Make kitchen treasures last longer
From simple jams and marmalades to juices and syrups, pesto and chutney, salted delicacies and pickled vegetables to soups, goulash, and beef roulades in a jar. Bread, cakes, and even pizza can also be baked in the right jars. Here we tell you the 7 best tips for preserving fruit, vegetables, and mushrooms and also our insider tips for the perfect homemade jam.
Now it’s time: get to the glasses, get set, boil down!
7 ultimate tips for preserving
- Cleanliness of all objects used is the top priority!
- Make sure that all ingredients used are of impeccable quality! Fruit should not be overripe.
- Buy new lids! These are cheap to buy (between 5 and 15 cents each), clean, leak-proof, and not rusty.
- Do not use wooden spoons or boards as these are usually not sterile.
- Before you start preparing, have everything you need ready.
- A hot-filled glass only tolerates warm water, never cold water (and vice versa), stress cracks can quickly appear in the glass (risk of injury!).
- When you open your glass, listen for the “pop”! It is a sign that the contents have been properly pasteurized or sterilized and are edible: when the filled jars are being boiled, water vapor forms which can escape from the jar, but air cannot get into the jar, creating a vacuum.
10 Tips for Homemade Jam
- The fruit should be fresh, firm, and ripe, but not overripe, otherwise, it will not set well. Frozen fruit can also be used.
- Working hygienically is very important.
- Wash the fruit, drain, remove the stalks and seeds if necessary and cut into small pieces or puree as you prefer.
- Accurate Weighing – The weight ratio of fruit and sugar is critical to success.
- Preserve no more than 2 kg of fruit in one go.
- With large fruits, it is good to leave them mixed with sugar in a cool place overnight, as this will allow the sugar to dissolve more evenly throughout the fruit mass.
- Stir while heating or cooking to allow the sugar to dissolve and distribute evenly.
- The cooking time does not begin until the mass is bubbling. Be sure to adhere to the specified cooking times!
- Make a jelly test: put 1 teaspoon of jam or jelly on a cold, dry plate, let it cool down, and check the firmness. The mass must no longer flow. If you push them with your finger, small folds should form in the skin.
- Quickly pour the boiling hot jam into jars, close the jars tightly and store the jam in a cool, dark, and dry place.
