Redcurrant jam: 5 ways to make jam for the winter

How to pick and prepare berries

Red currants are most often collected together with twigs. This is due to the fact that the berry has a peel that is much thinner than that of black currants. This reduces the transportability of the fruit.

For jam, it is best to take slightly unripe berries. Such fruits contain a large amount of gelling substance – pectin. Natural currant pectin allows the jam to thicken much faster, at the same time enriching it with components useful for digestion.

If the harvest is slightly delayed and the currants are overripe, then such jam will have to be boiled for quite a long time, losing vitamins and nutrients. A way out of the situation: use powder thickeners - pectin or gelatin.

Before you start cooking, the berries are removed from the branches and washed. They do this quite quickly so that the currants do not have time to become soggy from excess moisture. Dry it in a colander for 20 minutes.

Methods for making jam

Jam according to the classic recipe

Everything is simple here. Take a kilogram of red berries, fill them with 100 milliliters of water and put them on high heat. Active boiling should continue for 5 minutes. Afterwards, the berries are crushed with a masher or punched with a blender. 1.5 kilograms of sugar are added to the puree mass, adding it to the mixture in small portions. Next, all that remains is to boil the jam to the desired consistency. Depending on the type of fruit and the degree of ripeness, this time can take from 25 to 40 minutes.

Readiness is determined by a drop, which, after being placed on a saucer, does not spread in different directions. Please note that after cooling the jam will thicken even more.

Irina Belaya is in a hurry to introduce you to her version of making redcurrant jam

Fast way

This method differs from the previous one in that the berries are not pre-cooked, but are crushed raw in a blender. The ingredients are taken in equal proportions, that is, per kilogram of fresh berries you will need 1 kilogram of granulated sugar.

So, red currants are pureed in a blender and then seasoned with sugar. Place the mixture over medium heat and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Seedless jam

Red currant fruits, 1 kilogram, are poured with 150 milliliters of water and blanched over high heat for 3-4 minutes. Place the hot berries on a sieve and grind them with a wooden pestle or spatula. The pulp and juice that seeped through the grate are seasoned with 800 grams of sugar. Boil the jam for about 10 minutes, then let it cool at room temperature and boil again. This procedure is repeated three times. After the mass boils for the last time, it is poured into a sterile container, which is intended for storing the workpiece.

From juice with pectin

Grinding berries through a sieve to make seedless jam is quite a hassle, so a juicer can come to the rescue. A kilogram of berries is passed through a press. The resulting juice is put on fire and combined with 700 grams of sugar. The mass is boiled for 5 minutes, and then 1 teaspoon of pectin is added. To make the powder disperse better, it is mixed with the same amount of sugar. Cook the jam for another 5 minutes.

Jam without cooking

Per kilogram of fresh currants take 1.2 kilograms of sugar. The products are loaded into a meat grinder and scrolled. It is very important to pass sugar along with fruits. This will enhance the juice yield of the berries. The pureed currants are left at room temperature for 3 hours. During this time, the mass is mixed several times. The main thing in this matter is to achieve complete dissolution of the sugar grains. After the jam becomes completely homogeneous, it is put on the fire and brought to a boil, but not fully boiled. When hot, the product is packaged in jars and screwed on with sterile lids.

How to diversify redcurrant jam

The jelly-like redcurrant jam itself is very tasty, but you can surprise your guests by making a berry mix.To do this, 30-40% of currant fruits are replaced with other berries. The best jams are made by mixing red currants with gooseberries, cherries or raspberries.

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