To Make Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Prepare the fruit and place it in a clean, dry saucepan over medium heat.
Stir with a wooden spoon until the juice begins to flow.
Make the jam
Remove from heat and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Return to heat and boil for about 30 minutes, stirring often and skimming off any scum that rises.
To test for doneness, place a small amount on a cold plate; if it sets, the jam is done.
Finish
Finish as you would for marmalade.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fruit
- Provides the natural pectin and acid that help the jam thicken and set.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set and keep as it cooks down.
The step that matters
Testing for doneness on a cold plate. Jam sets as it cools, not while hot, so it can look runny in the pan. Testing a small cold sample shows whether enough water has evaporated and the pectin and sugar have reached a gel. Stopping too early leaves it loose; cooking too long can make it stiff.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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