Jam and cottage cheese

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Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. How’s Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 658,785 times. In today’s world of all-night supermarkets and ready-made everything, it’s easy to forget that jam didn’t always come from the store. Homemade jam tastes fresher than the store-bought stuff and it also makes a very thoughtful gift. If you want to know how to make your own, just follow these instructions.

Decide whether or not to use pectin. You can find it in most supermarkets, in the canning or baking aisles, and it can be bought as a liquid or a powder. However, if you do use pectin, then you should read the instructions for the exact sugar-to-fruit ratio of ingredients you should use. You can’t use any old jars — you’ll need to get jars that are specifically meant for canning. To do this, boil the jars in water for 10 minutes.

Then, place them upside-down on a clean towel and drape another towel over them until you are ready to use them. You may not need all 12 jars, especially if you are using larger jars, like pints, but it is much easier to prepare too many than too few. First, wash the fruit under running water and then do whatever you have to do to get it to be ready to eat. Peel it, remove the pits, the stems, or whatever else you need to remove. Then, cut the fruit into small manageable chunks. Once you’ve washed and prepared the fruit and have given it a little bit of time to dry, then you should crush the fruit with a potato masher or a wooden spoon. You don’t have to go crazy with this — the fruit will naturally soften and will become more malleable as you boil it.

Prepare the fruit in a stock pot or large saucepan. First, place the 8 cups of fruit in the pot or pan, and then add the lemon juice and butter to the mixture. 2 teaspoon of butter and margarine. You can warm the butter up to make it easier to stir in.

The lemon juice will cut some of the sweetness of the jam. Bring the fruit mixture to a full rolling boil. A full, rolling boil is one where the bubbles do not stop or lessen when you stir it. Stir constantly and all the way to the bottom to avoid burning the fruit. Boiling the fruit mixture will make the juice come out of the fruit and will keep the pot from burning.

Pour in the sugar, with the heat still on, and stir it in until it dissolves completely. You will notice that the fruit becomes clearer and brighter when you add the sugar. Don’t skimp out on the sugar. You may think that this will make the jam healthier, but it will actually ruin the consistency of the jam. Let the fruit mixture simmer for 5-20 minutes until it reaches a thicker, syrupy consistency.