Homemade Apple Jam
Ingredients:
5 cups of finely chopped apples
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. butter
x-amount of sugar
Please fill in the blanks.
Question One: You need ___ of sugar to make a jar of apple jam:
a) 3/4 cups
b) 2 cups
c) 5 cups
d) 10 cups
posted by Grace at 11/13/2006 06:06:00 PM
13 Comments:
I would venture to say 3/4 cups of sugar. Mainly because you dont want the jam to be super sweet. The apples should add some sweetness. Also, good luck dissolving 2, 5 or 10 cups of sugar in 1 cup of water. Impossible... no. Very difficult without it burning or turning to caramel, yes.
I say 10.. based on absolutely nothing.
Hey Grace, it really depends on how sweet your apples are. Even if you have a nice sweet kind of apples, when you cook them, they seem to taste more sour - that's why you need to add so much sugar. Plus, I think it has to do with the consistency too - if you don't add enough sugar, it won't be sticky enough! :D
It also depends on if you are adding pectin... and how much pectin you are using.
Wow Nilos + Joliane,
All of sudden you two are apple jam experts, eh?? Hahaha! Well, to set the record straight, I used 3/4 cup of sugar though the recipe called for 5 cups of sugar...YEAH ISN'T THAT CRAZY??? It would be eating sugar or something!
Yeah, Nilos you are right, the recipe called for Pectin, but I had no idea what it is, so I just added ingredients that I have. What is pectin??? (you bake????)
Voon, dude...10 cups of sugar will give you too much sugar and you may die of a heart attack!
Btw, anyone know how long homemade jams can last for since it's without preservatives?
p.s. My apple jam is soooo yummy! :p
A quote from my friends at Wikipedia:
"Pectin is a heterosaccharide derived from the cell wall of plants. Pectins vary in their chain lengths, complexity and the order of each of the monosaccharide units. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot.
Under acidic conditions, pectin forms a gel, and it can be used as an edible thickening agent in processed foods. This effect is used for making jams and jellies."
Basically, pectin is what makes jam, jam. It gives it that jelly texture. Depending on the apples used, you may not need to use a lot of pectin, if any. Not using a lot of sugar, and no pectin, as you have described, I am assuming that you jam is a little runny. Incredibly tasty, but runny...
Do I bake? Um, as always, I will let your imagination run wild. You decide for yourself :)
As for how long it lasts... well, I cant say for sure, but store bought jams and jellies, once opened, can be stored in the fridge for up to 6 months. So I conclude, less than 6 months :) But if your jam is as "yummy" as you say, time is irrelevant as it will be eaten rather quickly.
Dude!
How dare you insult my jam! My jam is NOT runny! It sticks together (even without Mr. Pectin, uhuh!) and it is YUMMY! But yummy as it is, I don't eat jam like I eat chips...
the apple pie experts could have just solved your problems with the sugar...we've been there, done that before and have gotten some serious feed-backs. but err...did u mention jam? think we head to giant or carefour for those things...hehe...
Yeah, I wana learn how to bake lotsa stuff next time -- when I have time. Lina is going to be my baking teacher!
Oh, we don't have carrefour or giant here, so we go to Safeway or Superstore to get some, not unless you have an apple tree in your backyard and have a surplus of apples. Homemade apple jams I've learnt, taste WAAAAYYY better than commercial ones. They have a higher percentage of real fruit, and wayyy less sugar! Try making some dude, and let me know!
Grace, you know why jam can be kept soooooo long? It's because there is sooo much sugar that when bacterias go into it, they die since water gets sucked out of them - it's called osmosis. That's also the reason why you can keep sugar soo long- unless you live in Malaysia, and then it becomes ant kingdom!!! But did you know that honey was the only natural non-perishable food? Again because of that reason - intresting, eh?
Wow Joliane,
I totally had no idea about sugar being the "preservative" in food. This sure is new news for me, the non scientific junky. Great to have you as a friend!!
Hope I can contribute more than scientific facts to our friendship! :P
Ah, well, being friends isn't just about "contributing." It is more about receiving :)
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