Should we expect favors from nature right now? If sunlight attracts people from home, then in winter home comfort in all its manifestations is of particular value: a lampshade, a blanket, a fireplace, tea with jam.
Jam is made in summer. Moreover, in the right houses, in happy families, they cook it all summer long, which is completely understandable – different fruits ripen at different times. And I still can’t imagine summer without a country veranda, of course, with floral print curtains, a sideboard and a large table. Here, on this veranda, grandmother makes jam. And the most delicious summer memory is flat brass basins in which berries in syrup sway in heavy waves, and sweet smells spread around the house, driving all buzzing insects into a frenzy. Wasps were especially eager for jam, they pleaded through the windows and, being unable to overcome the gauze stretched over the window, suffered.
We, the children, also suffered, because they didn’t give us jam, postponing treats until winter. As I now understand, not for reasons of economy, but in an effort to push us towards increased fortification: eat fresh fruits while they are!
However, something came to us in the summer as well, namely a chiffchaff, very airy and light, similar in texture to a soufflé. Here it was necessary to hurry in time and not miss the moment when the jam boils and the grandmother begins to remove foam from it. We loved every kind of it – both hot (you can add it to porridge), and cooled – an independent delicacy, but goes well with bread, tea, fresh milk.
Council
In the microwave oven, the jam will cook by itself, without our supervision. You can cook any fruit in it, 500 g at a time, adding sugar in a ratio of 2: 3 or 1: 2, a drop of lemon juice to enhance the smell, a vanilla pod and citrus zest. Fruits do not caramelize in a microwave oven, as the water evaporates from them gradually, preserving their taste and aroma. In it, you can cook a very small amount of jam, as an experiment, combine different fruits or add spices to them.
I am categorically against the humiliation of making jam with utilitarianism and pragmatism: “berries must be processed, the good should not be wasted.” Just winter without jam is incomprehensible, uninteresting and joyless. And if you cook a sleigh in the summer, then making jam is a must. By the way, our mothers were not satisfied with the gifts of the summer cottage, and from the Crimea we always carried baskets with dogwood, which, thanks to its hard glossy skin, easily endured the difficulties of transportation.
Only a person deprived of a flight of fancy can argue that it is easy to make jam: pour fruit with syrup – and go ahead. There are so many nuances and subtleties in this case that it’s impossible to list them all. I made a little mistake – and the berries wrinkled or fell apart, the syrup had a taste of burnt sugar … And so on. In no self-respecting cookbook you will find a recipe for “just jam” from some “fruit in general”. It will definitely be “jam from …”. Gooseberries, for example, before cooking, you need to “get drunk”, that is, pour it with vodka and hold it in it for two hours. And pierce the cherry with a special fork. And hold the watermelon peels in boiling water. Each fruit has its own approach, and perhaps that is why jam is considered a female art, like lace weaving and cigar making.
Russian sweetness
“Jam” is an old Russian name, denoting berries, fruits, nuts, some vegetables and flowers cooked in a sweet medium (honey, molasses, sugar syrup). Only Russian national types of preparation of sweets are called jam, in contrast to French (confiture), English (jam), Middle Eastern (fig), Central Asian (cue), Ukrainian (jam). The great culinary historian William Pokhlebkin recommended determining the readiness of jam not by cooking time, but by other signs: the disappearance of foam; transparency of the syrup; transparency of the “body” of the berry or fruit; the strength of the syrup drop (should not spread on a saucer); the strength of the syrup thread (a drop of syrup between the thumb and forefinger should, when spreading them, stretch into a strong, tear-resistant thread).
For some reason, it is believed that men are indifferent to jam. Hard to believe. Suffice it to recall Carlson drinking a jar of jam in one gulp. Indeed, representatives of the stronger sex can consume jam in large doses, which is generally not accepted, because this is not food, but a delicacy and should be eaten from a special dish designed specifically for jam – rosettes.
This I mean that if there is a man in the house, and even more so two or three, stocks of jam can run out long before spring. The question inevitably arises: what to do?
Cook new. Only from winter fruits. For example, from red grapefruits. This choice of fruit is not accidental. In winter, most of them only pretend to be healthy and tasty, but in fact they are deprived of all the most valuable things. Grapefruit is not like that. Under its thick and reliable skin, everything is fair: a lot of vitamin C, which protects against colds and flu and slows down the aging process. Regular consumption of grapefruits can get rid of unhealthy complexion and skin problems. Grapefruit, cut in half and baked with cinnamon and sugar in the oven, helps to overcome stress and depression. Grapefruit is a wonderful source of vitamin PP, which helps to cope with fatigue and insomnia, and vitamin D (especially necessary for children and the elderly). Grapefruit contains pectin, which removes excess cholesterol from the body and normalizes metabolism, as well as lycopene, which helps to cope with toxins, toxins and unfavorable ecology.
Therefore, I advise you to buy three fruits – two for jam, and one to eat in the process of preparation. The jam recipe is simple, and the result is guaranteed. Anyone can make this jam.
Red grapefruit jam with fresh mint
Preparation time: 15 minutes + 13-14 minutes for simmering.
For 250 g of jam: 2 red grapefruits
- 200 g sugar z sprig of mint or lemon balm
- 1/2 tsp pink pepper berries
Wash the grapefruits thoroughly, remove a little zest (one and a half teaspoons) with a sharp knife. Then peel them, separating the pulp from the white membranes, and divide each slice into 3 pieces (about the size of a teaspoon). Put 300 g pieces of pulp in a glass saucepan (diameter 20 cm) for the microwave oven. Add the sugary zest pieces, stir and microwave. Cook for 13 or 14 minutes, depending on how thin you prefer. Pour hot jam into a jar, adding pink pepper berries, which will favorably emphasize its color and set off the taste with a pleasant note of light spice. Garnish with a sprig of mint or lemon balm, lowering it along the side of the jar to about the middle. Store the jam in the refrigerator as it is low in sugar.