Tag Archives: apple

Super Easy Mixed Fruit Jam – Preservative Free

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This is a mixed fruit jam that came out perfect, almost a look alike and taste alike store bought bottled jam.. the X factor here being the non-addition of preservatives. The brightcolor, smooth texture, citrussy flavor and awesome taste has made us yearn for more and more. The fruits that I added for color were black grapes (the seeded variety this time) and pomegranate; fruits added for the pulpy texture were apples and banana. This was the first time I laid my hands on a multi fruit jam and the success lead me try more variants, that came out absolutely perfect too. So, choice of fruits is your forte. Just combine citrus fruits like grapes or berries for tangi flavor and fleshy fruits or vegetables like apple, banana, beetroot and pumpkins respectively for pulpy consistency.
  
Home made Super easy Mixed Fruit Jam – Preservative Free

  


  
Ingredients

  •  pomegranates – 3 no.s
  •  seeded black grapes (one can also use seedless) – 1/2 kg
  •  apples – 2 no.s
  • bananas – 2 no.s medium sized (I used red bananas)
  • sugar – 2 cups approximately (1 cups sugar for 4 cups of total pulp put together)
  • lemons – 2 no.s

  

    

These are the basic 3 steps in Jam Making; Do let me know if there are more please.
  
The Basic 3

Part I

  1. To disinfect the grapes and apples, take separate bowls of water with turmeric and salt. Leave them in the water for 1/2 an hour.
  2. Pomegranates and Bananas have their natural protective skins.

  
Part II

Place a plate in the freezer and a few spoons- we need to check for consistency later by placing the jam in the chilled plate.


  
Part III

Sterilize bottles with lid

  1. Wash the bottles and lids to store jam very well with no food particles sticking to it.
  2. Take a big bowl and place the washed bottles and lids on sides.
  3. Fill water in the bowl immersing the bottles.
  4. Let the water come to a full boil.
  5. Close with lid and let it stay till the jam is done.

  

Method of Preparation-


  
1. Blend pomegranate seeds and strain the juice

2. For grape juice/pulp

  • Cautiously remove grapes that are spoiled or with grey fungus
  • Thoroughly clean and wash the perfect grapes
  • In a pan, cook grapes with 1/2 cup water in medium flame till they are softened and easy to mash with spatula
  • Juice it in a blender and strain the thick pulp or don’t bother if it is thin.

  
3.  Wash and peel apples and blend with banana to a smooth pulp

4. Mix pomegranate and grape juice, apple and banana pulp together in a bowl

5. Take a heavy bottomed pan on stove; measure and pour the above fruity mixture into it

6. Add 1 cup of sugar for every 4 cups of pulp

7.  Add the juice of lemons

8. After the first boil, simmer stove and let it boil

9. Adjust burner of stove to medium and back to sim position till the liquid starts thickening

10. At this stage, check with the plate in the freezer- swipe a spoon of jam on the plate and cut into two halves. If it sets well and isn’t flowing on the plate when tilted, jam is done. Else, cook for some more time.

11. If it seems too thick, add little water and let it boil for some time, until it reaches right consistency

12. Pour into sterilized hot bottles directly from stove and close lid tightly.

13. Enjoy with home made bread or bun. Also try as a filling in tarts or pies.

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Apple and Peach Jam

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With the same motive of making jams without added store bought pectin or other preservatives, this is an Apple and Peach Jam. With the tanginess of peach and sweetness and a bit of sourness of apple, this recipe again uses the natural pectin already preserved in the two fruits and additionally in the seeds of apple and stone of peach.

The learning fact this time – ‘There is pectin in the cores/seeds of certain fruits that helps the jam to ‘set’.’ – thanks to this elegant blog post – http://merrynsmenu.blogspot.in/2013/04/peach-and-apple-jam.html

So, I got 100% organic apples and peaches, pectin from apple seeds and peach stones, minimal sugar (400 gms sugar for 1200 gms of fruit with the core and stone) and scored well with a good consistency Jam.

I would suggest a reduction of 100 gms of sugar, as the jam seemed a bit higher on the sugar side, but go on with the same 400 gms if you prefer a sweet jam as store-bought.

Thanks to my little one who chopped a few apples and squeezed lemons in the making of this healthy Jam with natural pectin.

 

Apple and Peach Jam

 

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Ingredients

  • peaches – 4 no.s – app. 400 gms
  • apples – 6 no.s – app. 800 gms
  • sugar – 400 gms
  • lemon juice – juice of 4 lemons
  • apple cores and peach stones – tied in a clean muslin cloth
  • water – 1/2 cup – app. 150 ml

 

Method of Preparation

Part I

 

  1. Wash the peaches and apples.
  2. Soak them in turmeric-salt water for 1/2 an hour.

 

apples

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and peaches

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Part II

Before cooking the plum, there are two other things that are essential in the making of Jam-

a) Plate in the Freezer

Place a plate in the freezer and a few spoons- we need to check for consistency later by placing the jam in the chilled plate.

b)Sterilize the bottles with lid

  1. Wash the bottles and lids to store jam very well with no food particles sticking to it.
  2. Take a big bowl and place the washed bottles and lids on sides.
  3. Fill water in the bowl immersing the bottles.
  4. Let the water come to a full boil.
  5. Close with lid and let it stay till the jam is done.

Part III
1. De-skin the fruits and cut into small pieces.

2. In a hard bottomed vessel, first add the chopped apples and water and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer.

Note: If both fruits are added together, apple remains hard but peach tends to become soft, as peaches cook faster than apple.

3. Then, add peach and sugar and stir well.

4. Tie the apple cores and peach seeds in a clean white muslin cloth and keep it dipped in the fruit-sugar mixture and let it boil for 10 minutes.

Note: It is suggested in http://merrynsmenu.blogspot.in/2013/04/peach-and-apple-jam.html  to immerse the apple cores and peach seed just after apples are brough to boil – i.e. before adding peaches and sugar, but I forgot that step. So after addition of peach and sugar, I dipped the cores and stones. Yet, it turned out be perfect…lucky me.

 

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5. After 10 minutes, remove the cloth with seeds and add lemon juice to the cooking mixture.

6. Let the mixture cook well and set to jam consistency.

7. Check in-between with the plate in the freezer for consistency – swipe a spoon of jam on the plate and split into two halves with a spoon. If it sets well and isn’t flowing on the plate, jam is done. Else, cook for some more time.

 

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8. When the jam has reached the required consistency, switched off flame.

 

9. Pour into sterilized hot bottles directly from stove and close lid tightly.

10. Do not pour hot jam in cold bottles, otherwise the bottles would crack.

11. Leave the jam to cool by itself. Do not engage in cooling by other means. That would affect the setting of the Jam.

12. Enjoy with home made bread or bun. Also try in tarts or pies.

 

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