Published: August 21, 2013
Eat
How to Make Jam
By MARK BITTMAN
This is the time of year to make jam. Find the nearest bush or tree, go to a farmers’ market or pray that your local C.S.A. comes through in the next couple of weeks, but get it done.
You might never have considered making jam. You might be wary of it. But this isn’t old-fashioned jam we’re talking about, with Mason jars, canning tongs, pots of steam, near-guaranteed burns, loads of sweat and possibly even tears. This isn’t so much about preserving the harvest (that’s what freezers are for) but about making the kind of jam you keep in your fridge for a week or two. All that is needed is delicious fresh fruit and a half-hour of your time.
It’s hard to argue with the impulse to eat fruit raw in summer. After a while, though, there may be a hankering to do something to it: make pie, or crisp, or jam.
Jam — which is the whole fruit, sweetened, seasoned and cooked — does much more justice to summer’s bounty than jelly, which is cooked, strained into juice and thickened, usually with pectin. (Marmalade, if you’re curious, is just jam made out of citrus fruit, rind and all.)
Homemade jam is in a category by itself, because, not to put too fine a point on it, it actually reminds you of the fruit from which it’s made, rather than a pile of melted fruit-flavored sugar, as do most mass-produced jams.
Sugar is a big issue; many commercial jams are 50 percent sugar by weight. I think somewhere around 10 percent makes more sense. I don’t hear a lot of people complaining about the sourness of good strawberries or peaches, so why load them up with sugar?
But sugar can play three legitimate roles in jam: It’s a thickener, a sweetener and a preservative. I don’t care about the last of these; I’m not making 48 jars of jam to last me through the winter and spring; mine rarely lasts a week. I do, however, like a little more body than most fruit gives me when cooked (though many berries are naturally loaded with pectin, and don’t need any thickening agent), and sometimes I like a little extra sweetness.
If you don’t care about either, skip the sugar entirely. If you care only about sweetening, you might try honey or maple syrup. To me, 1/4 cup of sugar (or honey or syrup) is usually plenty for a pound of fruit, but start with less and taste as you go. It’s also fun to play around with different flavorings. In addition to spices and herbs, you’ll need to add a couple of tablespoons of liquid, which expand the flavor possibilities: citrus juice, port or red wine, balsamic or sherry vinegar, rose water and brandy are all suitable.
It is quite possible to make exquisite jam with nothing more than ripe fruit and a saucepan. Provided that you don’t eat all the fruit before you begin.
Related: Master Jam Recipe
