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Strawberries are a special berry, a symbol of pleasure and luxury. It is rightfully considered the best berry in existence. And of course, strawberry jam is one of the tastiest. The only problem is that during normal cooking, the jam turns out to be very liquid. Therefore, a special cooking technology is used for strawberry jam.
Which strawberry to choose for jam
For a delicious and beautiful result, you will need to choose the right strawberries:
- They should be approximately the same size;
- You should not take very large strawberries, they will lose their shape during cooking, turning into porridge;
- Small ones will not work either, after heat treatment they become tough;
- A prerequisite is the absence of spoilage on strawberries;
- Overripe strawberries will not keep their shape, and underripe strawberries will not give either taste or smell.
Preparing strawberries
Before starting cooking, the raw materials must be carefully prepared:
- Select strawberries suitable for jam. It is necessary to tear off the sepals after rinsing to avoid water getting inside.
- Rinse the raw materials carefully: there may be soil particles on the berries, so it is better to lower them in a large container of water.
- Put the strawberries in a colander to drain all the water.
Three options for thick strawberry jam
There are many recipes for making thick strawberry jam, but the cooking principles are not very different. While one of the following methods includes modern technology.
Strawberry jam No. 1
For cooking, you need sugar and strawberries. Moreover, sugar should be half the weight. For example, we take into account the proportion of 1.5 kg of granulated sugar per 3 kg of strawberries.
Cooking method:
- Ingredients are mixed into the cooking utensils and forgotten for several hours;
- Then you need to remove most of the juice, you do not need to drain it completely;
- The juice can be used at will, here it is no longer needed;
- Add 500 gr. To the berries. Sahara;
- Leave alone for another couple of hours;
- After, bring the strawberries to a boil, remove the foam that appears;
- Keep on low heat for 1 hour;
- Roll up hot jam in sterile jars.
Strawberry jam No. 2
Granulated sugar and strawberries in equal proportions by weight. At the end of cooking, you will need a pinch of citric acid.
Cooking method:
- Combine the ingredients in a container suitable for cooking and leave for a while, until the juice is released;
- Put on fire, wait for a boil;
- For 5 minutes, keep the strawberry jam on fire, constantly removing the foam that appears;
- Turn off the heating, rearrange the dishes from the stove;
- Leave the jam covered with a clean cloth until it cools, preferably for 12 hours;
- Then repeat the cooking and cooling procedure 3 to 5 times;
- The thickness of the strawberry jam for this recipe directly depends on the number of repetitions;
- Pour citric acid into the finished product, this will improve its color and serve as an additional preservative;
- Distribute the jam among the prepared jars;
- After it cools down a little and steam stops emanating from it, you can close it with lids.
This cooking technology is considered the most correct, since the heat treatment is minimized, and the berries are gradually soaked in syrup during the settling period. In this case, a thick jam with whole berries and the maximum preserved composition of nutrients is obtained.
Multicooker strawberry jam
Here is a recipe using modern technology. It requires 1 kg of granulated sugar and strawberries, as well as 20 g of a thickener, for example, "Zhelinka".
Cooking method:
- Fold the strawberries and sugar into the multicooker bowl;
- Wait for the juice to separate;
- Set the stewing program on the multicooker;
- Cooking time - 1 hour;
- Add a thickener a couple of minutes before finishing and stir well;
- At the end of the program, you can roll up the jam in a sterile container.
Cooking secrets
It is not difficult to choose a recipe - there are a lot of them. However, there are some secrets of how to make really thick strawberry jam for the winter:
- Do not make the berries wait for their fate for a long time. Assembled - start cooking. Strawberries are losing their unique aroma, color and taste every minute. Jam from such raw materials can quickly deteriorate;
- In order to maintain the shape of the product, the collection is carried out in dry weather. Berries harvested after a rainstorm will turn into a shapeless mass when cooked;
- The strawberry jam cookware is a wide and capacious container made of non-oxidizing material. A larger evaporation area will provide a thicker consistency. Previously, they used brass and copper basins, which, in addition to suitable characteristics, additionally disinfected the jam;
- The amount of sugar directly affects the thickness of the strawberry jam: the more sugar, the thicker the result;
- In some recipes, the desired consistency is achieved by prolonged cooking, up to several hours, but there is no benefit from such a product; prolonged heat treatment destroys all nutrients;
- Sugar not only thickens, but also preserves berries, its sufficient amount does not allow pathogenic microbes to multiply. Jam with a minimum amount of sugar cannot be stored for a long time;
- Can make original strawberry jam, simply seasoning it with some spices: cloves, cinnamon, mint and others to your taste.
