REAL JAM RECIPES!

This jam has just a delicious taste! I advise you to put a bit of cinnamon stick in each jar before pouring comfiture to get spicier flavor.

½ kilo fresh or tinned cherries, without cherry-stones
1 kilo sugar
1 ½ pint red wine
1 shot rum
2 packs gelatinizing agent
1/3 teaspoon cloves
½ lemon peel

1. Cover cherries with sugar, cloves and gelatinizing agent in a deep saucepan. Combine with red wine and let it brew for a night.
2. Next day: cook jam according to the guidance on the pack of gelatinizing agent.
3. Add rum, stir, pour into jars and seal.

This jam contains a little sugar and doesn’t affect the level of blood sugar. I can even call it dietetic because people with diabetes can eat this apple jam without any fear.

1 ½ kilo apples, sour-sweet sorts; finely sliced
2 1/3 cups sugar or 2 cups fructose
3 1/3 ounces rose petals
1 cup water
¼ lemon juice

1. Cover apples with sugar and set aside.
2. Bathe rose petals, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Take petals out, pour water in apples. Place apples on the oven and coddle until apples are boiled soft.
4. Add petals and lemon juice and cook 6-8 minutes. Then pour in jars and seal.

I recommend you this simple recipe – apple jam is cooked quickly. I usually choose not very sweet apple sorts.

1 kilo apples, finely sliced
3 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 lemon peel
a pinch of vanilla powder

1. Make syrup – combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Add apples and cook for 30 minutes over a medium heat.
2. Not long before jam is ready add lemon peel and vanilla powder.
3. Remove from heat, pour in jars and seal.

It’s hard to find an easier recipe. Try to cook this jam also with wild strawberry or raspberry – the result is amazing.

3 kilos strawberry
1 cup strawberry juice
3 grams ascorbic acid

1. Combine all ingredients in a big saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Let it simmer 5-6 minutes and then pour boiling mass into jars and seal.

Today I want to share with you some jam recipes without sugar. I believe they are wrongly forgotten, because many healthy and tasty jams can be cooked without sugar. It’s of a special importance for people suffering from adiposity and pancreatic diabetes.

There are many ways of cooking jam without sugar. You should try some to choose some at your taste. For example you can take currant and put it closely together in a jar, then place the jar in a canner with water standing on the oven. The berries must stew in their own juice. While they sink, add more berries. When the jar is full, place the lid and cook for an hour, then seal. This recipe suits for any berries and fruits except bananas and mango.

I also made jam without sugar using microwave oven. I put them a glass bowl without covering with a lid and place in the oven on high power (100%). When fruits are tender, I stew and keep on cooking until water evaporates, jam becomes thick and darker. After that I take it out and put in a jar. This jam doesn’t need sealing; I store it in the fridge for a week or two. I didn’t try to store more, cause my folk eat the jam quickly.

Apricot jam is not only extra-tasty – doctors say that apricot seeds contain laetrile, an alternative treatment for cancer. In past centuries this fruit was used against tumors and ulcers.

1 kilo apricots
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup water
1 kilo sugar

1. Halve apricots and take out stones.
2. Combine apricots, water and lemon juice in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover with lid and cook about 15 minutes until apricots are tender.
3. Add sugar and stir. When sugar dissolves, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, stirring. Don’t cover.
4. When jam thickens, allow it cool for 5 minutes, and then pour into jars and seal.

This easy jam recipe is based on a simple principle – “bring to a boil”. Blackberry turns to be very tender and palatable. Cook it yourself and make certain of that.

1 kilo blackberry
1 ½ kilos sugar
2 cups water

1. Bring water to a boil and add blackberry.
2. Bring blackberry to a boil and combine with sugar.
3. When sugar dissolves, bring jam to a boil once again. Cook over gentle heat 20-25 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and allow jam cool. Then pour into jars and seal.

I’ve found another chili jam recipe in my cookbook. Moreover, this one contains tomatoes and apple, and I think I like this recipe even more, because jalapeno chili pepper has an exquisite tender-burning taste. You can use it with any dishes to your taste. Experiment!

10 jalapeno peppers, seeded
2 tomatoes
1 green apple, grated
1 big onion, chopped
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar

1. Bisect the peppers, put them on a baking sheet and place under the broiler until skin turns black.
2. Remove the peppers from the oven and let them cool.
3. Scald tomatoes and peel skin from them. Remove skin from peppers as well. Chop veggies finely.
4. Combine apple, onion, sugar and vinegar in a pan. Add tomatoes and chili peppers and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
5. Bring the mass to a boil and reduce heat. Allow it simmer for 20-30 minutes.
6. Store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

As compared with other fruit preserves this jam isn’t a sweet dish. I use it as a seasoning  to add heat to meat or spaghetti. This chili jam requires no canning.

¼ chili, finely diced
6 spring onions, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tsp sesame seeds
1 lemon, squeezed
pinch of chili flakes
handful of coriander leaves, chopped

1. Place vegetables, sesame oil, soy sauce, chili flakes and garlic  into a mini food processor and blend together.
2. Put into a pan over a gentle  heat. Add coriander, sesame seeds and lemon juice.
3. Stir for a 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.

This jam has at once 3 advantages – it’s rich in vitamins, contains a few calories and it’s easy to cook.

1 ½ kilos grapefruit, sliced
4 cups water
6 cups sugar
1/3 cup brandy

1. Place the grapefruits together with peel and pits into a food processor and blend.
2. Heat water in a big pan and cook the grapefruit mass for 30 minutes. Put it in a big bowl, cover and allow it cool down for a night.
3. Put grapefruits in a pan again, add sugar and cook over gentle heat until sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil and simmer 20 minutes until confiture is thick enough.
4. Add brandy and let it cool down for 5 minutes.
5. Pour confiture into sterilized jars and seal while it’s hot.