Strawberry, cherry, plum... The assortment doesn't change from year to year. But sometimes you want to experiment with something extraordinary, even crazy.
After all, jam can be made from such unexpected products as cucumbers or onions, watermelon and orange peels can be boiled in sugar syrup, or sweet chestnut jam can be made...
We present to you our selection of jams in 10 unusual recipes.
Onion jam
It's very unusual and tasty to make jam from unsweetened products. Onion jam is perfect for morning toast, meat, fish, pate or spaghetti. And it's not at all difficult to prepare.
Ingredients:
- Red onion – 1 kg
- Dry red wine – 1 glass
- Olive oil – 2 tbsp.
- Brown sugar – a third of a cup
- Fresh thyme – 1 tbsp.
- Balsamic vinegar – 2 tbsp.
- Salt, ground black pepper – 0.5 tsp.
Preparation
Chop the onion into thin half rings. Heat the oil and simmer the onion over low heat until it becomes transparent and soft. The onion should never burn or brown.
Add sugar and simmer until caramelized. Pour in wine, vinegar, salt, pepper, add thyme and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated. Cool and serve.
The jam will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but it's unlikely to last that long :-)
Strawberry jam with basil
You won't surprise anyone with a simple strawberry jam anymore, so you have to invent something new. One of the most logical, in terms of taste, companions of strawberries is basil, which perfectly emphasizes the taste of the berries. You can add lemon juice, vanilla or balsamic vinegar to such jam for taste.
Ingredients:
- Strawberries – 1 kg
- Fresh lemon juice – 1.5 tbsp.
- Sugar – 1-1.5 cups
- Coarsely chopped basil leaves – 2-3 tbsp.
Preparation
Wash the strawberries thoroughly and remove the stems. In a saucepan, mix the strawberries with sugar, add lemon juice and wait until the strawberries release their juice. Then heat the strawberries with sugar over low heat, stirring regularly, until they come to a boil.
Cook over medium heat, stirring and skimming off the foam, for about 15 minutes, adding the basil 2-3 minutes before the end of cooking. Ladle the hot jam into sterilized jars.
And then it all depends on whether it was a preparation for the winter or you are going to eat the jam right now. If for the winter, then the jars should be rolled up with sterilized lids. If the jam is “for now”, then you can cover them with ordinary lids and store in the refrigerator.
Zucchini jam with lemon
You can add bananas, citrus fruits, ginger, and dried fruits to the zucchini, and your loved ones will never guess that the jam is made from vegetables.
Ingredients:
- Zucchini – 1 kg
- Sugar – 1 kg
- Water – 100 ml
- Large lemon – 1 pc.
Preparation
Young zucchini can be used whole. And from older vegetables, you must first remove the skin and seeds. In the second case, the mass indicated in the ingredients will refer to already peeled zucchini.
Cut the zucchini into small cubes. Put almost all the sugar in a saucepan and add the water. Stirring, bring to a boil over medium heat. Throw the zucchini and the remaining sugar into the syrup. Cook, stirring, for 10-15 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. If the zucchini is old, cook the jam under the lid so that the vegetables soften faster.
Cut the lemon and remove the seeds. Grind it in a blender and add to the zucchini. Stir and cook the jam for another 20 minutes. If you cook it for 10-15 minutes longer, the syrup will become thicker.
For long-term storage, spread the jam into sterilized jars and roll them up. Then turn the jars over, wrap them in something warm, wait until they cool completely, and store in a cool, dark place.
Linden blossom jam
The season for making linden blossom jam is quite short, and the collection and preparation is a laborious process. But the work will not be in vain, because linden jam is aromatic and healthy.
Ingredients:
- Linden flowers – 500 g
- Sugar – 500 g
- Citric acid – 3 g
- Water – 200 ml
Preparation
Place the linden flowers (preferably freshly picked) in a colander and wash under running water. Then dry the flowers on a dry towel for 15 minutes.
While the flowers are drying, prepare the syrup. In an enamel saucepan, mix the water and sugar, place over medium heat and bring the contents to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook the syrup for 5 minutes, stirring. Then fold the cheesecloth into four layers and strain the syrup through it. Return to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
At this time, place the flowers in another enameled container. Pour boiling syrup over them, cover with a flat plate or lid smaller in diameter than the pan, and place a weight on top. Leave the structure to stand for 15 minutes. Place the pan with the flowers and syrup over low heat and cook the linden flowers in the syrup for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
A couple of minutes before the end of cooking, add citric acid and mix everything well. Pour the hot jam into small sterilized jars, cover with sterile lids. Let the jam cool completely at room temperature for a day. Then the jam should be stored in a dark and cool place.
Carrot jam
Who would have thought that carrots would be a great base for jam? It turns out not only fragrant and insanely beautiful, but also very tasty. It can be served with tea as a dessert or used as a filling for pies.
Ingredients:
- Carrots – 500 g
- Lemon – 1.5 pcs.
- Sugar – 500 g
- Water – 1 glass
- Vanilla sugar – to taste
Preparation
Peel and chop the carrots in any convenient way. You can cut the carrots into cubes, circles, half rings, or "Korean style."
Cover the carrots with water and cook over medium heat until tender. This will take 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the variety and how it is cut. Place the carrots in a sieve to drain all the water. Return the carrots to the saucepan, add 0.5 cups of water and 200 g of sugar. Boil the carrots in the syrup for 10 minutes.
Wash the lemon well, cut into slices, remove the seeds, then cut each slice into quarters. Add 0.5 cups of water and 200 g of sugar to the lemon. Boil over low heat for 10 minutes.
Combine the carrots in syrup and the boiled lemon slices. Leave to infuse for a few hours or overnight. Then boil the jam again, adding the remaining sugar and vanilla. The carrot and lemon jam is ready.
Pour the jam into sterilized jars. Turn the closed jars upside down and wrap them in a warm blanket. Leave to cool.
Pear jam with cardamom and saffron
This pear jam will win you over first of all with its appetizing appearance. Pears should be chosen firm so that the rings keep their shape and do not turn into puree. For the spicy sugar syrup, use saffron, which will give it a beautiful honey color, and cardamom, which turns the jam into an oriental delicacy.
Ingredients:
- Pears – 800 g
- Sugar – 400 g
- Cardamom – 12 pcs.
- Saffron – 0.5 tsp.
Preparation
The main thing is to choose unripe fruits that hold their shape well. Peel the pears and use a corer to remove the inside of each pear. Cut the peeled pears into rings. Place the pear slices in a bowl or saucepan in layers, sprinkling them with sugar. Leave the pears until the sugar turns into syrup. It is easiest to leave the pears overnight.
Then transfer the pears and syrup to a saucepan, add the whole cardamom pods and saffron. Bring the syrup to a boil and simmer the pears for 10 minutes over low heat. Leave the pears in the syrup for 7-8 hours, then simmer the jam again for 10 minutes.
Pour the hot pear jam with cardamom and saffron into sterilized jars and seal with sterilized lids. Or store in the refrigerator under a regular lid to eat as soon as possible.
Tomato jam
You can treat guests to this jam and then ask them conspiratorially: “What do you think it’s made of?” People answer differently – “plum” or “date.” When the tasters find out that they’ve just tasted ordinary tomatoes, their surprise knows no bounds.
Ingredients:
- Cream tomatoes – 1 kg
- Sugar – 1 kg
- Water – 1 glass
- Walnuts – 100 g
Preparation
Tomatoes of the "cream" variety are very fleshy and dense, with almost no liquid inside, and they don't have many seeds. Just what you need for tomato jam. Another very important condition is that you should only use unripe tomatoes for jam, those that have just started to turn pink or, at worst, light brown. Otherwise, your jam risks boiling over and turning into mush.
First, the tomatoes should be thoroughly washed, then with a thin sharp knife, the bottoms and the inside with seeds are cut out of the tomatoes. You should not try to remove all the insides, but only create a small cavity intended for the nuts. You should also not remove the skin. Firstly, it prevents the tomatoes from boiling over. Secondly, after cooking, the skin becomes very soft, almost imperceptible, like that of a date. Pour a tablespoon of sugar into each of the peeled tomatoes, and then fill it with peeled nuts. The last piece of nut should be large and tightly plug the hole.
When all the tomatoes are stuffed, put them in an enameled pan or bowl, pour over the remaining sugar, cover and leave for a few hours to release the juice. After 3-4 hours, put the tomatoes out, leaving the juice in the pan. Then add a glass of boiled water to the juice and put on the stove. Bring the resulting syrup to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Place the tomatoes in the boiling syrup, they should be completely or almost completely covered with liquid. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil. Let the tomatoes cook for 10-15 minutes over low heat, then turn them off, cover the pan with a towel and leave to infuse for 6 hours.
After 5-6 hours, the second stage of cooking begins. After the jam boils, reduce the heat and cook it for about an hour, then turn it off and leave it under a towel again for 5-6 hours.
The third, final stage of cooking is carried out again after 5-6 hours. It also lasts about an hour. At this stage, sugar caramelization takes place actively, due to which the jam thickens and acquires a dark amber color. During all stages of cooking, the jam should not be stirred and covered with a lid.
That's all, delicious and very beautiful jam is ready. Carefully spread it over pre-prepared jars and roll up with sterile lids. Turn the jars upside down, wrap and leave to cool. Store the jam in a dark, cool place.
Pumpkin and quince jam
Quince is a very interesting fruit. In its raw form, it is tart, hard and tasteless. But quince makes very tasty desserts and winter preserves: compote, jam, marmalade, jam. Pumpkin and quince jam is very beautiful and tasty, the translucent pieces literally glow. For jam, choose a butternut pumpkin - it will turn out much tastier.
Ingredients:
- Pumpkin – 300 g
- Quince – 500 g
- Sugar – 500 g
Preparation
Wash the pumpkin and remove the skin and seeds. Wash the quince and remove the seeds. Cut the pumpkin and quince into small pieces. Sprinkle the pieces with sugar and mix. Leave for 3 hours so that the pumpkin and quince release their juice.
Transfer everything to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat until the pieces are soft and translucent. This will take about 35-40 minutes.
Pour the jam into sterilized jars. Turn the closed jars upside down and wrap them in a warm blanket. Leave to cool.
Pink jam
Many people do not know that tea rose is not only a fragrant flower, but also a source of vitamins, a medicinal, tasty and aromatic product. It is used to make a preparation by grinding it with sugar, making jam, and also drying the buds, and then brewing tea from them. Jam from rose petals is rightfully considered a real delicacy.
But it is important to keep in mind that store-bought roses are not suitable for making jam, as they contain many different chemicals that are used in growing flowers. Tea varieties of roses are best suited for making jam, as they are more fragrant, soft, and delicate.
Ingredients:
- Rose petals – 400 g
- Sugar – 1 kg
- Water – 1 glass
- Citric acid – 1 tsp or freshly squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon.
Preparation
Rinse the petals with cold water, then dry them carefully. Collect the petals in the saucepan in which the jam will be cooked and pour half the sugar over them. Leave for 6 hours, covered with a towel.
After 6 hours, add the remaining water and sugar. Stir and place on the heat. Stirring frequently, bring the jam to a boil, boil for 5 minutes and turn off the heat. After 2 hours, you can continue cooking. Also bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
Don't worry if the rose petals change color, becoming dirty gray. The color will change each time. At first it will darken, and after adding citric acid or lemon juice, the color will become more saturated and pink.
After 1-2 hours, put the rose petal jam back on the heat, add citric acid or lemon juice, bring to a boil, and cook until done, about 25 minutes (until a drop spreads on a plate). There will be no foam in this jam.
Divide the finished jam into jars or bowls. The specified amount of ingredients makes one 800-gram jar of finished jam.
Gooseberry jam
This recipe is quite time-consuming and requires a lot of patience and perseverance from you. But the magical taste, color, and aroma of these treats will more than make up for all your efforts.
Ingredients:
- Gooseberries – 1 kg
- Sugar – 1.5 kg
- Water – 400 ml
- Cherry leaves – 2 handfuls
Preparation:
Be sure to use only green and slightly unripe gooseberries. Prepare small scissors with sharp tips and a hairpin.
Prepare the gooseberries: to do this, cut the tails from both ends of each berry with scissors and make a longitudinal cut on the side. When you have done this operation with all the berries, take a pin with a rounded end and remove the seeds from each berry into a separate container (then this mass can be used in compote).
Make a decoction of cherry leaves. Pour water into a saucepan, wash and put all the leaves in it, except for the top ten, which should be set aside for now. Bring the decoction to a boil over high heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes, making sure that it remains green. Pour the hot decoction over the peeled gooseberry berries along with the leaves, cool and leave in the cold overnight or for 10-12 hours.
In the morning, prepare the sugar syrup as follows: drain all the broth from the gooseberries, discard the leaves, add sugar to the broth and bring to a boil. At first, the syrup will be cloudy, but then it will become transparent. Pour the berries into the boiling syrup and boil for about 15-20 minutes, until the gooseberries become transparent.
Then add the reserved cherry leaves to the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes. The new leaves should remain in the jam, giving it a unique, tart cherry flavor.
Pour the hot jam into sterile jars and seal. Amber gooseberry jam is ready!
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