Jam is any cooked treat made with sugar, honey or molasses. It may include fruits, berries, nuts and even some vegetables. Experienced housewives are not limited to this and make medicinal jam from inflorescences of medicinal herbs. In a word, any fruits of nature cooked with sugar syrup can be called jam.
Value and types
What is jam? The definition of this word is quite simple and means boiled fruit. Almost every nation has a similar dish. Its name may be different, but the essence remains the same. Whatever the name of the jam: jam, marmalade or jam - always will mean fruit cooked with sugar. Interesting to know:
- Very thick jam called marmalade. It is usually prepared with a lot of sugar.
- In the manufacture of jam, fruits are boiled until they disintegrate and lose their shape. Thus, a homogeneous mass of a rather thick consistency is obtained.
- A simple, familiar jam is prepared with the addition of water. First, sugar syrup is made, which is subsequently added to pre-prepared fruits.
- Jam is a fruit twisted through a meat grinder or blender, which is also boiled with the addition of sugar. This is a jam that remains quite thick and opaque when using any fruit.
You can also make jelly from fruits, which is considered one of the types of jam. In addition to sugar and water, its composition includes gelatin. The jelly's appearance is quite attractive, but it is difficult to call it a real jam.
The benefits of jam
Despite the presence of sugar, jam still brings considerable benefits. First of all, most of the vitamins and trace elements found in fruits and vegetables remain in its composition. Jam is a good option to preserve the crop grown in the infield. In addition, it is a favorite treat of children and adults with a sweet tooth. Jam is much more useful than sweets, pastries and cakes. Therefore, it is advisable to replace all sweets with this fruit treat.
Why is it harmful
The main reason for the harm of jam, jam and jam itself lies in the presence of sugar. About half of the composition of this dish is sugar. People with diabetes for this reason cannot use it. In addition, too much jam harms any healthy person. It should not be forgotten that in one hundred grams of jam about 280 kilocalories. In other words, five tablespoons of a sweet treat will bring 300 kcal.
Chemical composition
Jam - what is it? This product does not contain fats, and also contains very few proteins. Because of sugar, the calorie content of the dish is quite high. For example, in 100 g of apricot jam there are 260 kilocalories, in plum jam - 280, and in strawberry jam - 270 kilocalories. Among vitamins, the greatest amount belongs to vitamin C. Especially a lot of it in strawberry jam. And also in this type of jam there is a sufficient amount of vitamin PP and a little B 2 .
Apricot jam boasts a fairly decent amount of vitamin A, trace elements phosphorus and potassium. But strawberry jam is a pretty good source of iron. Plum jam contains a lot of calcium and magnesium.
These are the data on the three most popular types of sweet treats. In a word, each dish made from boiled fruits or vegetables has a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals, which means it can be beneficial to health.
Determination of jam according to GOST
According to the generally accepted GOST standards, any dish made from fresh, frozen and dried fruits or vegetables can be considered jam. Other ingredients may include nuts, herbs, and rose petals. Jam is prepared by digesting in sugar syrup or molasses. Raw materials can be either whole or finely chopped. Allowed to add any preservatives, spices, acids and pectins. This is the basic definition of jam.
Classic recipe
For cooking, you need one kilogram of sugar and a kilogram of pre-prepared fruits or vegetables. Instead of sugar, you can take honey. Fruits are laid in a sufficiently spacious copper or aluminum pan. Separately, sugar and water are boiled in a saucepan and the fruit is poured into the resulting syrup. Next, the composition should be brought to a boil and left to cool. Throughout cooking, it is recommended to remove the top film and mix the composition lightly. You can find out about the readiness of a dish by its appearance. Also, the jam is checked in the following way: using a teaspoon, pour a small amount of syrup into a plate. If the composition is thick enough and does not blur, then the jam is ready.
In a properly cooked dish, the fruit will retain its shape, and the syrup will remain transparent. Pour jam into pre-prepared and sterilized jars, and then roll up the lid. In this form, a sweet dish can be stored for a long time. However, experienced housewives are advised to use it in the next two years.
Cooking Thick Jam
This dessert is usually called jam or jam. Its consistency can be both transparent and saturated. The meaning of the word “jam” does not change from this. To make jam, you will need a kilogram of fruit and nine hundred grams of sugar. Very often, lemon juice is added to the jam. Thus, the taste acquires a pleasant acidity, and the composition of the jam becomes lighter. To prepare a raspberry dessert, one kilogram of berries is covered with sugar, knead to a homogeneous mass and put on fire. After five minutes of slow boiling, the container with raspberries is turned off, and the juice is filtered.
Next, the juice is combined with whole berries and a small amount of sugar is added. The composition is again put on fire and after thirty minutes the pan is turned off. When boiling, the jam should boil well. For this, the fire, as a rule, turns on at full power. The resulting composition will be of medium density. If it resembles marmalade, then it is diluted with lemon juice.
Most useful
Scientists have compiled a list of the most wholesome jam. The result is the following rating:
- In the first place was sea buckthorn jam (due to the huge amount of vitamin C). In addition, some substances in the composition of sea buckthorn are able to fight viruses and microbes. Sea buckthorn is also a leader in the amount of vitamin A, which has wound healing and regenerating properties.
- In second place was cranberry jam. Cranberry berries have the ability to significantly reduce the amount of pathogenic microflora in the intestine. In addition, cranberry juice has long been considered an excellent remedy for treating the pancreas. It contains a lot of antioxidants, as well as substances that lower cholesterol.
- Chokeberry jam has a large amount of iodine, which is why it is recommended for people working in hazardous industries. Thanks to pectin, Aronia is also able to remove salts of heavy metals. Regular consumption of rowan berries helps lower blood pressure and strengthens blood vessels.
- Plum jam has such important trace elements as magnesium, potassium and boron. Thanks to them, the cardiovascular system is strengthened. In addition, a large amount of iron significantly improves blood composition.
- To improve immunity and cope with colds, raspberry jam has long been used. This dessert contains a fairly large amount of acetylsalicylic acid, which dilutes the blood and helps get rid of inflammation.
Also, apricot, which has a huge amount of carotene, and quince, favorably acting on the intestines and contributing to its cleansing, can be attributed to the most useful jams. Equally useful is walnut, which has a large amount of iodine, and fig jam. It is recommended for use in diseases of the genitourinary system and asthma.