Only the most lazy author from medicine did not write about the benefits of apples. But no one needs to be agitated, their benefits and popular love for apples are axioms that are not required to be proved. As soon as the first apples of the old summer variety, popular in summer cottages, appear on the market, the apple season begins in the kitchens. It's hard to say when it ends. Dishes and preparations from these fruits are used in the home menu all year round.
Of course, for the winter, families try to stock up on fresh fruits if they have their own garden and storage space. But also preparations from aromatic fruits are also tasty and healthy. Traditional winter items are drying and jam from apples. Modern electric dryers reliably replace solar heat and work around the clock, making the process of drying fruits completely un laborious.
Another thing is
apple jam. This product needs to be given time without leaving the cooking process unattended. When cooking with sugar, apples tend to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. But the time spent is more than paid for by the taste of the finished dish.
Jam is prepared from apples of any degree of ripeness, even from fallen fruits. Fruits must be thoroughly washed and peeled. Then they should be cut. Slices should not be too small, they should not be grated - in jam, unlike jam, small pieces of fruit should be present.
Sugar in apple jam is put to taste, based on your own preferences. The standard proportion of sugar per kilogram of fruit is 300-400 grams. Apples have a gelling property due to the pectin included in them, and do not need a thick syrup. Sour varieties of apples for cooking jam are not used.
Many housewives are wondering how to make jam from apples so that it does not lose its bright color. The secret is simple - use lemon juice. As soon as the fruits are sliced, we put them in a pot with a thick bottom or in a bowl for cooking jam. Pour sugar, add juice from one lemon and half a glass of water. All calculations are given per kilogram of prepared raw materials.
It is necessary to bring the jam to a boil over low heat, so that the apple slices let the juice flow, and the sugar dissolves. As soon as the whole mass begins to gurgle with bubbles, you can add fire for several minutes. Monitor, stirring, the degree of thickening. Beginning to thicken the jam should be boiled over low heat, put hot in sterile jars and corked. It is better to use small cans with screwable reusable lids.
Apple jam is easy to diversify by adding other products. It is known that apples go well with cinnamon and nuts. Fans of exotic taste can use ginger root as an additive. Cinnamon in jam should be laid at the very beginning of cooking in the form of a whole piece, it is better to grind almonds or walnuts into a fine powder. Two teaspoons are enough for a nut filler, add 5 minutes before cooking is complete.
Ginger to add to the jam is rubbed on a fine grater and laid immediately after the start of a uniform boil. If you put 1 teaspoon of aromatic additives, then in the finished jam there will be a light shade of ginger. You need to increase the serving carefully so as not to drown out your own aroma of apples. Tea with apple-ginger jam is good to drink in the cold season and with colds.