[ Creating jam with agar agar & without sugar ]
A new challenge for me to make jam without the traditional ingredients like pectine & sugar. I gave it a try before but as you might have read in my latest post, I lost my notes ^_^
Anyways I have to admit I was quit curious to see the result after a few days, I had to open a few jars to test if the jam was still well preserved. And the good news, you don’t need a huge amount of sugar to preserve your jam, in this case a few tablespoons of honey will do the trick.
The funny thing is that the agar agar, actually makes your jam very thick and less runny than with pectine. You either hate it or love it, for me they are perfect this way, no “dripping jam” on my clothes anymore.
A few tips:
- I would suggest to keep these jams no longer then 6 months just to be sure.
- If you’re vegan you can substitute the honey for maple syrup just make sure to add 1 tablespoon at a time to check if it doesn’t become overly sweet.
- For this method, use fruits that are naturally very sweet so that you’re jam doesn’t become to sour.
- When you buy plums, leave them for a few days out in your fruitbowl so that they become extra sweet & soft. They have the be rather overripe then to hard and sour.
- The green plums I use, aren’t to be confused with the yellow plums. They are called Reine Claude Verte fortunately I have the luxury that they grow in my parents garden.
- For storing the jam, make sure to boil your glass jars for a few minutes to sterilise them. And let them dry on a clean cloth to makes sure there is no contamination taking place during this proces.
- When you know you want to make jam, collect your glass jars in advance, you’re surprised to find so many great glas jars which store your day to day food & they are perfect to use for your own jams.
- After filling your jars with warm jams, store the jars upside down on a wooden plank for 10 minutes to make sure the jar closes airtight.
Any questions do let me know. Enjoy!
Green plum jam
INGREDIENTS
makes +/- 8 jars
- 2 kg of green plums
- 8 gr of agar agar
- 2 tbsp of honey
Start by pitting the plums. Rinse & clean the plums & add them to a big sauce pan. Add the agar agar powder to the plum mixture and boil on medium heat. Stir to prevent burning. When the plum mixture starts boiling add the honey & lower the heat to low heat. When the plums are soft, the jam is ready. Test your jam by adding a small drop to a cold plate and let it cool, when it has a jam like texture it’s ready.
Green plum & mango jam
INGREDIENTS
makes +/- 2 jars
- 200 gr of mango (+/- 1 mango)
- 300 gr of green plums
- 2 gr of agar agar
- 1 tbsp of honey
Start by pitting the plums & mango. Add the mango, plums & agar agar to a big sauce pan. Mix together and boil on medium heat. Stir to prevent burning. When the mixture starts boiling add the honey & lower the heat to low heat. When the plums/mango are soft, the jam is ready. Test your jam by adding a small drop to a cold plate and let it cool, when it has a jam like texture it’s ready.
Plum & Raspberry jam
INGREDIENTS
makes +/- 3 jars
- 750 gr of (purple) plums
- 250 gr of (frozen) raspberries
- 4 gr of agar agar
- 2 tbsp of honey
Start by pitting the plums. Add the plums, raspberries & agar agar to a big sauce pan. Mix together and boil on medium heat. Stir to prevent burning. When the mixture starts boiling add the honey & lower the heat to low heat. When the plums/raspberries are soft, the jam is ready. Test your jam by adding a small drop to a cold plate and let it cool, when it has a jam like texture it’s ready.
