Welcome to all things spreadable! Here we're looking at fruit jams, jellies, and butters: three fabulous ways to preserve fruit for the year.
What is fruit butter? This is something I would have asked until last year when my mum introduced me to the concept. It's basically a thick fruit preserve that can be spread on bread or toast. So how does it differ from jam or jelly? Let's define those terms.
Jam: Jam is typically made from sugar, pectin, acid, and mashed fruit.
Jelly: Jelly is made from sugar, pectin, acid, and the extracted juice of fruits. It's a clear gel and does not contain fruit pieces. Jelly can also be made from flowers such as roses and elderflower.
Fruit Butter: Fruit butter is a reduction of pureed fruit into a thick, intensely flavourful paste. It's not dissimilar to puree, except that it's much, much thicker. Fruit butter does not require pectin or acid because it doesn't need to set. Instead it relies on the body of the fruit to make it spreadable. It also doesn't require lots of sugar because the fruit is reduced so much that its own natural sweetness is quite strong. Although it takes longer to make than jam or jelly due to cooking off more of the moisture, it's a really good way to use up A LOT of fruit without ending up with hundreds of jars of jam. Fruit butter works best with firmer fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, and plums.
Pectin, Acid, and Sugar: If you're new to making jam and jelly you may be curious about the role of pectin, acid and sugar so let me give you a quick breakdown of these three key ingredients.
Pectin is a type of sugar that naturally occurs in fruit, most often in the peels and cores. Some fruit, such as apples and blackcurrants, contain higher levels of pectin than others, such strawberries and raspberries. When heated to the right temperature (104-105C, also known as the 'setting point'), pectin causes the jam or jelly to set (gel).
However, in order to set, the pH of the jam/jelly needs to be more acidic (2.8-3.3) and while most fruits naturally contain acid, often this isn't enough. Therefore citric acid, usually in the form of lemon juice, needs to be added.
Sugar, too, is a vital ingredient in jams and jellies, not just for its preserving qualities, but also because it helps the pectin to set. A normal ratio of fruit to sugar is 1:1 - in jam this is equal weight fruit to sugar, in jelly this is equal weight of extracted juice to sugar.
These three ingredients work together to make jam and jelly what they are. Without them, your mixture may not set and you'll be left with something that is too runny to spread nicely on bread or toast.
Sometimes you can use an alternative gelling agent to pectin, for instance agar agar works well in some recipes, too.
So, now that you have some idea of the basics, let's cover the broader details of making jam, jelly, and fruit butter.
Jam:
What you'll need:
A large pan
Thermometer
Kitchen scales
Sterilised jars and lids
Sugar
Lemon juice
An apple
Step 1: Prepare your fruit (wash, peel, core, or remove any stones)
Step 2: Weigh your fruit and weigh your sugar
Step 3: Put your fruit and sugar in a pan
Jelly:
What you'll need:
Sugar
Lemon juice
An apple
A large pan
Thermometer
Kitchen scales
A muslin cloth, thin tea towel or old cotton t-shirt
String
A bowl
A measuring jug
Sterilised jars and lids
Fruit Butter:
A pan
Kitchen scales
Sugar
The leftover fruit pulp from jelly making can be used for making fruit leather and skins, peels, cores and pulp can be used for making vinegar.