A simple guide to making your own jams, marmalades, preserves, and conserves

Jams, marmalades, preserves, and conserves are each excellent ways to preserve your food in a healthy and delicious manner. Here's a guide to food preservation:

• Jam consists of fruit pulp cooked to a jelly-like consistency.
• Preserves are whole or large fruit pieces suspended in thin gel.
• Marmalade consists of pieces of citrus fruit and rind in a stiff, clear gel.
• Conserves contain a high proportion of mixed, chopped fruits in a small amount of gelled juice.
• In all these products the concentration of pectin, acid and sugar are critical to proper setting, particularly if no extra pectin is to be added.
• Best results are achieved by following a recipe carefully; do not double or triple measures to make a larger batch. Instead, make several smaller batches. They will not take much longer to boil than a single large batch, and a smaller batch is easier to handle.

• Be sure that the pectin and acid content are high enough by using plenty of under-ripe fruit.
• When making jams or other fruit products with added pectin, cook the fruit until it is well softened before adding the sugar and pectin.
• For all fruit products, remember that precise measurements of ingredients and accurate timing are important for the best results.

• Using a large pot, slowly and gently cook fruit until it is broken down and soft (this will release pectin).
• If acid is needed it should be added before the fruit is cooked as it helps to extract the pectin. When the fruit and skins are thoroughly soft, add sugar, stir until all the sugar has dissolved then boil rapidly until the setting point is reached.
• For best results warm the sugar (spread on baking trays in the oven) before adding to mixture. This means that the mixture is not cooled too much so the sugar dissolves faster and the mixture will return to the boil more quickly. The pan should only be about half full when the sugar is added to allow enough room for the vigorous boiling.
• As the mixture cooks, water boils away until the sugar reaches the correct concentration to set and so preserve the fruit. Too little sugar in the finished mixture could result in fermentation; too much could result in crystallization.
• An accurate thermometer is the simplest and safest way to monitor this. As the sugar concentration increases, the temperature of the mixture will rise. The setting point is at 105°C to 106°C (221°F to 223°F). You can double-check by placing 15 millimetres (one teaspoon) of mixture on a cold plate and leaving it to stand for one minute (remove pot from heat while doing this test).
• A thin skin which wrinkles when gently pushed should form on the surface; if the sample runs freely as a thin fluid when the plate is tilted, the mixture is not ready and should be returned to the heat for further cooking.
• Skim any scum from the surface before bottling.

• If the temperature of the mixture is above 85°C (185°F) when ladled into jars, no sterilization treatment is needed. Simply pre-warm the jars and fill to within 1.2 centimetres (3/4 inch) of the rim, and immediately invert for one minute to both sterilize the lid and create an air-tight seal.
• Return jars to upright position and leave undisturbed to cool.
• OOne simple way to pre-warm jars is to put them through a dishwashing cycle just before use; the lids, which often have rubber or plastic seals, should be washed separately.
• Store your jams and preserves in a cool, dark place and use within three months.

There you have it -- now you're ready to make your own jams and marmalades or preserve your own food. Not only are they delicious and last for a long time, homemade foods make excellent holidays gifts for your friends!

--------------------

Discover the smarter way to save time and money

Ready to start saving more on your groceries and pharmacy purchases? Download the FREE YP Grocery app today! It lets you create shareable shopping lists, automatically finds all the best deals and coupons, then delivers them right to you. No more manually scrolling through hundreds of flyers to find what you’re looking for!

Download the YP Grocery app now!