What kind of container is recommended to cook jam in? What is the best container to cook jam in?

The time is coming when your favorite fruits and berries ripen, but this time is short-lived, and you want to preserve these wonderful gifts of nature for the whole year.
And there is a way out - make jam. And the question immediately arises:

The main requirement is that the dishes must be wide enough and low enough. This is necessary so that the liquid evaporates faster. The pelvis has just this shape. Therefore, it is the pelvis that is considered the best dishes for making jam.

• The wider the bottom, the better. With a large area of ​​contact with the fire, the basin will heat up faster and more evenly, therefore, the lower section of the jam will not be overcooked.
• To prevent it from burning, choose a basin with a whole, even, flat bottom. Otherwise, you will have to spend a lot of effort and time scraping off carbon deposits in cracks and gaps.

We decided on the form. Now the material from which this very basin should be made.

Dishes from of stainless steel(food) recognized as the best for making jam. In such containers, all the beneficial substances of the wonderful berries will not be destroyed, and the acid from the jam being prepared will not affect the quality of the dishes. In addition, jam can be left in such basins for a certain time without fear for either the basin or its contents.

It’s good if the basin in which the jam is supposed to be cooked is brass or copper. Although natural copper is very expensive, it is different special properties, namely, high thermal conductivity and durability. When cooking in such a basin, the jam will heat up evenly and will not burn.

Enameled basins can be used when cooked jam needs to be kept in the same container until the next cooking, or when it needs to be stored for some time before packaging.

But there is one necessary requirement for enamel cookware: there should not be the slightest crack on it, much less a chip of the enamel. Otherwise, in this case, iron will pass into the jam, and not only will it suffer from this appearance, but also the quality of the jam.

Is it possible to cook jam in an aluminum container?

You can cook in it, but you cannot store foods, especially those containing acids and salts, since under their influence the protective oxide film on the surface of the aluminum is destroyed.
Therefore, if the jam is cooked in one go, then it can be cooked in an aluminum container, but immediately after cooking, transfer it, for example, to glass jars. But if the jam is cooked in several stages, and it needs to settle in the same container until the next cooking, then aluminum cookware is not suitable in this case!

What should be the volume of the container for making jam?

The optimal volume will be from 2 to 6 liters. It is better not to use an even larger container, since delicate berries (for example, such as raspberries or strawberries) can choke from their own weight, and in this case the jam will turn out more like jam.
In addition, the larger the capacity, the longer time cooking jam. And increasing the cooking time does not have the best effect on the quality of the jam.
Good luck!

During the ripening season of berries and fruits, many housewives begin to engage in canning. However, not every woman knows in which container it is better to cook jam. After reading this article, you will learn a lot of interesting things on this issue.

Pan or basin?

Many young housewives who have decided to start making homemade food for the first time often have the question: “In which container is it better to cook jam?” As a rule, pots or basins are used for these purposes. Moreover, each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, a saucepan is more convenient to use. In addition, it takes up much less space on the hob or work surface.

The advantage of the basin is its maximally open surface, which provides better evaporation of excess liquid. Thanks to this feature, the jam prepared in it will be thicker. Moreover, the berries or fruits themselves will remain intact.

Preferred container sizes

Those who don’t know what kind of container is best to cook jam in will probably be interested in the fact that it is advisable to do this in a shallow bowl with a flat, wide bottom. Moreover, its volume can vary from two to six liters. It is not recommended to prepare jam in large basins, since many types of berries, including raspberries and strawberries, can squash under their own weight. As a result, you will end up with an unaesthetic boiled mass.

In addition, a container that is too large will take a long time to heat up, resulting in an increase in cooking time and a deterioration in the quality of the final product. Since many types of jam require repeated boiling, the pan used for this purpose must have a lid. It will provide additional protection from dust and insects.

Materials used to make such pans

Modern stores offer a fairly wide range of various containers. Therefore, those who do not know which container is best can mistakenly purchase something that is not exactly what they need. To avoid such troubles, you should first familiarize yourself with the features of a particular material.

Many fruits and berries contain a large number of organic acids that serve as a catalyst for corrosion processes. Therefore, special requirements are imposed on the containers used for their preparation. For those who do not know in which container it is better to cook berry jam, we can recommend buying a hygienic enameled or one. However, the first option has a relatively short service life. If you notice that even a small crack has appeared on the surface of the enamel, it is advisable to get rid of such a container.

The most suitable material is considered to be. Basins made from it can be recommended to anyone who cannot decide which vessel is best to cook in. Such containers are resistant to the acids contained in almost all berries and fruits.

What basins and pans are unsuitable for making jam?

Copper containers, which have long been considered the best utensils for home preparation, are not entirely suitable for these purposes. As mentioned above, fruits contain an increased concentration of acids. Recent studies have shown that they are able to dissolve the patina that forms on the surface of pans. Therefore, those who have not yet decided in which container it is better to cook jam should not do it in copper basins.

Aluminum containers are also categorically unsuitable for these purposes. Fruit acid helps to destroy the oxide film formed on the walls of the vessel. As a result of a complex chemical process, aluminum molecules are released, which subsequently enter the finished product.

After finishing preparing the fruit or berry jam you need to wash the pan thoroughly, rinse it hot water and dry thoroughly. If you plan to prepare several batches of product from one type of raw material during the day, then washing the dishes is not necessary.

The enamel container should not be cleaned using harsh chemicals. You need to pour soda into it, add water and boil. After this, it is removed from the stove and left until the morning.

Stainless steel pans are scratch resistant. Therefore, you can use powdered products to wash them. For example, they can be cleaned perfectly with regular salt. It is poured into a dirty container, filled with water, boiled and left for several hours. Then the contaminated areas are treated with a wire brush or hard sponge.

You can remove the remains of burnt jam using the husk. To do this, you need to boil a whole unpeeled onion in a bowl. Unpleasant smell, which appears during this procedure, disappears very quickly.

“Recently, you can come across a variety of recommendations about what is best to cook jam in. Some experts (in particular, and in your magazine in the issue of 1988) say that copper utensils are not suitable. Others are enameled and at the same time praise “comfortable copper and brass basins.” What is the basis for such discrepancies?”

V. A. Kozhurnikov, pos. Medvedok Kirov region

This question is answered by senior researcher at the F. F. Erisman Research Institute of Hygiene of the Ministry of Health of the RSFSR, Candidate of Medical Sciences R. I. ANISKINA.

From a hygienic point of view, you can make jam in any canteen or kitchen utensils food purposes. All of it is made from materials approved by the USSR Ministry of Health for contact with food.

However, berries and fruits contain organic acids, which can cause increased corrosion of surfaces in contact with the jam. Therefore, it is advisable to use stainless steel or enameled utensils.

It is allowed to cook jam in copper or brass basins. However, due to the fact that copper quickly corrodes in the presence of atmospheric oxygen, you should know:

You can't use honey

steel or brass basins

with darkened or coated

surface in summer. They should

we must always begin carefully

puppies and polished to a shine

Ready-made jam is needed

I can immediately pour it into another

dishes and basins immediately

How to clean burnt jam?

During the berry and fruit season, many housewives prepare jam for the winter. They try to closely monitor the process of cooking the sweet dish, but it happens that the delicacy burns. Read how to clean burnt jam and use various folk tricks for cleaning a pan, depending on what material it is made of.

Each pan has its own “pill”

It’s better to clean the jam pan the old fashioned way.

Not every housewife knows how to clean burnt jam using safe products. For cleaning enamel pans It is strictly forbidden to use aggressive chemical substances– alkaline powders. It is better to use soda, but rubbing the surface with a wire brush is not recommended. Soda is poured with water and boiled, then left overnight. In the morning, clean the pan with a simple soft sponge. An aluminum pan can also be washed using the same method.

Do not overfill enamel cookware cold water immediately after transferring the jam. This leads to the formation of microcracks on the walls and bottom. But aluminum basins and pans should be immediately filled with cold water, before they have time to cool down.

Stainless steel pans are easy to clean regular salt. The salt in the pan is boiled in water, left for several hours and scrubbed with a hard sponge or iron brush.

The powder is suitable for stainless steel, so it can be used without fear of the pan being damaged by scratches.

If the jam is burnt, how to wash a Teflon-coated pan, because powder and iron brushes are not suitable here. You can only soak dishes with a solution that does not contain lye. The pan is filled with hot water or boiling water, left for a while and rinsed with cold water.

To remove stuck or burnt sugar, you can use citric acid by boiling it in a burnt pan over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

If the jam is burnt, keep in mind how to clean the pan using onion peel. The whole onion with the peel is boiled in a bowl. At the same time, housewives do not have to worry about the pungent odor - it disappears immediately.

Jam - what to cook it in, what container is best to cook it in:

Of course, it is best to cook jam in a wide and shallow container - in a basin. Indeed, in the process of repeatedly (usually 3 times) heating the berries with syrup to a boil, excess liquid evaporates and the jam becomes thick.

5-minute jam can also be cooked in regular saucepan, because After 5 minutes of boiling, the jam still does not become thicker. In this jam, thickness is achieved by gelling the contents.

The utensils for making jam can be made of food grade stainless steel, copper, brass or enameled.

Under no circumstances should you cook jam in an aluminum container! During cooking, the protective oxide layer on the walls of the aluminum cookware dissolves from the acid, which is always present in the berries and spoils the delicacy, and aluminum particles getting into the jam are harmful to health.

Enameled dishes are safe for health, but jam often burns in them, so it is better to choose a stainless steel basin or pan.

Copper or brass basins were very popular in the past; our grandmothers cooked their delicious jam in just such. In a copper basin, the jam does not burn and retains its color and aroma.

But we must remember that for jam, a bowl made of copper or brass must be perfectly cleaned of oxides. It turns out that copper oxides dissolved by fruit acids from the darkened basin penetrate into the jam. Therefore, a copper basin should simply shine; only then is it suitable for cooking.

Conclusion: the best container for making jam is a basin or wide stainless steel pan.

Buy yourself such dishes, and you will be sure that your jam is safe for health and has retained all its vitamins.

How to make jam

How to make jam

1. Proportions of fruits and sugar when making jam.

As a rule, 1 kilogram of sugar is used for 1 kilogram of berries.

2. What should you use to make jam?

The jam is boiled in brass or steel containers - ideally, the basins are wide enough so that the lower layers of the fruit do not soften under the weight of the upper ones.

3. Storing jam.

Jam must be poured into prepared jars: washed in hot water with the addition of soda and heated until completely dry in the oven (at a temperature of 60 degrees for 10 minutes). Store the jam at a temperature of 10-15 degrees in a dark place.

4. At what heat should you cook the jam?

The jam must be cooked over low heat.

5. When is the jam ready?

The jam is cooked when a drop of syrup becomes completely thick.

6. Should I skim the foam from the jam?

Skim off the foam when making jam.

7. What to do if the jam does not thicken?

8. How to make jam without cooking.)

For one can of fruit, take 1 can of sugar (or for 1 kilogram of fruit - 2 kilograms of sugar), grind with a mixer. Store the ground mixture in the refrigerator.

9. How to organize jam storage?

To store jam, you can print labels with the name of the preparations and the date. Or just write on the jar with a marker.

Utensils for making jam

The jam is boiled in a saucepan or basin. The good thing about the basin is that the large open surface ensures increased evaporation of liquid - the jam will be thick, but the fruits or berries will not be digested. The pan is more convenient to use; it takes up less space on the stove or on the table during breaks between stages of cooking jam.

Can be used:

Enameled dishes - they are suitable for making jam. But it is worth considering that even a small chip of the enamel makes it impossible to use a basin or pan.

Stainless steel cookware is suitable for making jam, but sometimes the finished product takes on a “metallic” taste.

Can not use:

Copper basins, although they are traditionally considered the best vessels for making jam. Modern research proves the opposite - copper is not suitable for making jam. Fruits and berries contain acid that can dissolve copper oxides that appear on the surface of the cookware in the form of a patina (dark coating). Even if the basin is torn off until it shines, it is still not worth using it for cooking - copper ions destroy ascorbic acid, depriving the jam of even a minimal amount of vitamin C.

It is better to pour jam into jars with a small ladle, because... The necks of the jars are usually narrow - there is a risk of spilling the jam.

About sugar in jam

When making jam, sugar acts as a sweetener, thickener and preservative. When cooking jam, sugar is divided into fructose and glucose, this facilitates its rapid absorption by the body.

When making jam, sugar obtained from sugar beets and cane is most often used. Exotic types of sugar: maple, palm, sorghum are rare in Russia and are not used for making jam, as is brown unrefined raw cane sugar.

If you reduce the amount of sugar, the jam will have less calories. But there is a risk that the resulting product will have the consistency of compote rather than jam. Sugar can be replaced food additives based on pectin. These are “Confiturka”, “Quittin”, “Zhelfix” jams that improve the consistency.

The jam making season is coming. Modern housewives are wondering: what to cook it in? And the question is by no means an idle one. In a good way, jam should preserve not only its taste and aroma summer berries and fruits, but also vitamins. And besides, do not absorb any harmful impurities from the dishes.

Our grandmothers traditionally boiled berries in copper basins. IN Soviet time Such tubs with wooden handles on the sides were considered the highest chic. Not everyone had them, but every housewife in the USSR dreamed of this copper miracle. There was an opinion that it is in such a basin that the best and the most delicious jam! But no, today the situation has changed.

It turns out that copper utensils are in no way suitable for these purposes. Firstly, copper oxides, which are harmful to our health, dissolved by fruit acids when cooking sour fruits (cherry plum, dogwood, etc.) can get into the jam. But that’s not even the point (a perfectly polished basin is safe in this regard). The problem is that it turns out that the smallest amount of copper ions leads to the destruction of ascorbic acid - and that’s it, there are no vitamins in the jam, just berries!

We turned to Candidate of Medical Sciences Natalya Tikhonycheva for comment:

Our grandmothers, indeed, preferred to cook jam in copper basins. But I would not advise housewives to adhere to this custom, because copper ions destroy the beneficial ascorbic acid in berries and fruits. If the household only has a copper basin, do not forget to properly care for it. Before and after cooking, thoroughly wash and rinse the basin with hot water, then dry until the moisture is completely removed. If copper oxide appears, thoroughly wipe it with sand, wash the basin with hot water and soap, dry it, and only then start making jam.

So what should you cook in? Aluminum cookware is also not suitable for our purposes. The high acidity of the jam will destroy the oxide film on the metal surface, and a small amount of aluminum will inevitably end up in our delicacy. In principle, enamel cookware works well. But a problem can also arise with it: enamel when high temperatures risks breaking off.

So the best vessel for making jam is stainless steel.

And now a selection of rare and interesting jam recipes from our grandmothers:

Rhubarb jam

Wash, peel and cut 1 kg of rhubarb, add about 600 grams of sugar and leave for 8 - 10 hours. Drain the resulting juice and put on the fire, bring to a boil, add another 600 grams of sugar. When the syrup boils, put pieces of rhubarb in it, bring the jam to a boil, remove from heat and let it brew for an hour. Then simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, add ¼ teaspoon if desired ground cinnamon and immediately pour into pasteurized jars, roll up and turn upside down until cool.

Blackcurrant jam

Recipe: water - 3 glasses, sugar 14 glasses, currants - 11 glasses.

Boil syrup from all the water and half the sugar. As soon as the syrup boils, add all the berries. From the moment the syrup with berries boils, cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Then remove from the heat, add the remaining sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved; you can cook the jam, but do not boil. The jam turns out jelly-like and aromatic.

Pear and orange jam

Recipe: honey – 165 g, sugar – 200 g, lemon juice– 2 tbsp. spoons, cloves - 6 pcs., hard pears - 1 kg, small oranges - 4 pcs., lemon cut into slices - 1 pc., mint leaves - 4 pcs., water - 900 ml.

Mix honey, sugar, lemon juice and cloves in water. Peel the pear, remove the core, and leave the tail. Place the pears in the mixture with honey, stir, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat, close the lid and cook for 20 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears into a bowl, and put the oranges in the pan, from which you need to remove the skin and white pulp, bring to a boil, cook the oranges without a lid for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the oranges to the bowl with the pears. Bring the syrup to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes without a lid. Pour the syrup over the fruit, add lemon slices and mint. Boil for 5 minutes, cool.

Small green tomato jam

For 1 kg of tomatoes: 1 kg of sugar, 4 lemons.

Green tomatoes – small – rinse, place in a bowl, pour over cold salty water (50 g per 0.5 liter of water) and leave for 12 hours. Then boil, drain the water, and rinse the tomatoes with cold water 2-3 times. The juice is squeezed out of the lemons, the zest is finely chopped, combined and heated over low heat. Add the sugar slowly and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place tomatoes in the syrup and cook over low heat, periodically removing the foam, until the tomatoes become transparent. The finished jam is packaged in sterilized jars and rolled up. Tomatoes retain their bright natural color when cooked.

Chokeberry jam with apples

Recipe: 1 kg of rowan, 1 kg of Antonovka apples, 2 kg of sugar, water – 900 g.

Wash the berries, dry them, and pass through a meat grinder. Cut the apples into slices. Then combine with sugar, add water and cook until tender.

White acacia flower jam

400 grams of white acacia flowers, 1.2 kg of sugar, 1 tbsp. grape juice, 1 tbsp. water.

Peel the acacia flowers so that only white petals remain, rub them with your hands with 800 grams of sugar and leave in an enamel bowl for 12 hours. Boil syrup from water, juice and remaining sugar. Pour acacia flowers and cook for 30 - 40 minutes until full readiness.

Barberry jam

Washed and seeded ripe berries pour in sugar syrup(1 kg of berries – 1 kg of sugar) and leave for a day. Water for syrup - 1 glass. Cook in three batches until done (usually 30 – 40 minutes). Jam is well stored in cool place under the nylon cover.

Assorted jam

Gooseberries, cherries, strawberries, apricots - wash, dry. Remove pits from cherries and apricots - the weight of the fruit should be 1 kg. Boil the fruits in syrup for 30 minutes. (For 1.25 kg of sugar - 2 glasses of water). Cool the finished jam and package it in jars, close with plastic lids.

Pear jam

Pears – 1 kg, sugar – 1 kg, water 1.5 cups, citric acid 4 g.

Peel and core the pears, cut into slices, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water and cool in cold water. Dip the pears into hot syrup and cook in 3 batches, allowing to stand. At the end of cooking, add citric acid or the juice of 1 lemon.

Plum jam

Wash the plums and remove the pits. Boil the sugar syrup, put the plum halves into the syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, boil for 8 - 10 minutes and cool. During the cooking process, the jam should be shaken, not stirred. Place the finished jam in hot jars.

Zucchini jam with black currants

2 kg of peeled zucchini, cut into cubes, mixed with 1 kg of black currants, add 3 kg of sugar and leave for 12 hours. Cook in three batches for 5 minutes, letting the jam cool each time. Place the finished jam into jars and close with a lid.

Assorted jam

Cut pears and apples, 0.5 kg each into cubes, pour 0.5 tbsp. water and 300 grams of sugar, boil and leave for 10 hours. The next day, add 500 grams of pitted plums cut into 4 pieces, add another 300 grams of sugar, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, add 0.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and cloves. Stir and turn off. Place in jars and roll up.

Melon and raspberry jam

Recipe: melon – 1 kg, raspberries – 300 g, Saar – 800 g, water – 1 glass, lemon – 1 pc.

Wash the lemon, dry it, remove the zest, cover it with granulated sugar, pour over lemon juice and leave for 1 hour. Wash the melon, dry it, peel it, remove the seeds, cut it into small pieces. Sort the raspberries, wash and dry quickly.

Drain the lemon juice from the peels, add water and cook for low heat syrup. After boiling, add melon, as soon as the melon is soft add raspberries, continue cooking until thickened. Place the jam in sterilized jars and close the lids.

Southern jam

Recipe: watermelon rinds– 1 kg, sugar – 1.5 kg, water – 500 ml, zest of one lemon, juice of one lemon.

Peel the watermelon rinds and separate the pulp. Cut the white peel into cubes. Pour hot water over the crusts and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, then place on a sieve and cool. Boil syrup from water and sugar, add zest, lemon juice, cook watermelon rinds for 20 - 30 minutes, then remove from heat and leave in syrup for 2 hours. Then repeat this operation, once again let the jam sit for 2 hours, cook for the third time on low heat until the crusts are transparent. Place the finished jam into jars.

Strawberry jam

Strawberries – 1 kg, sugar – 1 kg, juice of one lemon.

Sort the berries, wash, dry, place in a bowl in which the jam will be cooked, add sugar, lemon juice and leave for 5 hours. Then cook for 15 minutes on low heat. Cook until fully cooked in a day. Pour the finished jam into clean jars.

Strawberries (strawberries) in red currant juice

Strawberries (strawberries) – 1 kg, red currant juice – 300 g.

Wash the berries, dry them, place them in a saucepan, add juice, boil for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, pour into sterilized jars and roll up.

Rosehip-rowanberry jam

Remove hairs and seeds from 600 grams of rose hips. Blanch 400 g of rowan fruits (preferably nevezhinskaya) for 2 - 5 minutes, and then cook in three batches until tender with the addition of 1 tbsp of blanching water and 1.3 kg of sugar. Pour the finished jam into clean jars. Blanching is boiling over high heat.

Gooseberry jam

Recipe: berries – 2 kg, honey 1 kg, walnuts- how much the berries will take.

Wash large unripe gooseberries, dry them, carefully remove the seeds without cutting the berries, in kernels. walnuts fill the gooseberries. You can make it in halves, but crush the nuts. Pour honey over the berries and cook the jam until tender.

Strawberry or strawberry jam

Sort the berries, wash them, and let the water drain. For 1 kg of berries take 1 kg of sugar and instead of water 1 glass sour juice(red currants, apples, plums or gooseberries). Dip the berries into a hot syrup of sugar and juice and cook until tender, stirring continuously and skimming off the foam. After 30 - 35 minutes from the moment of boiling, the jam is ready. At the end of cooking you can add 2 - 3 g citric acid– it gives a beautiful color. Pour hot jam into heated dry jars, and when cooled, close the lid. If the jam turns out liquid, you will have to sterilize the jars for 15 - 20 minutes and roll up the lids.

Raspberries mashed with sugar

For this jam, you can use both garden and forest raspberries. Sort through the berries and remove any damaged ones. If there are raspberry beetle larvae (white larvae), dip the berries in salted water (20 grams of salt per liter of water) for 10 - 15 minutes and the larvae will float to the surface. There is another way: scatter the berries on the table, the worms will crawl out on their own. Rinse the raspberries in a colander with water and beat with a mixer. Place the resulting mass in an enamel or porcelain bowl, add granulated sugar 1.5 kg per 1 kg raspberries and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place in clean, dry jars and seal airtight.

Pumpkin jam

Remove peel and seeds from pumpkin. Pour into a bowl or saucepan cold water, put soda and put in the chopped pumpkin large pieces. Leave for a day. Then drain the water, wash the pumpkin with cold water and place in a sieve. When the water has drained, cut the pumpkin into squares.

Boil the syrup, put the pumpkin in it, but do not stir. When the jam boils, remove it from the heat for several hours so that the pumpkin does not boil and it does not turn into jam. Then cook until done.

For 1 kg of pumpkin, 1.5 kg of sugar, 1 tablespoon of soda, 0.75 cups of water.

Pumpkin and apple jam

For this jam you will need: 5 kg of pumpkin, 2 lemons, 2 kg of apples, 5 kg of sugar.

Peel the pumpkin and remove seeds, pass through a meat grinder, add lemons without seeds, passed through a meat grinder. Wash the apples, core them, cut into cubes. Pour granulated sugar into the pumpkin, lemon and apples. Cook in three batches for 5 minutes from the moment of boiling, stirring continuously.

Ginger-apple jam

1 kg of apples, 1 kg of sand, a tablespoon of grated ginger, 1 glass of water, 2 large lemons.

Wash the apples, dry them, remove the core and cut into thin cubes. Remove the zest from the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Boil syrup from sugar and water, add lemon zest and juice, apples, grated ginger to the syrup. Cook the jam until it thickens. Pour into dry, sterilized jars and close with a lid.

Rowan jam

It is better to take Nezhin rowan berries. Dip the berries in boiling water for 3 - 5 minutes or place in a warm oven for 1 - 2 hours. For 1 kg of rowan, take 1.5 kg of sugar and 3 glasses of water. Pour boiling syrup over the berries and cook after 6–8 hours, removing them several times for 10–15 minutes. Ready jam Let the date stand for 10 - 13 hours, then put it into jars. If the syrup is liquid, drain it, keep it on the fire to “evaporate” and pour the jam again.

In what container should you cook jam so that it does not burn, it turns out tasty, aromatic, healthy and can be stored for a long time in the pantry or cellar?

You need to choose taking into account the material, shape and volume. The type of berries and fruits used for preparations plays an important role in the choice. If suitable for sweet apples different variants, then for currants and cherries with high content acids will have to be limited only certain types. Learn the theory to make the right purchase.

Shape and volume of containers for making jam

In large quantities, tender berries will become wrinkled, so experienced housewives They never prepare 6-10 kg of jam. The more delicate the main ingredient, the smaller the portion should be. It is advisable to cook strawberries, wild strawberries and raspberries maximum 2 kg, and apricots, cherries, currants and plums - 3 kg each.

For a small portion of jam, a container with a volume of 4-4.5 liters is enough. If you like to make blanks in large batches, look for a six-liter container. It's better to spend more time on two batches, but cook delicious preparations for the winter.

The right dishes to make jam there must be shallow but wide- according to the type of pelvis. In such a container, excess moisture will evaporate faster, and the pieces of fruit will not be damaged, they will warm up evenly and are soaked in sugar syrup. Tall pots and shaped dishes, the bottom and top of which are much narrower than the sides, are not suitable.

Lids are not used during the cooking process, but they can be useful at the stage when the berries are covered with sugar or jam for several hours and infused in syrup. But if a suitable container does not have a lid, it doesn’t matter, you can cover it with a towel or choose another lid.

Handles make it easy to turn the jam on the stove and remove it from the oven. If they are not there, then there should be a neck that you can grab with your hands using oven mitts.

Ideal utensil material for jam

Choosing suitable dishes To make jam, it is important to take into account the specifics of the recipe. There are methods of cooking in one step, and there are recipes that require heating three times with infusion in between boiling. If you cannot leave the jam in the bowl overnight, you will have to pour it into a different pan each time.

Copper basin - a classic of the genre

In vintage cookbooks Most often there are recommendations for choosing copper utensils for jam. This was passed down from grandmother to granddaughter. Advantages:

• Copper has high thermal conductivity, so basins and cups heat up quickly and evenly.
• It is easier to control the temperature in copper cookware because it cools quickly after turning down the heat or turning off the stove.
• Copper has natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties, killing E. coli, salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus even without high temperatures.

However, today they look at copper differently and claim that a copper basin is the best choice for preserves and jams, it is not possible. In progress heat treatment Copper ions react with acids, destroying vitamins. In low quality kitchen utensils Copper oxides, which are hazardous to health, may enter food during cooking.

To prevent oxidation, tinned copper bowls with an internal coating should be used for heat treatment of fruits and berries. Most often used for coating tin- metal to be restored. Not long ago, manufacturers learned to coat copper with stainless steel. This one is not afraid of acids. But all copper products require careful handling and careful washing.

The price of copper basins and cups is several times higher than similar ones made of other metals. Therefore, it is not advisable to buy copper utensils for making jam. Brass basins made from a copper-zinc alloy are cheaper. If you inherited copper utensils, make sure that the coating is intact and, if necessary, have it repaired.

Stainless steel - a modern approach

Utensils for making jam made of stainless steel meet all safety requirements and are considered the best of all those considered for cherries, currants, apricots, cranberries. Stainless steel is a completely inert material that does not oxidize and does not react with products.

The stainless steel basin is not afraid of contact with acids, therefore it is suitable for jam from sour berries and fruits in several stages. You can sprinkle the berries with sugar in it, leaving them in this form for several hours without any risk or fear. Useful material and vitamins in stainless steel products are more likely to be preserved, but during heat treatment they, of course, partially disappear.

Matte and polished utensils are made from food grade steel. On consumer properties it is not reflected. A matter of taste. Polished looks stylish, but water stains may remain on the surface if you do not immediately wipe it dry.

It is more important to pay attention to metal thickness, especially in the bottom area. A thin bottom is not suitable for jams and jams, and especially for long-term cooking. The maximum you can use thin-walled products for is preparing “five-minute” strawberries, wild strawberries, currants, cherries and other berries that do not require long cooking.

There are basins on sale with a multi-layer bottom made using capsule technology. This bottom consists of several types of metals, which makes heating more uniform, protects against deformation and extends the life of kitchen utensils.

Aluminum - rules of use

It is better not to choose aluminum utensils for making jam, since this metal tends to react with acids and oxidize. This interaction leads to harmful substances entering the product.

However, many housewives cook preserves and jams in aluminum basins, observing the following precautions:

• Choose aluminum cookware for cooking fruits and berries with low acidity - apples, figs, peaches, cherries, plums.
• Use aluminum exclusively for stovetop cooking. Cover the berries with sugar and leave to infuse before heating in another pan.
• Stir the mixture constantly to prevent the contents from burning.
• Avoid jam recipes that require prolonged heat treatment and thickening.

Review of products from online stores

This short review will help you get a correct idea of ​​what cookware looks like. homemade preserves, jams, marmalade, confitures and other fruit and berry sweets for the winter.

The stainless steel jam bowl from the French company Mauviel has a bottom diameter of 36 cm, which is ideal for the home kitchen oven. The height of the walls is 12 cm. The inner surface is matte, the outer surface is mirrored. Two comfortable handles. The dish is ideal for jam from cherries, cranberries, currants and other sour berries.

A copper basin with a volume of 4.5 liters is suitable for small portions of fruit and berry preparations. The bottom of the pan is smaller than the diameter of the top, which speeds up boiling, but requires stirring.

The inexpensive Kalitva jam bowl from a domestic manufacturer is made of aluminum. Suitable for fast cooking in one go. Best used for sweet fruits. Volume – 12 liters. Convenient for preparing fruits - washing, cutting, sorting the crop. The large bottom diameter is not suitable for all slabs!

A 3-liter brass basin with a removable wooden handle is suitable for home cooking on any stove except induction. The long handle is convenient for shaking the contents so that the syrup evenly covers the pieces of fruit and berries.

Be sure to check the cost of goods in different stores. Even products with the same article number may have different prices. Products from European manufacturers are always more expensive than domestic and Asian ones. Russian brands have many good offers.

There is no point in buying a special basin if you plan to prepare it once. Using the theoretical knowledge you have acquired, choose in which container it is better to cook the jam from the existing one.