Guest Post: On the Making of Jam

[mizkit]

All y’all know I like to make jams and things and although I can’t find a post talking about it, I did an experiment with my last batch of peach jam where I used about 30% less sugar because the stuff I’d made was So Sweet and So Stiff and because it had been years and years since I’d made jam and I’d *thought* that looked like an *awful* lot of

Comments

[herefox]

I really look forward to hearing the proportions for this! I cut down the sugar a lot in my recipes and I sometimes have problems with things setting but the most egregious of those have been when I've been making a jam with a fruit that doesn't have much pectin and I didn't have any on hand (this happens when someone gives you a huge bag of already overripe plums and you weren't planning on making jam THAT NIGHT.

[cgbookcat1]

I started making jam 2 years ago because I have never liked the sweetness in the store-bought type. At first I planned to use pectin, but when I looked at the amount of sugar I backed away slowly, ran for the honey, and started using whatever amounts of honey and sugar tasted right. Only one batch has failed to set up. The jars come out of the water-bath canner looking and tasting delicious, but I suspect a health inspector would not approve of my smaller amounts of sugar. The changes in the pectin proportions may be due to more stringent government standards for what is "safe" for long-term storage.

[joycemocha]

If you water bath, that should be sufficient for storage. You can also add more acid (lemon juice) for low-acid fruits like fig jam (the only major mold issues I had when making my own jams were with strawberries--particularly high-sugar varieties like we have in the Pacific Northwest--and figs). Fig jam got me started on water bathing instead of sealing with paraffin.

[brienze]

I made peach jam last year when I was unexpectedly gifted with a bunch of peaches, but I was disappointed that 7 cups of sugar went into it, and haven't tried making jam again. I'll be interested to see the reduced sugar proportions.

[mizkit]

It was indeed the 7 cups that appalled me so. I made my last batch hwith 5.5 and thought I coulda gone with 5 in the end. It set up perfectly.

[gows]

I don't make jam, in part because I don't like mucking with pectin and part because the recommended amounts of sugar make my eyes cross.

I do make compote, without much sugar at all, and it cans up just fine. I would suspect the sugar increase having to do more with either the sugar industry or in keeping with our tendency for increased sweetness. I mean, they even put sugar in "healthy" bread.

[joycemocha]

Interesting. I haven't made jam for twelve years, so now I'm going to go scrounging around to see if I have those old recipes for next year, when I anticipate having more time. I also have a artisanal preserving book, so I'm going to compare notes. Luckily I have a lot of older references I've inherited from my mother, so hopefully...