Strawberry Jam

Sugar at a concentration of 60 to 65% in solution inhibits the growth and reproduction of various microorganisms, as it possesses preservative properties. This is the basis for preserving fruits and berries when brewing them in strong sugar syrups. Various products are obtained from fruits or berries. For example, you can prepare strawberries for the winter in the form of jam, jam, jam, marmalade, jelly or syrup.

All of them can be stored for a long time without preliminary sterilization or pasteurization in a sealed container, since their resistance is due to the high concentration of sugar. Less sugar concentration requires preliminary preparation of cans and pasteurization of the product.

When cooking jam, it is not necessary to keep the shape of the fruit. Brew any, including jam from strawberries in one step. Unlike jam, the syrup in this kind of billets has a jelly-like consistency and does not spread. If the fruit is poorly gelled, then add pectin powder or juice of other fruits and berries (eg, gooseberry, quince or apples) to give a gelatinous consistency.

Recipe 1

To adjust the taste in a strawberry jam, lemon juice is added . Ingredients:

• 2 kg fresh strawberries (clean, wash and cut each berry along);

• 6 cups of white sugar;

• ¼ cup lemon juice.

In a large bowl, make a strawberry puree with sugar, crushing all the halves of the berries, mixed with lemon juice. Transfer the mixture into a saucepan with a heavy bottom and put on a slow fire. Interfere until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat. Bring to a full boil, reduce the heat and cook until ready. Transfer to prepared sterile cans and pasteurized in a water bath. Tightly sealed and stored in a refrigerator. Readiness is checked by the degree of thickening. In the freezer, place a porcelain plate for 10 minutes. After that, jam is dripped on it and again put it to cool. A minute later the plate is taken out and tilted. If the jam flows, then continue to cook, and if the drop remains in place and does not change its shape, then the cooking process is stopped.

Recipe 2

It turns out very tasty and not quite traditional strawberry jam with pineapple. Ingredients:

• 2 ½ thin glasses of fresh mashed strawberries (wash, dry, clean and gently cut each berry along and knead);

• 2 ½ cups (thin) of freshly chopped pineapple;

• 6 thin glasses of sugar;

• 1 glass of water;

• 50 g of pectin (powder).

In the mashed strawberries spread pineapple and slowly pour sugar. All the time interfere until it is completely dissolved. In a saucepan with a thick bottom, pour in water and put on medium heat, pour the powder of pectin. Stirring, bring the water to a boil, boil for a minute, remove from heat, pour into a fruit-fruit mixture and mix well until a uniform mass is formed. After the mixture has cooled, it is poured into polyethylene containers and closed with lids. A day later put in a freezer. This canning of strawberries does not require long heat treatment of berries, which means that destruction of a whole range of useful substances is excluded. Shelf life of the finished product in the frozen state is up to 6 months. In thawed condition - up to 3 weeks. Before eating, the jam is allowed to stand for an hour at room temperature.

Recipe 3

Another unusual recipe: strawberry jam is cooked with cherries. Ingredients:

• 2 kg of washed, dried, peeled strawberry berries;

• 2 kg of sweet cherries washed, dried and pitted;

• 1 ½ kg of sugar.

The berries are only ripe and strong. They are spread in a pan with a thick bottom, put on a slow fire and cook, stirring periodically, without adding water. After the whole mass thickens, pour out all the sugar, stirring constantly. Continue to cook, without stopping to interfere. When the jam is ready, there will be no lumen on the bottom. Ready jam is removed from the fire and laid hot in sterile jars, covered tightly. When the jam cools, and on the surface of it a film is formed, the jars are sealed and stored in the refrigerator.