How to make a healthy jam?
Posted by VeganUnderground on Oct 07, 2006 · Member since Sep 2006 · 48 posts
Yes, I'm actually asking a non-political, purely recipe-related question!
I want to make jam. I just got back from the farmers' market with a whole mess o' strawberries, and I'd love to just mash'em up and use them as a spread, but do I really have to dump 20 tons of sugar in there? All the recipes I've seen call for so much sugar, it seems like a waste of fruit! My love of strawberries is not just for their sweetness, but for their vitamin content, too. Especially right now, as I've got a cold...
I also happened to come home with more dates than I know what to do with. Does anyone know of a way to make a date-sweetened strawberry jam???
Jam's a kind of a science question if you're going to seal and store it... the acidity and sugar work as preservatives, if I understand it correctly. But if you are going to pack it up and put it in the fridge for immediate (though lengthy) consumption, I think you have a bit more freedom with the ratios (although that sugar content does act as a preservative even in the fridge).
Strawberries and dates are so terrific together that I really, really want an update if you try it-- sounds soooo good!
As for the cold: aw, poor thing. I like to make a kimchi soup, since it's got all my "feel-better" basics: garlic, ginger, onions, and tartness! I saute fresh shredded cabbage, ginger and scallions, then simmer it all in veg. bouillon with a handful of chopped kimchi. If you like the stuff, it sure hits the spot... heck, you might even be able to taste it! ;)
Feel better, and good luck with the jam-- I'm too much a novice to know what I'm talking about with any confidence.
EDIT: Oh! And I suggest you take all your course of antibiotics for this sinus bug, rather than quitting early and hoarding them for the high plague season... you don't want to wing the little bacterial/viral suckers and make them stronger!
Thanks, Ducky. That soup sounds pretty good -- I'll keep an eye out for some kim chi. Actually I think they have some in a nearby corner store.
As for the jam, I guess I'll make some attempt at a strawberry/date concoction and see how it turns out. I'm a little reluctant to simmer all the goodness out of the fruit, too, even if it is necessary for jam-making. I guess I knew nothing of jam when I first looked at the recipe. All that boiling probably doesn't leave much nutrition in the end, not that I ever thought bottled jam was a "health food," as it were.
I think I'm gonna head down to the gym and just soak in the steam room a bit. Regarding antibiotics -- would that I could! Until we get some universal healthcare here in the states, I don't think I'll be availing myself of any such big guns. I appreciate the tip, though, and thankfully I was only talking about "antibodies;" it's just a head-cold, after all. I picked up somewhere that your body manufactures so many white blood cells and natural bacteria/virus-fighting stuff that once you've finally kicked a cold, there are so many antibodies leftover still patroling your veins on the lookout for badness, you're stronger than ever. An old wives tale perhaps, but it sounds good to me.
you could try adding fruit juice concentrate to sweeten it a little.
...thankfully I was only talking about "antibodies;" it's just a head-cold, after all.
Heh, forgive me! I was in the mental fog I get lost in when I actually work on my novel... d'oh!
Hey, VU--Re: echinacea (or however you spell it), it really isn't any good unless you take a lot of it BEFORE you get hit by the germs. Not a cure but a preventative measure. So the minute cold season looks like starting, you have to start taking it before the microbes sneak up on you.
If you can find vegan hot-and-sour-soup, it'll sure clear your sinuses!
i've made jam before, just mashing the fruit up (i used blackberries) and adding some cornstarch/water to thicken it up. just mix it up and cook it until it gets thick. doubt you can can it, but you can fridge it and eat it up.
You can also freeze jam, which will help store it for longer periods of time. So make jam like baypuppy suggests (more of a compote than a jelly, obviously), and then you can put it in small tupperw@re containers or plastic bags, freeze it, then you have jam whenever you want it! (Well, whenever you have the foresight to thaw some!) It bypasses the whole ordeal of canning, which is supposed to be fun, but obviously time-consuming.
FYI, most jam uses pectin to jell, but it won't work without sugar, so don't bother with pectin if you're not going to use all the sugar. I'm thinking about how to do this without all that sugar-- I'm thinking some combo of agar agar and cornstarch.
I also have made jam in the past, but don't anymore because I have
stopped eating much stuff if sugar. But if you want to make jam,
the sugar is important. I remember using about 1/2 fruit and 1/2
sugar (by weight). You should use a candy thermometer. As stated
by other, the sugar (and boiling off the water content) make the
fruit unable to support bacteria and thus be perserved. The idea
of making jam (or candy) is that as the water is boiled off and the
concentration of sugar goes up, the boiling point of the mix rises.
Thus, when you start out, the mix of fruit and sugar will boil at
212F. As the water dissappears, the boiling point will slowly rise.
This is what you want and as the boiling point gets to the low 220s
the sugar is concentrated and lots of water is gone. When you make
jam, you MUST make sure you watch it all the time and keep stiring
it up, so the bottom of the mix does not burn. If the stuff starts
to burn, all the jam will have a burn sugar taste, which is not
desirable. Also, when the mix cooks, it bubbles. This shoots a fine
mist of sugar water over everthing close to the stove, so be
prepared to clean it up afterward or live in a sticky kitchen.
But after all this warning, home made jam is nice. Before I got
serious about avoiding sugar, I would make jams and give them away
at Christmas time.