In some families, preservation recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Surely everyone has pleasant childhood memories associated with fragrant grandma's jam or jam, thick and viscous, sparkling like a gem. But many housewives complain that they cannot reproduce such a delicacy with their own hands - the density is not the same.

Our article will tell you what to do if the jam turns out to be liquid, and what measures should be taken during cooking to avoid such a situation.

Old recipes

The name "jam" alludes to the long boiling process. Previously, it was customary to cook it for a long time, heating the container with berries or fruits covered with sugar several times until it boils. The jam was allowed to cool completely and then heated again and allowed to boil.

Some housewives boiled a container with a brew for a long time small fire... This method has its advantages: the jam turns out to be thick and well stored, because with prolonged exposure to high temperatures, all bacteria that can cause the fermentation process die. However, with this method, they suffered and useful material contained in berries and fruits. In addition, the structure collapsed.

What did you do if the jam turned out to be liquid, in the old days? There were several ways. You could drain the excess syrup, boil the brew longer, or just add sugar. We can use all these recommendations today.

Excess syrup

It is not difficult to drain the juice extracted from the fruit, mixed with sugar. But this method is not suitable for all types of jam. Let's look at an example.

Black currants, strawberries, cherries, as well as fruits such as plums, pears and apples, give off copious amounts of juice when reacted with sugar and heated. In this case, the structure of the fetus itself is not destroyed. The syrup is homogeneous. Therefore, from the jam from the listed ingredients, you can simply drain it through a colander or scoop out the required amount with a ladle into a separate container.

This method can be remembered, for example, when the jam from the plums turned out to be liquid. You already know what to do in this case - just drain the syrup.

But for rapidly decaying fruits, it is not suitable. For example, it will not be possible to save in this way. Yes, and some varieties of cherry plum and strive to fall apart at the first heating, turning the mass into a kind of jam.

By the way, the syrup collected from the jam can also be boiled and rolled into jars. In winter, it will come in handy for impregnation biscuit cakes, preparation of jelly and compotes. You can submit it to lazy dumplings or cottage cheese, casseroles and puddings, or just add a little to tea.

Saving liquid jam by boiling

This method is not recommended for raspberries, because the longer the jam is cooked, the more vitamins it loses. And this berry is very rich in them, thanks to which the blanks from it are considered not just a winter delicacy, reminiscent of summer, but also an excellent therapeutic and prophylactic agent. In addition, raspberries contain a huge amount organic acids which do an excellent job of preservatives.

Do not boil strawberries for a long time. The berries fall apart, acquire an unaesthetic brown tint, and sometimes an unpleasant odor.

But apples and pears will only benefit from prolonged cooking. Pieces of fruit, saturated with sugar, become like marmalade.

If during the cooking process you notice that the jam is too liquid, increase the time. Even fruits from the same tree, harvested in different years, can differ in juiciness. The more liquid there is in the fruit, the more it will be released into the jam.

If pear jam is liquid, what to do? Cook it longer until it reaches the desired consistency.

There is one more little trick. It is necessary to drain the syrup and boil it only, and then pour the hot liquid into a container with fruits or berries. In a similar way, you can thicken gooseberry jam, halves of large apricots, black currants, whole pears and other components. For berries and fruits, this method will only benefit: the jam will turn out thick, it will keep natural color, structure and vitamins.

Adding sugar

Both the juiciness and sweetness of fruits from different harvests may differ. Even if you have made jam more than once from the fruits of the same tree, it may happen that the usual amount of sugar is not enough. The jam will not thicken as expected and will look more like baby puree.

In this case, the answer to the question of what to do if the jam is liquid is slightly different. Try adding sugar and heating the container. First, add a quarter of the original volume, and after two brews, evaluate the density. Sometimes it is required to increase the amount of sugar by 1.2-1.5 times.

Modern Ingredients for Thickness

Today there are many products that can make the life of housewives easier. These include:

• pectin;
• jesfix;
• agar agar.

Some manufacturers offer ready-made solutions, which are called "Sugar for making jam". It contains natural syrup thickeners, and the packaging contains detailed instructions.

Another advantage of such products is a significant reduction in cooking time. If ordinary jam is cooked in stages for 3-4 days, then cooked on such a thickener will be ready in a quarter of an hour. You just need to add the mixture to the berries, stir and heat to a boil.

The consumption of pectin affects the taste only positively. The syrup becomes like confiture. And agar-agar is also very useful, it is even used in Vedic cuisine for making sweets.

Many housewives who have discovered such ingredients for themselves completely switch to a new recipe. They do not have to mess around in the kitchen for a long time and torment themselves in search of an answer to the question of what to do if the jam from the plums turned out to be liquid.

Irga berry

This medium-sized berry tastes like blueberries or cherries. Irgi juice is an excellent thickener. If you are not happy with the cooking result, you can safely use this ingredient.

For example, irga will help if plum jam it turned out to be liquid. What to do in this case? Squeeze out the juice of the berries and pour into the syrup before boiling again. The jam will begin to thicken before our eyes.

Prevention measures

It is not for nothing that they say that it is easier to prevent than to fix it. In order not to wonder what to do if the jam is liquid, you can use a simple but reliable method.

Prepare berries or fruits, pour into the container in which you plan to cook the jam. Add sugar at the rate of 100 g per kilo of fruit, stir and leave overnight. In the morning, drain the released juice, add sugar again (as indicated in the recipe) and cook the jam the usual way... Drained syrup can be used too! For example, pour ice cream on them.

How much sugar do you need?

If you are using a specific recipe, follow the indicated proportions. But there are general guidelines. To make jam from sweet fruits, sugar is added in a 1: 1 ratio. If you cook sour berries or fruits (cherries, currants, cherry plums), you need to take one and a half times more sugar than fruits. You can add sugar during cooking, for example, when it turns out to be liquid.

You already know what to do to thicken certain fruit and berry delicacies. It remains to choose the most suitable method.

I think everyone has come across liquid jam intended for a pie.

Wherever I was not looking for advice on what to do, there were only 3 options:

1) boil until thick,

2) add starch,

3) add crushed crackers or nuts.

I got only the third option, but the result was not happy. I thought, I thought, and finally I came up with it !!!

Of course, there was a powerful thought-provoking thing in the form of liquid currant jam. And a great desire to bake grated pie with him.
So what to do.

Pour a glass of jam / jam / preserves into a saucepan, add 1 tsp. semolina, mix well and leave for 15 minutes to swell the semolina.

Then bring to a boil and after 2 minutes get a wonderful thick jam... Jam. Jam.

The semolina has no effect on the taste or appearance of the pie filling.

Of course, depending on the consistency of the original semolina product, you may need a little less or a little more than a teaspoon.
And one more little piece of advice. As a rule, the most delicious jam eaten outside of baking, and for pies there are options that are not the most beloved by the family. Adding the zest of just half an orange makes any fruit filling incredibly delicious, give it a try! Bon appetit, everyone!

And I'm not worried about liquid jam. I lay out the dough on a baking sheet, making bumpers. I pour out the jam mixed with lemon to make it sour, distribute the jam, rub the dough from the freezer on top, which I put there for 15 minutes. The liquid jam tart is only softer. I bake all the time, I always have it on my table. Now there is no longer thick jam. And the grandchildren come, give them a grated pie.

→ tamaraEasy! 500g margarine, 5 glasses of flour (wholemeal), this will be 800g. 1 tsp soda, 3/4 tsp. lemon to-you grind into powder with a spoon (do not replace with vinegar), 2-3g vanillin, 2 eggs. Grate cold margarine into flour, grind into crumbs, add soda, lemon, vanillin. Mix. Beat in eggs, knead the dough, divide by 2/3 and 1/3. Divide 1/3 into 3 pieces, make tortillas and place in the freezer. Knead 2/3 of the dough on a baking sheet, make finger-high sides along the edges. Spread with sour jam. Plum, apricot, apple are better. If the jam is sweet, I add lemon, it is also better to grind it, at the rate of 0.5 tsp. for a can of 0.6 l. So much goes for the filling, maybe more - 3 glasses. You can cook fresh apple jam, - 1kg of apples, 300-400g of sugar, no more. You can decompose fruits from compotes. Made with sweet curd filling but we don't like it. Grate the dough from the freezer on a coarse grater over the filling, distribute the shavings evenly. Bake over medium heat in the middle of the oven. I always put an empty baking sheet on the bottom, on which I put the foil so that it does not burn. It is baked for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. I cut it hot. First I cut the edges, fold them separately, although the taste is the same. Then I cut it into small squares. I have been preparing the filling since the summer. Now I bought a carrot, I will cook the filling with lemon from boiled carrots, mashed in mashed potatoes. The last time (Friday) I added carrot puree to the apple jam on the sly. Everyone was delighted. Then she confessed.

Reading 3 min. Posted on 19.01.2019

Who doesn't love sweet cakes? It is all the more offensive when the filling leaked out and burnt. To prevent this from happening, jam, jam or jam should be thickened.

5 proven ways

How to thicken baking jam:

1. Semolina... For a glass of jam, take from one teaspoon to one tablespoon of cereal (depending on the consistency of the product). The jam is mixed with semolina, left for 15-20 minutes, then heated, boiled for a couple of minutes, cooled.
2. Corn starch(1-2 tsp per glass). The starch is added to the already heated jam, stirred thoroughly and immediately removed from the heat. When hot, the filling is still liquid, thickens noticeably as it cools. Important: do not overestimate the amount; excess starch will spoil the taste of the filling.
3. Powdered fruit or berry jelly (1-1.5 tbsp. L. Per glass). The jelly will thicken the jam and enhance the flavor of the filling. It is mixed with cold jam and kept according to the instructions until it swells.
4. Wheat or corn flour (1-2 tbsp. L. Per glass). Jam is allowed to boil over low heat and flour is gradually added with constant stirring. The mass will thicken as the flour is brewed. Care must be taken not to form lumps.
5. Shortbread, crackers, breadcrumbs (1-2 tbsp. L. Per glass). The crumb is combined with cold jam, allowed to stand for 10-15 minutes. In a similar way, you can use ground walnuts or almonds, but this will greatly increase the price of the dish.

Sometimes you can do without additional ingredients, and you can make the jam thicker by simply boiling the filling over low heat until the excess moisture evaporates. The main thing is to stir continuously, not allowing the jam to burn.

Video - how to thicken the filling

How to avoid leakage of the filling without thickening it

• For starters, try putting in less filling. Then a large area of ​​the dough will go under the seam.
• Blind the "scallop", which can be laid to the right or left and additionally attached to the side of the pie. You will get a double pinch, the likelihood of seam rupture will decrease.
• Cakes for pies with sweet filling make them thicker than for savory ones, because sugar when heated can break not only the seam, but, in principle, any part of the dough.
• For better adhesion, the edges of the cake can be lubricated with water or egg white... The pie should be molded tightly so that no voids remain inside.
• Proofing before baking also minimizes the risk of seam divergence or cracking, as the gluten framework of the dough is restored, the surface becomes elastic, less prone to cracking.
• In addition, before spreading the filling, sprinkle the rolled cake with starch, powdered gelatin or ground oat flakes... Then pour the filling on top a little more, then fasten the seam.

Homemade sweet preparations for the winter are ideal filling for baking. Difficulty in preparation can arise only if there is an excessively liquid consistency of the dessert. In this case, it is very important to know how to make a thick jam using different food additives so as not to spoil the dessert. These additives and their use will be discussed further.

When cooking too liquid filling subsequently, you may encounter it flowing out of the pies, even if the edges are tightly clamped.

Also, the liquid consistency leads to a moist and damp cake dough. To solve this problem, some try to put less jam, but in the end, the dish still turns out to be not so appetizing.

The best solution is to thicken the jam to the desired consistency.

Why is the jam liquid?

Many families have passed down seaming recipes from generation to generation. Everyone definitely has memories that are associated with delicious, thick, viscous jam, like the grandmother used to cook as a child. But in most cases, housewives cannot reproduce such a dessert on their own, the wrong density comes out.

Why does the dessert come out liquid:

1. The jam is not boiled down.
2. Little granulated sugar was introduced.
3. It is important to remove the foam.
4. For cooking, you do not need to take a pan, dishes that have low walls will help to quickly evaporate excess moisture.
5. The jam should not take 3 hours in a row. It is recommended to do this in 3 stages. Raw materials are first boiled, cooked for 15 minutes and removed from heat, cooled. Repeat the procedure 3 times.

To save liquid jam, you need to boil it down. It is not recommended to use this method if the dessert is made from raspberries, because the longer the delicacy is prepared, the more vitamins will be lost. This berry is rich in vitamins, so harvesting for the winter not only reminds of summer, but also is a therapeutic and prophylactic agent. Raspberries also contain many organic acids that do a good job of preservatives.

The fruits are boiled, strawberries become not aesthetically pleasing Brown color and sometimes with a bad smell.

But for a delicacy made from apples and pears, long cooking is useful. Slices of fruit are saturated with granulated sugar, acquire a resemblance to marmalade.

If during the preparation of the jam it comes out very liquid, you need to increase the cooking time. Fruits from the same tree, harvested in different years, may have different juiciness. If there is a lot of liquid in the fruits, then a lot of it will stand out in the dessert.

After the hot syrup is sent to a bowl with fruits and berries. This thickening method can be used in the case of boiling gooseberries, apricots, black currants, pears. The sweetness and juiciness of the ingredients used may vary. Therefore, for cooking fruits from one tree each subsequent year, a different volume of granulated sugar may be required.

How to thicken liquid jam?

Various food additives are used to make the jam thicker.

Pectin

Thanks to the pectin, the aroma of the dessert is preserved. To cook Strawberry jam, adding pectin, you need 10 minutes of time. With the use of pectin, fruits and berries will remain intact, and the jam will have a bright shade of fresh fruit.

Reducing the cooking time will result in more dessert.

How much pectin should be added to the dessert will depend on the amount of sugar and liquid in it. If you take 1 kg of fruit, you need to put in 5-15 grams. pectin:

1. Based on granulated sugar and jam juice, 1 to 0.5 pectin requires 5 grams.
2. If the ratio of sand to liquid is 1 to 0.25, then 10 grams of pectin is needed.
3. When making jam without sugar, 15 gr is put on 1 kg of fruit. pectin.

Add pectin to a boiled dessert, mixing it with sugar in advance to prevent sticking. Having added pectin to the delicacy, it is boiled for no more than 5 minutes, otherwise the jelly-like properties will be lost.

Quittin

A treat using quittin is easy. When preparing a dessert from whole fruits, you need to cover the fruits with sand overnight, and in the morning add quittin and cook the jam for 5 minutes. If the fruits are ground through a sieve, then quittin is added immediately, and the delicacy is cooked for 5 minutes.

Starch - can I use it?

Starch is a powder that is odorless and tasteless. It is used occasionally to make jam.

When starch is added to the dessert, the taste qualities delicacies, due to this, you need to introduce more sugar, citric acid to improve the taste.

In a liquid dessert, starch diluted in water is introduced in a couple of minutes. After adding the product, the jam is boiled for no more than 3 minutes. The cooled dessert will become thicker.

Gelatin

The classic recipe is making a dessert with gelatin. A delicacy is made as follows. For 1 kg of fruit and 1 kg of sand, 40 g is taken. gelatin. It should be combined dry with sand, and then prepare a dessert, following the recipe.

Agar agar

When making jam with the product, add 1 teaspoon to 250 ml of liquid. thickener. Initially, it is filled with water, set aside to swell. After the thickener is brought to a boil, it is mixed so that there are no lumps and sediment.

The prepared solution is sent to the dessert, mixed.

Flour

To make a dessert with a medium liquid thick, flour is introduced in the amount of 1 tbsp. l. for 250 ml of jam.

How to cook:

1. A saucepan is placed on a small gas, you should wait for the workpiece to boil.
2. Flour is gradually poured in.
3. Dessert should be stirred all the time so that lumps do not appear.

Semolina

This thickener is used for fillings, since it practically does not affect the original flavor of the dessert. Semolina is introduced as follows: 1 tsp. 350 ml or 300 gr. goodies. If the mass is very liquid consistency, the volume increases to 2 tbsp. l.

To prepare the filling, the jam is poured into the cauldron, poured semolina, mixed and left for 15 minutes. This time is enough for the cereal to absorb excess liquid and swell.

How to cook thick jam for the winter?

To prepare a dessert with a thick consistency, you must adhere to the recommendations.

1. A thick delicacy comes out if you use fruits rich in pectin: strawberries, raspberries, apples, plums, currants, gooseberries, cranberries.
2. Large amounts of pectin are found in unripe fruits. To cook thick jam, take ripe fruits and add some unripe fruits to them.
3. A thick dessert is obtained using fruits with a sufficient amount of acid. If the test preparation showed insufficient density, then you need to pour in lemon juice.
4. To make the jam thick, you need to cook it quickly in order to prevent the destruction of natural pectin during cooking. Prepare a treat by making strong fire stirring frequently. Cookware is used with low sides and a wide bottom.

In the midst of the ripening of berries and fruits, since ancient times, people have tried to preserve all the charm of the summer gifts of nature. For long winter days, they made preserves, made jam. In order for the cooking product to be thick, aromatic, with a pleasant color and taste, our grandmothers had many of their own secrets for preparing these products.

Various thickeners have become popular today. They are added during cooking to give the jam a bright, appetizing color and desired thickness. They are not difficult to use, economical in terms of adding sugar. Jam is cooked using a thickener for only ten minutes. At the same time, vitamins are preserved in it, the berries do not disintegrate, the jam turns out to be thick with a beautiful shade.

The main constituents of the thickener are pectin, gelatin, starch, and agar-agar. Jelly-like compositions are widely used, both in production and in cooking. For fast food preserves, jams, preserves, marmalade, pastilles use pectin, agar-agar, and gelatin to impart viscosity and density to the finished product.

Pectin jam thickener

Pectin is translated from Greek as "connecting". This ability to combine with acid and sugar, dissolve in cold and hot water, found application to create jelly-like products. Pectin, as a plant chemical compound, is present in many fruits and vegetables. Nai large quantity pectin in apples and sugar beets. It is also present in citrus fruits, carrots, pumpkins, sunflowers.

In cooking, apple pectin is especially prized. It is obtained by squeezing and concentrating from apples, followed by drying the resulting substance. This natural, vegetable hydrocarbon is a completely odorless white powder.

The positive properties of pectin when cooking jam

• It has the ability to preserve the aroma of the product. It takes 10 minutes to cook strawberry jam with the addition of pectin. The usual method requires a longer cooking time. The product is less aromatic and sweeter.
• Pectin keeps fruits and berries intact without overcooking them. The jam has a bright color of fresh berries.
• The shorter cooking time allows you to get a larger amount of the finished product.
• Pectin is a harmless substance, but you shouldn't get carried away with it. An overdose of pectin can lead the human body to intestinal obstruction and allergic reactions. If this happens, drink plenty of fluids.

Little secrets of making jam with the addition of pectin

• The rate of addition of pectin to jam depends on the amount of sugar and liquid in it. For 1 kg of fruit add from 5 to 15 grams of pectin. When the ratio of sugar and jam liquid is 1: 0.5, 5 grams of pectin are added accordingly. In a ratio of 1: 0.25 - up to 10 grams. If the jam is prepared without sugar, then 15 grams of pectin should be put on 1 kg of the original product.
• Pectin is added to the boiled jam, mixed in advance with a small amount of granulated sugar, to prevent its grains from sticking to each other. After adding pectin, cooking lasts no more than five minutes, otherwise its jelly-like properties will be lost.

Starch as a thickener for jam: is it possible?

• Starch is a white, powdery, tasteless, odorless product. It is produced from potatoes, rice, wheat, corn.
• V cold water starch does not dissolve, but when hot it turns into a transparent jelly-like mass - paste.
• It is used for cooking jelly, compotes, custards, sweet sauces and, occasionally, preserves.
• Starch reduces the taste of the finished product, so you have to add more granulated sugar, citric acid to the jam to improve the taste of the jam.
• V liquid jam, which cannot be boiled down to the desired thickness, a few minutes before cooking, you can put a little starch, which must be diluted in a small amount of water. After adding starch, cooking lasts no more than three minutes. In this case, the cooled jam will become thicker.

Cooking jam with gelatin

The human body constantly needs substances such as amino acids and minerals. They have a positive effect on the health, condition of the skin, nails, and human hair. All these substances are contained in gelatin, which is obtained when heat treatment bones, tendons, cartilage of animals and fish.

Gelatin suppresses hunger, therefore it is considered dietary product... In 100 grams of gelatin, 355 kcal. It is mainly used for the preparation of jellied products, creams, ice cream, preserves. It prevents the sugar from crystallizing.

Classic jam with gelatin for the winter is easy to prepare: for 1 kg of berries and 1 kg of sugar, you need 40 grams. gelatin, which is dry mixed with sugar, and then the jam is prepared according to the recipe.

The use of agar-agar thickener when cooking jam

Food agar is made from seaweed, which is high in iodine, iron and calcium. It is a white powder, tasteless and odorless, and is a vegetable substitute for gelatin. It is widely used in the confectionery industry.

Useful properties of agar-agar

• Complete absence of fats, which makes the product dietary.
• The high content of iodine in it normalizes the thyroid gland.
• Agar agar contains no calories and is an aid in vegetarian diets.
• The composition of agar-agar helps the body to cleanse itself and strengthen the immune system.
• During cooking, it does not lose the ability of a thickener, on the contrary, it becomes dense and viscous, sets faster.

Agar-agar is associated with a sponge that absorbs useless substances and removes them from the body. But with all of it useful properties you need to adhere to the dosage, and ration the amount of its consumption. Otherwise, you are guaranteed an upset bowel movement. It must be remembered that agar-agar is not compatible with such products as: wine and fruit vinegar, sorrel, chocolate, black tea.

When cooking agar-agar jam, 1 teaspoon of this thickener powder is added to 1 glass of liquid. First, it is poured with water for 30 minutes and allowed to swell. Then the liquid is brought to a boil, stirring constantly, to prevent the formation of lumps and sediment. The prepared solution can be poured into the cooked jam, mixed. And put in clean jars. When the product cools down, it becomes a clear gel.

Every skillful housewife has her own way of making jam, but you should not neglect ready-made industrial thickeners to facilitate the cooking process. Choose for yourself which jam thickener you like, and create, create new culinary masterpieces. Enjoy your blanks.