a glass of water, two bags of pectin (20-30 grams).

Practical part

Currant jam with pectin. Microwave recipe

The easiest and fastest method of preparing jam is in the microwave, which can be found in almost any kitchen today. This recipe is especially good if you are making a small amount of jam. In principle, it can be made from any berry. We present to your attention a recipe for jam with currant pectin. And if you don’t have it on hand, don’t be upset - add a small bag of Zhelfix.

Cooking is simple and easy!

To do this, take 700 grams of the same amount of gelling sugar (or the specified amount of the usual ingredient + a pack of pectin (12 g). Place the prepared berries in a microwave-safe bowl, turn on for seven to eight minutes (maximum power). Then take out the berries and mash them with a masher. Add sugar, mix. Put the container in the microwave again, turning it on for five minutes. After that, open, mix, then repeat the procedure three more times. Transfer the jam into sterilized jars, closing with lids.

How to sterilize jars?

By the way, this device can also sterilize jam containers. Pour three centimeters of water into each and place in the microwave for a few minutes (medium power). If the jar is large, then it needs to be placed on its side. After sterilizing the jars, dry them with a clean kitchen towel or put them in a warm oven to dry. But the lids will still have to be boiled, because iron materials cannot be heated in the microwave!

Apricot jam or preserves with pectin: recipe

For a kilogram of apricot you need to take the same amount of gelling sugar (or sugar + 20 grams of pectin), two liters of purified water.

We perform the following actions:

1. We thoroughly wash the apricots in running water (room temperature, not hot), and then scald them with additional boiling water so that the skin comes off better.
2. We make cuts and peel the fruit from the skin. We also remove the seeds. We ended up with halves, but you can additionally cut them into cubes.
3. Over high heat, bring two liters of water to a boil in an enamel container. Add the chopped apricots and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Place the resulting mass on low heat and add gelling sugar (try to add portions, in small doses). Stir until the ingredient dissolves in the total mass, then cook for another two or three minutes.
5. After the mass has cooled and thickened, transfer the jam into bowls or small jars and put them away for storage.

Augustovsky gardens and dachas are fragrant with delicate plums. Good housewives make delicious preparations from it, but, perhaps, there is nothing easier than making plum jam for the winter.

Its basic recipe includes only 2 ingredients - ripened plums and granulated sugar. The golden rule is: it is best to take them in a 1:1 ratio. If the mass seems too sour, simply add more sugar to it, and the overly sweet taste is neutralized with lemon juice.

Plum is rich in dietary fiber and pectin, and is known for its laxative effect. Jam made from it to some extent retains the beneficial properties of fresh fruits. It is useful for hypertensive patients, but diabetics should treat the delicacy with caution, because it contains a large amount of sugar. The calorie content of plum jam is 228 kcal per 100 g of product.

And yet, plum has a pleasant, but very weak smell. Therefore, jam made from it is significantly inferior in aroma to apricot, cherry and even strawberry. By experimenting and adding cloves, star anise, anise, ginger, cardamom and other spices, you can get your own unique recipe. You need very few of them.

Pitted plum jam for the winter - the simplest step-by-step photo recipe

Thick plum jam can simply be spread on bread, or can be used for making desserts, as a layer in pies and cakes, filling for pies, rolls, bagels, etc. In a word, this preparation will not sit on the shelves in the pantry, the main thing is not to be lazy and do it.

Preparing such a delicacy is very simple, you just need to cook it longer so that the fruits boil until smooth and all the excess moisture boils away.

Your mark:

Cooking time: 3 hours 0 minutes

Quantity: 2 servings

Ingredients

• Plums with pits: 1 kg
• Sugar: 800 g

Cooking instructions

Plums of any kind are suitable for thick jam, the main thing is that they are ripe, but not falling apart: it is more difficult to remove the stone from crushed ones.



Break each one in half and remove the seeds.



Place in a bowl and add sugar. We don’t need to worry about the integrity of the plum slices, so feel free to mix the ingredients and put the dishes on the stove.



Cook over low heat until juice appears. We remove the foam.



The jam will remain liquid for quite a long time. Then the plum will boil and the mass will acquire the desired consistency. Continue cooking, remembering to stir.



While the plum jam is cooking, prepare the jars and lids and sterilize them.



In total we cook for about one and a half to two hours. It all depends on the number of plums, their variety or the desired density.

When hot, the jam will be runny, but you can spoon it out, cool it, and see if it’s thick enough. If you want the consistency to be even thicker, then continue cooking.



Place plum jam into jars. Let's roll up.



Turn the jar over until it cools down.



Store the finished jam in a cool place.

Recipe for preparation with bones

Essentially, this is a recipe for thick plum jam, with whole fruits floating in the syrup.

To prepare you will need:

• 1.5 kg plums,
• 1.5 kg granulated sugar,
• 400 ml water.
• A little mint if desired.

What to do:

1. First, cook the syrup from sugar and water.
2. Pour boiling water over the washed plums, then let them cool for 24 hours so that the fruit is soaked in the sweet liquid.
3. Then bring to a boil over moderate heat, boil for a few minutes and leave again for a day.
4. And only after the third boiling, pour the hot jam into jars and roll it up for the winter.

Little secret. To prevent the plums from bursting during cooking and spoiling the appearance of the sweet, the skin of each must first be pierced with a toothpick.

Such jam can be stored for no more than 8 months, almost until the next season. With longer storage, dangerous hydrocyanic acid begins to accumulate in the product from the seeds.

Yellow plum jam for the winter

Yellow plums usually do not have the sourness inherent in dark varieties; their taste is sweet, almost honey-like. It produces jam of a beautiful yellow color, reminiscent of apricot.

• Yellow plums
• Sugar
• Vanilla optional

How to cook:

1. It is recommended to cook in 1 batch, after removing the seeds.
2. Cover the halves with sugar (1:1) and let stand for about 10 minutes until the juice appears.
3. Then put them on low heat and cook for about 1.5 hours.

Little secret. The cooking time can be significantly reduced if you use a special thickener for confiture. To do this, add a packet of thickener after half an hour, let it boil again and immediately pour it into jars.

Thick plum jam with gelatin

Gelatin will also help speed up the preparation process, which is especially important in the summer.

• 1 kg plums;
• 7-1 kg of sugar;
• 15 g gelatin;
• Lemon zest optional.

Procurement process:

1. Layer the plum halves in layers, cut side up, sprinkling each with sugar and shaking the pan slightly to ensure even coverage.
2. Leave the mixture for several hours, or even better, overnight until the juice appears.
3. The next morning, about half an hour before cooking, pour cool water into the gelatin in a separate cup.
4. While it swells, carefully stir the plum that has released its juice to lift any undissolved crystals from the bottom, and place the pan over low heat.
5. After half an hour, remove from the stove and use an immersion blender to thoroughly grind the contents.
6. Return the pan to the heat, bring to a boil again and add the swollen gelatin.
7. Stirring thoroughly, boil the mixture for about 5 minutes and immediately pack it into sterilized jars.

Little secret. Do not boil the mixture for a long time after adding gelatin. When boiled for a long time, it loses its gelling properties.

With pectin

Pectin, obtained from natural fruits, is not so easy to find in stores lately. Instead, a new product appeared - Zhelfix. It is a powder made from natural pectin of apples and citrus fruits. Modern housewives appreciate its excellent thickening properties.

• 1 kg sweet plums,
• 0.5 kg granulated sugar,
• 1 sachet of Zhelfix.

What to do:

1. Mix gelfix with 2 tbsp. l. granulated sugar (in addition to the kg included in the recipe).
2. Pour into the plum and put on fire.
3. You don't have to wait for the fruits to release their juice. You just need to add sugar in portions, boiling each time and waiting until it is completely dissolved.
4. Cook until jelly-like.
5. Immediately pour the hot jam into sterilized jars.

Little secret. The thickness of plum jam is achieved with the help of sugar, respectively, the more it is, the thicker the consistency. The use of pectin allows you to reduce the amount of granulated sugar by about 2 times. Using this trick, you can add pectin to any other jam. Unless, of course, the original fruits were very sour.

Very tasty option with cocoa

The jam prepared according to this recipe is more like a sauce that is served with pancakes and ice cream. But it will especially appeal to chocolate lovers.

• 1 kg pitted plums,
• 1 kg sugar,
• 4 tbsp. l. cocoa powder.

Step by step process:

1. Grind the fruits in a blender along with cocoa powder and sugar.
2. Place the mixture in a thick-walled frying pan and cook over moderate heat while stirring for exactly 5 minutes after boiling.
3. Do not remove the foam! Remove the pan from the heat and stir until it is completely dissolved in the main mass.
4. Boil again for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and immediately pour into jars.
6. Roll up, turn upside down and keep under a blanket until completely cool.

Additional additive: dark chocolate. To enhance the chocolate taste and aroma, break off a few slices from the bar and throw them into the boiling mass.

With apples

Summer plums and apples ripen at about the same time. These fruits belong to the Rosaceae family and are rich in pectin, so combining them gives excellent results. You can take them in any proportions, but since we are talking about harvesting plums, the quantity will be as follows:

• 1 kg plum;
• 0.5 kg apples;
• 1.5 kg sugar;
• Additional spice: rose water.

It can be bought in small Arab shops. In Turkey, it is traditionally added to halva. The scent of rose petal water makes a wonderful composition in this recipe.

What to do:

1. Separate the plums from the pits.
2. Cut the apples into quarters, remove the core and cut into small cubes.
3. Mix the prepared ingredients with sugar.
4. Cook in 2 batches for 30 minutes, each time allowing the mixture to cool slightly.
5. After this, grind with a blender and boil again for 30 minutes.
6. Pour hot jam into jars.

Little secret. If you add a bag of Zhelfix, the amount of sugar can be reduced to 700 g.

With oranges

This recipe is best suited for sweet red or yellow plums that lack acidity.

• 1 kg plum;
• 2 oranges;
• 1 kg sugar;
• Additional spices: star anise, cardamom or saffron.

They are added at the very beginning of cooking; they can be crushed beforehand or used in their entirety.

How to cook:

1. Peel and remove white film from 1 orange and grind together with plums in a blender.
2. Squeeze the juice from the 2nd orange and add to the plum-orange mixture.
3. Add granulated sugar and cook for about 40 minutes.
4. Then pour the hot mixture into jars.

Cinnamon

Plum jam with cinnamon has long been brewed by housewives in western Armenia, where it is called parvar. Previously, pitted plums were boiled overnight with constant stirring. This paste could be stored under a cloth for years. But recently a modern variation of the ancient recipe has appeared.

• 5 kg plums;
• 5 kg sugar;
• 1 tsp. cinnamon;
• Additional additives: cloves and Armenian cognac.

Step by step process:

1. Place the plum halves in an aluminum pan, cover with foil and place in a hot oven for 40 minutes.
2. Add granulated sugar to the steamed plums, mix half with the fruit mixture, and pour the other half on top without stirring.
3. Sprinkle ground cinnamon on top and place a few cloves.
4. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes until the sugar crystals are completely dissolved and the liquid thickens slightly.
5. Leave the mixture overnight, in the morning boil for 15-20 minutes under the lid and roll up.

Little secret. During morning cooking, you can add a glass of Armenian cognac to the boiling mixture, the taste and aroma will be amazing.

With nuts

This recipe also came from the Caucasus, where they love plums and walnuts, so they cook many delicious dishes with them.

• 2 kg plums;
• 2 kg granulated sugar;
• 150 g walnut kernels (can be replaced with almonds);
• Optional anise, cardamom.

What to do:

1. The process of making the jam itself is traditional.
2. Chop the nuts with a knife.
3. Add nut crumbs to the almost finished mixture.
4. After 5-10 minutes, remove from heat.
5. Pack the jam while hot into sterilized jars.

Homemade plum jam through a meat grinder for the winter

A good old mechanical meat grinder does a great job of grinding pitted plums. By the way, you should never remove the skin - it is where all the aroma and taste are concentrated.

• Sugar;
• Plums.

How to cook:

1. Pass the prepared fruits through a meat grinder.
2. Mix the crushed mass with granulated sugar in the traditional 1:1 ratio.
3. Immediately place on moderate heat.
4. The jam will be ready in about an hour: when the drop stops spreading on the saucer.
5. Place the hot mass into sterilized jars and roll up.

Additional additive: butter. It gives the jam a glossy appearance and a creamy flavor.

Multicooker recipe

The appearance of a multicooker in kitchens has radically simplified the work of the housewife; you can also make jam in it.

What to do:

1. Mix pitted plums with granulated sugar in a 1:1 ratio
2. Place all the ingredients in a cooking bowl according to the chosen recipe.
3. Close the lid and set any of 3 modes: stewing, boiling or milk porridge, and time - 40 minutes.
4. About 10 minutes after the start of cooking, open the lid and stir the contents.
5. After another half hour, grind the mass using a submersible blender and immediately pour into jars.

Little secret. Plum jam can be easily prepared in a bread machine if it has a “jam” or “jam” mode. The time is the same - 40 minutes.

A very simple and quick recipe for plum jam “Five Minutes”

From 1 kg of plums (strictly no more and no less, otherwise nothing will work) you can make thick jam:

1. Add a glass of water to the pitted fruit (less if the plum is very juicy).
2. Put on fire and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Then add granulated sugar in small parts (1 kg in total).
4. Boil for another 5 minutes and pour into jars.

• Only ripe or even slightly unripe plums, containing more pectin, are suitable for making jam.
• In overripe fruits, pectin turns into sugar; they boil easily, but gel weakly, so the jam will be liquid even after cooling.
• To remove white plaque from the surface, fruits can be washed using a soft sponge.
• All the flavor of the plum is concentrated in its skin, so it cannot be removed.
• To quickly remove the pit, you can cut the fruit in a circle and turn the halves in different directions.
• But there are varieties with poorly separated seeds. Then a simple pencil will come to the rescue: with its blunt end, pierce the berry from the side of the stalk and push the seed out, while the fruit remains almost intact.
• Today it is difficult to find in stores a real copper basin in which jam was previously made. Instead, you can take it from aluminum or stainless steel, the main thing is that the container is wide. The larger the evaporation surface, the more intense the evaporation of liquid occurs.
• Cook over moderate, even low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and skimming off any foam that forms.
• By the way, foam stops forming when the product is close to its readiness: a drop of finished jam does not spread on the saucer.
• Readiness can also be monitored using a special kitchen thermometer. After reaching a temperature of 105°C, the jam should be boiled for no more than 5 minutes.
• It is most convenient to grind the cooked mass using an immersion blender.
• The finished jam is poured into dry, sterilized jars using a small ladle.
• Closed but still hot jars are turned over, placed on the lid and cooled in this form. Sometimes they are covered with a warm blanket to slow down the cooling process.
• Sweet preparations are stored in a pantry or closet for 2-3 years.

Greenish redberry, yellow cherry plum, blue tkemali, yellow-red mirabelle - all these varieties are great for making plum jam, which is so nice to spread on crispy toast at breakfast on a winter morning.

We look forward to your comments and ratings - this is very important to us!

How nice it is on long winter evenings, when a snow blizzard rushes outside the windows, to sit back and drink tea with aromatic jam. Some people like pureed raw fruits and berries, while others like the thicker consistency of their homemade delicacy. But almost everyone likes aromatic seedless plum jam, which can be spread on toast or simply eaten with a teaspoon, washed down with hot, tart tea. Today we’ll talk about cooking tricks with step-by-step recipes for plum delicacies for the winter.

Jam or jam?

At first glance, it may seem that jam is no different from jam, but this is not so. The technology for preparing both types of dessert is different, which leads to the appearance of its own unique flavor notes in each of the above-mentioned products.

The first difference between jam and jam is the raw material for preparation, in this case it is fruit or berry puree. Whole or chopped fruits are used to make jam. To make the jam richer, overripe plums and even carrion are used. You can only use whole, even not completely ripe, berries for jam.

Fragrant plum delicacy

The consistency of jam is homogeneous and dense, jam is jelly-like. Many housewives use pectin or gelatin to prepare plum jam delicacies. It is worth noting that if individual pieces of berries or fruits get into the jam, we cannot talk about a decrease in the quality of the product.

The density of the jam is higher than that of jam. The cooking time for these 2 types of dessert is different: the jam mass is constantly boiling for 25–30 minutes, but the production of jam requires much more time and low heat.

Preparation of plum fruits

Before moving directly to the recipe for plum jam, it is necessary to consider a very important issue. This is chopping berries, which can be done in 2 different ways:

• passing through a meat grinder;
• grinding with a blender.

The second method, although faster, has a certain drawback - the finished jam becomes opaque and, in addition, the blender does not break all the skin of the fruit.

Removing seeds for jam is an immutable rule. Firstly, many experts consider storing jam with seeds as a “time bomb”, because Toxic substances gradually accumulate in such delicacies. The second reason for removing seeds from berries is safety of consumption. Do you agree that few people want to break a tooth while drinking evening tea?

Recipe No. 1 - plum jam with Zhelfix

To make this plum jam you will need the following ingredients:

• ripe plums - 2.5 kg;
• granulated sugar - about 900 g (+ 2.5–3 heaped tablespoons);
• Zhelfix - 2 packages.

Zhelfix is ​​a modern product created on the basis of pectin. Although it is similar in name to gelatin, it has nothing in common with it. Gelatin is made from cattle bones; it is pre-soaked in water and added to pudding or jelly immediately when removed from heat. Zhelfix - a powder that can be heated, is added to the berry mass mixed with granulated sugar and allows you to reduce the preparation time of the delicate delicacy by half.

1. Wash the fruits thoroughly and place in a large saucepan. If your own plum juice is not enough, you need to add a couple of tablespoons of clean water. Usually the lack of liquid is visible to the naked eye - the mass begins to stick, but the fruits do not soften;
2. Stewing the mass continues until the berries soften, the skin of which should burst;
3. Add 900 grams of sugar for every 2.5 kg of fruit, mix the future jam thoroughly;
4. Zhelfix sachets should be mixed with 2.5–3 tablespoons of sugar and added to the main mass. After introducing the gelling component, the dessert is cooked for no more than 5 minutes;
5. After this, the jam mass is laid out in clean and prepared jars.

Some housewives store the jam rolled up, others put the jars under simple nylon lids in the cellar.

Zhelfix can be replaced with pectin, simple gelatin or agar-agar. Vegetarians prefer gelling additives of plant origin, excluding gelatin from recipes.

How to make yellow fruit jam

Yellow plums are an excellent raw material for making aromatic jam, which can be used as a dessert for tea or as a filling in baked goods. It is necessary to select fruits very carefully - overripe and spoiled plums should be discarded. The ideal option is berries that have not reached 100% ripeness.

The degree to which the berries for jam are crushed affects the consistency and appearance of the finished product. Therefore, pureeing raw materials is highly not recommended.

1. Rinse 2 kg of selected yellow plums with running water, then place the fruits in a colander to get rid of excess moisture. To speed up the process of preparing raw materials, you can use paper towels. Grind the plums with a knife, meat grinder or blender;
2. A separate container is used to prepare sugar syrup. The proportions of the mixture of sugar and water are 200 ml for every 2 kg. The mixture is boiled, mixed with berries in an enamel or any metal container;
3. The mass begins to boil, the process should continue for up to 20 minutes. When the future jam is removed from the heat, it is cooled to room temperature and rubbed through a sieve. This is required to get rid of unnecessary cake that is not cooked. After rubbing, the mass is placed back on the fire and heated;
4. The next step in preparing plum jam from yellow fruits is adding freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 to 4 tablespoons) to the heated mass. Many housewives also add grated zest, which adds a fresh note to the taste. Lemon zest can be replaced with peppermint leaves;
5. The yellow plum jam is brought to a boil 2 times; in between these procedures, the mass should cool. After reheating to a boil, turn off the mixture and wait until it cools completely.

That's it, the tasty and healthy dessert is ready for distribution into prepared jars. The amber delicacy will become a real decoration of the tea ceremony.

Traditional home recipe

For the traditional recipe for making thick plum jam, you will need 2 kg of fruit and the same amount of sugar. If the plum variety is not too sour, you can get by with 1.5 kg of granulated sugar.

At the end of cooking, any gelling substance is added to the jam, the most common being pectin. The use of apple pectin allows you to reduce cooking time and preserve a lot of vitamins in the finished dessert.

Preparation of plum jam takes 80 minutes. From 2 kg of fruits and 2 kg of granulated sugar, about 1.5 liters of aromatic product is obtained.

Main ingredients:

• peeled plums without pits - 2 kg;
• granulated sugar - 1.5–2 kg;
• clean water - 0.100 l;
• bag of apple pectin - 15 gr.

The algorithm for making plum jam is quite simple and is divided into separate stages:

1. The fruits are sorted. Preference should be given to ripe plums, in which the stone is well separated from the pulp;
2. Rinse the raw materials for jam and place in a prepared pan or basin. You need to pour water into the bottom of the dish so that the mass does not stick to the bottom during the heating process (2-3 tablespoons). The ideal container option is a stainless steel basin; food does not stick to this material;
3. The plum mass is placed on the fire and heated over low heat until it boils, the resulting foam is removed with a slotted spoon. Cooking time - from 25 to 30 minutes. During this time, the fruits soften and release juice;
4. The degree of readiness of the dessert is determined by testing a drop placed on a saucer - if it does not spread, the aromatic delicacy is ready;
5. Pectin is mixed with a small amount of sand and added to the jam mass, stirring. Time of introduction: 5–10 minutes before completion of the dessert preparation process;
6. The cooled mass is packaged in jars; it is not necessary to roll up the jam. The jars are pre-sterilized to prevent premature spoilage of the product and extend its shelf life.

The storage conditions for plum jam are no different from the usual conditions created for all homemade preparations: cool air, darkening and the absence of strong odors in the room.

In addition to the described method of preparing tasty and healthy plum jam, many housewives use modern household appliances to achieve the same goal, and more specifically, a multicooker and a bread maker.

Jam from a bread machine

Using a bread machine to make jam is the easiest way to get a delicious dessert. Preparing the fruit is no different from the procedure described above.

The proportions of granulated sugar for jam from a bread machine differ from the traditional recipe. For a kilogram of plums you only need 0.7 kg of sugar and a little lemon zest.

The cooking algorithm is very simple:

1. Place all the ingredients into the oven bowl at once;
2. turn on the automatic “jam” mode;
3. when the program completes its execution, the miracle machine will emit a special signal;
4. The finished jam can be placed in prepared jars and stored.

Depending on the brand of bread machine, the duration of preparation of plum jam may vary, but on average it is 1 hour 20 minutes. The convenience of this option for producing a delicious dessert can hardly be overestimated - while the machine is preparing the delicacy, a woman can do other household chores.

How to cook something delicious in a slow cooker

By analogy with a bread maker, a multicooker is also used. Making jam or marmalade in it is a real pleasure:

1. plums are pitted and washed with running water;
2. the raw materials are crushed in a blender with the addition of granulated sugar;
3. proportions for jam: 300–350 grams of granulated sugar per 1 kg of fruit;
4. placing the mixture in the multicooker bowl, turn on the “stew” mode for 1 hour;
5. if, after the allotted time, the jam has not reached the required thickness, start the “baking” mode for 15–20 minutes;
6. The turned off fruit delicacy is cooled and distributed into containers prepared in advance.

On the market today you can find multicookers of a new generation - the cooking process in them occurs under pressure, which significantly reduces the cooking time. You can cook plum jam in a pressure cooker in 8-10 minutes.

Plum jam without added sugar

Not everyone can eat sugar. This may be due to the desire to control body weight or medical contraindications (diabetics, for example). The abundance of plums in the garden and the refusal of sweet desserts should not be an obstacle to making aromatic, healthy and thick plum jam.

1. For home harvesting, only ripe fruits that have reached the required degree of maturity and natural sweetness are suitable. After peeling the plums from the bones and cutting them each into 4 parts, you need to place the mass in a food container made of any metal.
2. After boiling, you need to note the time - with the lid closed, the future jam is cooked for at least 1.5 hours. After this, the dessert is removed from the heat and set aside for 8–10 hours.
3. On the next day, the procedures are repeated: heating for 1.5 hours, cooling for 6 to 8 hours. In the third approach, the jam is prepared to the required thickness, after which it is placed warm in jars and put away until winter tea gatherings.

Various additives that improve the taste of plum jam

When various additives are added to jam made from plums, the taste of the finished dessert improves. Depending on the desired result, you can add the following to the jam mass during the cooking process:

There is no need to add pectin to plum-apple jam; apple pulp does an excellent job of thickening the fruit delicacy.

Video: the nuances of making delicious seedless jam at home

Whatever jam preparation option the housewife chooses, the result will certainly please her household and guests. When a jar of delicate delicacy is opened before gathering over a cup of tart tea, a cloud of memories of a sunny summer will hang in the air.

Autumn is the time for preparations.
And of course, many people now make jams and preserves.
So, it’s time to talk about pectin, and how to use it to make more tasty and healthy jam.

My grandmother, mother and I made jam like everyone else: the ratio of sugar to fruit is 1:1, and sometimes even more - 1,200 - 1,300 sugar per 1 kilogram of fruit!

Sugar plays three roles in jam: it is a sweetener, a thickener and a preservative.

But sweet berries and fruits do not need large doses of sugar; sterilization can take on the role of a preservative - jam packaged hot, in hot and dry jars, and hermetically sealed, stored without a refrigerator no worse than grandma’s.

So what's the problem?

The fact is that without a large amount of sugar you get not jam, but compote...

Therefore, when reducing the amount of sugar, pectin is used as a thickener.

With pectin you can make jam and preserves, thick, beautiful and not at all sweet.
Not to mention the fact that we find this jam much tastier, and it also has a lot fewer calories!

What is pectin?

Pectin is a polysaccharide that is naturally found in all vegetables and fruits.

Citrus fruits and apples are the richest in pectin, with the highest percentage of pectin contained in the peel and seed pods.

The industrial method of producing dry pectin involves extracting it with acid from plant materials and then drying it.

Industrially produced dry pectin looks like a fine, creamy, odorless powder.

Its labeling as a food additive is E440.
Liquid pectin is obtained from boiling apple juices or citrus peels.
Dry pectin is usually used for making jams and preserves, as an additive to dairy products, etc.
Liquid pectin is used to make jelly and marmalade (sweets), etc.

Liquid pectin can be cooked at home!

For example, if you are peeling apples for apple pie, or squeezing juice, don't throw away the waste!
Fill them with water, cook for 30-40 minutes and strain. If you put the broth in the refrigerator, make sure it thickens. This is a decoction with a high content of pectin, and it can be used to make jam instead of water.
Of course, its properties are not as strong as those of dry pectin.

Liquid pectin is sold sterilized, like juice.

Dry industrial pectin is sold in various forms - both pure and in mixtures with sugar, dextrose, and acid.
If you bought a ready-made mixture, then proceed as written on the package.

If you bought pure pectin, then you should know the following:

Pectins are different!

Buffered pectin. This is pectin, which does not require acid in the product for gelling.
Not buffered - requiring the obligatory addition of acid for the gelling process.
Thermally stable - i.e. withstand subsequent heat treatment, which is important, for example, if the jam is then used for fillings in confectionery products. These are pectins containing a lot of methoxyl. (high-methoxy, designated HM or HR on the packaging). Within the group, these pectins are also subdivided according to the strength and speed of gelation, therefore they may have additional markings indicating this strength (100,200, etc.).
Non-heat stable - cooked and jellied jam cannot be reheated, it will become liquid.
This pectin has a low methoxy content (low methoxy, LM or LR on the package).

As a rule, it is impossible to know what type of pectin you bought.
But if you really want to, you can check both for buffering and thermal stability by cooking a small portion of jam - with and without acid, and then heat the sample after gelling.

The standards for adding pectin are also not easy!

A lack of pectin will cause the jam to remain liquid. Excess pectin will add an off-flavor, ruining the taste.

What I found out after reading and experimenting:

1. Pectin consumption rates range from 5 grams per 1 kilogram of fruit to 15 grams.
The more sugar and less liquid, the less pectin you need to add.
General rule:
if sugar is taken in the ratio of 1 kilogram of fruit: 500 grams of sugar, then 4-5 grams of pectin is enough
if sugar is taken as 1: 0.25 then you need 7-10 grams of pectin
if sugar is not used at all, then 12-15 g of pectin is taken per 1 kg of fruit.

The amount of pectin depends on its quality; moreover, with such a small weight, the error of the scales is inevitable.
See for yourself, don’t be afraid to experiment! Brew a small amount as a test batch and adjust.

2. Pectin is added to boiling jam/fruit puree, and must first be mixed with a small amount of sugar (so that it is distributed evenly in the jam).
This is due to the peculiarities of pectin dissolution. Pectin does not melt like sugar, but behaves like gelatin - it first swells, absorbing water, and only then dissolves. If pectin powder is not mixed with sugar, its particles may stick together and then no force will force them to dissolve, they will remain in the syrup as a gelatinous lump.

3. Jam with pectin is cooked from 1 minute to 3-5 (maximum!). With longer cooking, pectin is destroyed, losing its gelling properties. Besides, what's the point of cooking jam longer than necessary? The shorter the cooking time, the more beautiful the jam!

4. Complete gelation occurs as with gelatin, after cooling.

5. A large amount of acid in the raw material reduces the gelling properties (and then you need to either add sugar or increase the amount of pectin), but a small amount of acid promotes gelling, so if you do not know what type of pectin you bought (buffered or not), in the jam For sweet fruits you need to add a spoonful of lemon juice.

Where to buy pectin.

In Israel it is sold in spice shops and stores like Four Chef, etc.
In Russia it is sold under the name "Zhelfix".
In Italy it is sold under the name "Fruttapek"
Can be purchased online. It weighs little, is not expensive, and you compensate for the costs by saving sugar.

And finally, as an example, my recipe fresh fig and ginger jam.

And here is a wonderful selection of recipes from my friends: preserves, jams and even marmalade!
From Luda milav

here is a list of some recipes, what I prepared and what I translated

Red onion jam with apples.