Jams are products prepared by boiling fruit with almost an equal quantity of sugar to a thick consistency. Jams also fall into the category of intermediate moisture foods. During the manufacturing process, part of the water in the product is evaporated, while binding with sugar makes the rest unavailable for microbial activity.
Recipe
Apricot:
- Fruit Pulp = 1 kg
- Sugar = 1 kg
- Citric Acid = 3 g
- Pectin, Grade 150 Rapid set = 15 g
- SMC Flavour, Apricot 1127 = 1 mL
- Sodium benzoate = 1 g
Apple:
- Fruit Pulp = 1 kg
- Sugar = 1 kg
- Citric Acid = 3 g
- Pectin, Grade 150 Rapid set = 12 g
- SMC Colour, Orange red = 0.2 g
- SMC Flavour, Apple = 1 mL
- Sodium benzoate = 1 g
Procedure
- Take fully ripe and well-matured fruits (apples). Discard over-ripe fruits.
- Wash and remove spoiled fruit. Trim over-ripe portions with trimming knife. Remove seeds or other inedible portions.
- Cut the fruits into small pieces.
- Add water and cook for 10 minutes till the fruit pieces become soft.
- Pass through a fine pulper or filter through a muslin cloth.
- Add pectin to sugar (sugar quantity varies according to the sweetness of the fruit. Usually equal weight of sugar is added in acidic fruits, but this may be reduced in case of sweet fruits).
- In sweet fruits, 0.1 to 0.2% citric acid may also be added.
- Cook the above material until a temperature of 104-106°C is reached. At this stage, the total soluble solids content should be between 65-68% as read through Abbe Refractometer.
- Add sodium benzoate at the rate of 0.1 % of the weight of finished material.
- Pack and seal in glass jars before the temperature goes below 82 °C.
