JAMS AND JELLIES
There are two stages in the making of jams and jellies. First, there is the gentle simmer in water which breaks down the fruit and extracts the natural setting agent, pectin. With jellies the fruit needs to be crushed well with a potato masher while it is simmering. The initial simmering also softens the fruit. If the sugar is added too soon it makes tough-skinned fruit chewy. Second, after the sugar has been added, comes the fast rolling boil to obtain a set quickly which will give the preserve the best flavour and the brightest colour.
Always use dry, fresh fruit, slightly under ripe, and try to make the preserve on the same day as the fruit is picked. The pectin content does decrease even if the fruit is left overnight. Frozen fruit, if it has been frozen in perfect condition, is excellent but will also have lost a little pectin, and to counteract this add a little extra fruit—e.g., in marmalade making add an extra orange to the recipe weight.
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Good Pectin Content |
Medium Pectin Content |
Poor Pectin Content |
| Blackcurrants |
Fresh Apricots |
Late Blackberries |
| Cranberries |
Early Blackberries |
Cherries |
| Damsons |
Greengages |
Elderberries |
| Gooseberries |
Lemons |
Grapefruit |
| Plums |
Limes |
Marrows |
| Quince |
Loganberries |
Pears |
| Raspberries |
Sweet Oranges |
Rhubarb |
| Redcurrants |
|
Strawberries |
| Seville Oranges |
|
Tangerines |
|
|
Tomatoes | |
The Pectin Test
Half-way through the jam making, before the sugar has been added, it is possible to test the pulp for pectin:
1. Take a teaspoon of juice from the pan of simmered fruit, put it in a glass and cool it.
2. Add three teaspoons of methylated spirit. Shake gently.
If plenty of pectin is present, a clear jelly clot will form. If a medium amount of pectin is present several small clots will form. If a poor amount of pectin is present, no real clot will be formed. If after further cooking no clot is formed, additional pectin should be added:
50 to 125 ml/2 to 4 fl oz per 450 g/1 Ib of fruit— e.g., to 1.8 kg/4 Ib fruit, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or 1/2 level teaspoon citric or tartaric acid, or 150 ml/ pint redcurrant or gooseberry juice.
Testing for a Set
Do this when the sugar has been added and boiling has started:
After 10 minutes if fruit is in the high pectin list.
After 15 minutes if it is in medium pectin list
After 20 minutes if in poor pectin list
There are several ways of testing.
1. Volume test. If you know the expected yield of your fruit—e.g., the recipe says you will get, say 2.5 kg/5 Ib of jam, then measure out in water that amount. Take a 450 g/1 Ib jam jar (not a 325 g/12 oz jar), fill it five times and pour this into your pan. Use a wooden spoon handle, stand it upright in the water and mark this level with a pencil. Keep the spoon handy. Then, when you are testing for a set, draw pan off heat. Wait until bubbling subsides and stand spoon in the jam. When the volume has returned to the level of the pencil mark, the jam is ready to pot.
2. Cold plate test. Have some plates cooling in the refrigerator, and take a teaspoon of jam and drop it on the cold plate. Wait a minute and, if it wrinkles when pushed, the jam is ready. If not, go on boiling a little longer.
3. Flake test. Dip a clean wooden spoon in boiling jam. Allow the cooling jam to drop from the spoon. If the drops run together and form a flake or curtain it is ready to pot.
4. Temperature test. Use a sugar thermometer. It is important to dip the thermometer in hot water immediately before using it in the jam. Submerge the bulb fully in the boiling jam but do riot let it touch bottom of pan. When the thermometer registers 220°F or 106°C the jam is ready to pot.
PICKLES, CHUTNEYS AND SUCES
Use good quality vinegar, either malt, wine or cider, recommended with a 5% acetic acid content for both flavour and good keeping qualities.
Fruits for pickling need to be firm and sound but not of the finest quality.
Vegetables should be young, fresh and crisp.
Cheaper fruit, provided it is firm, usually forms the basis for chutney.
Aluminium and stainless steel pans are best. Use only wooden spoons, a nylon sieve and stainless steel knives.
Fruit and vegetables for chutney are chopped or minced and cooked to soften in a covered pan with very little water. A pressure cooker is ideal. Vinegar is not usually added at first as it can harden the fruit and vegetables thus prolonging cooking.
Once all ingredients are combined, chutney is cooked gently until thick, stirring often so that it does not stick. When a spoon drawn through the mixture leaves its trail, and does not at once fill with excess liquid, the chutney is ready to pot. Pot into clean, dry, warm jars, filling to the brim. Covers for jars need to be vinegar-resistant—e.g., metal twist top with plastic inner coating, soft plastic snap-on type, or hard plastic screw-on type. Cellophane jam pot covers are not suitable because vinegar will evaporate. Plain metal tops will corrode and rust and impart a metallic taste. Labels should always be used, stating type of chutney, date and whether mild, sweet or hot. Allow chutneys to mature for 1 or 2 months before using.
