Preserves: A beginner’s guide to making jams and jellies, chutneys and pickles, sauces and ketchups, syrups and alcoholic sips

If you’ve chosen a recipe that includes exotic fruits that aren’t grown in this country, then do buy them in their natural season and from as close by as possible. Always wash them well to ensure that any wax or preservative coating is removed.

For detailed information on specific types of fruit and veg, refer to the recipe section.

STORECUPBOARD FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Apart from being able to treat your family to pure, unadulterated and imaginative preserves, the reason for making these good things is to take advantage of fruit and vegetables when they are fresh, in season and when they should be correspondingly cheaper. During the winter months this is not always an option, therefore a little cheating may be necessary…

TINNED FRUIT AND VEG

These make exceptionally good preserves. Measure off the juice and use it with, or substituted for, the liquid in the recipe. If it is sweetened, reduce the sugar by 1 tablespoonful per tin. Gooseberries, apricots, plums, pineapple and tomatoes are the most successful. Tinned sweetcorn can be used in relish to cheer up the ubiquitous hamburger.

FROZEN FRUIT

Look for bargains at your local pick-your-own farm shop (many have freezers full of fruit) or check out your local supermarket for offers – frozen fruit, particularly berries, can sometimes be cheaper than fresh.

DRIED FRUIT AND VEG

Dried fruits are essential for chutneys and pickles, but there are a host of jam and conserve recipes that make good use of dried fruit during the winter months. Dried tomatoes and mushrooms can be used in pickles and chutneys.

FRUIT JUICES

Good-quality, preservative-free, pure fruit juice can be a useful standby for jellies and to add to other fruit.

SUGAR

White sugar is produced either from sugar cane grown in the tropical regions of the world or from sugar beet, which is produced in more temperate climates. Although there is no difference between the two, my preference has always been for cane sugar.

Sugar, like honey, wine and spices, was used in early kitchens in order to disguise, or improve upon, mediocre and stale food and was considered to be a costly and exotic spice. Only the well-to-do and wealthy in Britain could afford to use sugar as a preservative and it took hundreds of years for it to become the everyday commodity that it is now. Sugar acts as a preservative only when it is used in conjunction with a pectin and/or acid.

Jams and jellies with an inadequate amount of sugar will inevitably give poor results. You may have to over-boil the jam to compensate for the lack of sugar and this will not only give a bad colour and taste, but the preserve will not thicken or set properly. The preserve will probably not keep and it may not be entirely fermented (an easily recognisable condition in which the preserve tastes like wine); or it may taste sour or grow an unappetising mould. Jams and jellies with too much sugar will be oversweet and lacking in flavour. They will also crystallise during cooking or whilst the preserve is being stored.

The proportions of sugar to fruit are very important and recipes should be followed in this respect, but for those who would like to go it alone, here are some rough guidelines, but remember that the fruit must always be fresh and unbruised (for the pectin (#ulink_1dad42b6-4491-5a45-b1d4-d014e95202b4) content of different fruits):

1kg high-pectin fruit requires up to 1.25kg sugar

1kg medium-pectin fruit requires 1kg sugar

1kg low-pectin fruit requires approximately 800g sugar

Certain important steps to be taken with sugar will ensure a clear, bright jelly or jam with a good set and, hopefully, no problems afterwards. Always warm the sugar in a heatproof dish in a very low oven (70°C/gas mark ¼) for 10 minutes before adding it to the pan of fruit or juice; this will not only keep the colour good, but also help the sugar to dissolve more rapidly. The sugar must be thoroughly stirred in and dissolved before the preserve is brought to the boil – if you do not do this, you will find that you have crystals forming in the jam or, worse still, it will sink to the bottom of the pan, stick and burn and there really is no salvaging that little error! This applies to chutneys, pickles and sauces as well as to sweet preserves.

Do not boil for longer than you have to once the sugar has been added. Unless stated otherwise, the boiling should be as rapid as possible to prevent the fruit skins hardening in reaction to the sugar and to keep a good, bright colour and fresh flavour.

Do not stir too much or leave the spoon in the pan once the sugar has been added and brought to the boil – it may make it more difficult to achieve a set. Take care not to boil past the point of setting – it’s worth remembering to remove the pan from the heat as you test for a set, otherwise it may well just bubble past the setting point whilst your back is turned.

Lots of different types of sugars are available. Here are the advantages, or otherwise, of each:

PRESERVING SUGAR

A white sugar that has larger crystals than granulated sugar and creates less ‘scum’ (for want of a better word). It therefore requires less skimming and ensures a brighter, clearer jam or jelly, although it would be wasted on chutneys.

JAM SUGAR

A white sugar that has added pectin and is very useful for making preserves from fruit with a low pectin content. Strawberries, rhubarb and raspberries can be very temperamental, as can plums and apricots, and dried fruit certainly needs extra help. Jam sugar is not necessary when making preserves other than jams or jellies.

WHITE OR GOLDEN GRANULATED SUGAR

White granulated sugar is most commonly used in preserving as it has no colour or distinctive taste. It is cheaper than preserving and jam sugar, but does not dissolve so easily and often forms a scum, which will impair the appearance of jams and jellies, although not the taste. If this happens skim the scum off before potting. Golden granulated sugar gives a slightly mellower flavour and, when used in light-coloured preserves, a richer colour. However, golden granulated sugar is more expensive than white, and I can see no real advantage in using it.

WHITE CASTER SUGAR

This is more expensive than granulated sugar, but is necessary in some exotic recipes and for making curds. If you do not have caster sugar, then whizz some granulated sugar around in a blender for a second or two.

LIGHT BROWN SUGAR, SOFT BROWN SUGAR AND DEMERARA SUGAR

These are made from sugar cane and are less refined than white sugar. All of these sugars can be used in preserves, but as they do not usually form a set when used alone, they should be used in conjunction with white sugar. Whilst many people believe that using brown sugar in their preserves has a beneficial effect, I find that it impairs a satisfactory set, therefore it is better used in those preserves in which a firm set is not essential. When using high-pectin fruit such as apples, gooseberries and damsons, a reasonable set may be achieved by substituting half or a quarter of the white sugar for brown, but low-pectin fruit such as apricots, peaches and strawberries will not achieve a firm set without the use of additional pectin, and it is as well to remember that brown sugars will alter both the colour and the taste of the preserve, so it is best to use them with strong, dark fruit, for example damsons and plums.

Light brown, soft brown and Demerara sugars can give additional colour and taste to fruit cheeses, chutneys (where they can be used very satisfactorily in conjunction with brown malt vinegar), relishes and sauces. Once again, as in all preserves, do make sure that the sugar is dissolved before bringing to the boil.

SOFT DARK BROWN SUGAR, MUSCOVADO, MOLASSES AND BARBADOS SUGAR

Very dark, rich sugars that will flavour and colour quite strongly. Unless a recipe specifically advocates the use of any of these sugars, they should only be used in chutneys and sauces.

ICING SUGAR

Unsuitable for use in preserving.

All of the following can be substituted, in part, for sugar:

GOLDEN SYRUP

A refined by-product of white sugar, which gives a lovely taste to preserves and a golden colour to pickles. It also fractionally changes the consistency. Golden syrup is best used by substituting a quarter of the sugar for syrup, preferably in preserves made from high-pectin fruit such as apples or gooseberries, where it adds a golden colour. The same proportions can be used when making syrups for spiced and alcoholic fruit. Always warm the tin before measuring and pouring – it makes life so much easier.

BLACK TREACLE

Thick, dark brown supremely sticky stuff. Used only sparingly to give a strong flavour and dark colour. Very few jams use treacle in the ingredients, but it is occasionally useful in chutneys, etc.

CORN AND MAPLE SYRUP

These are most popular as accompaniments to waffles, pancakes and fritters, but can also be used in preserves. Substitute a quarter to half of the white sugar for syrup and remember that both dark corn syrup and maple syrup colour quite distinctively and that maple syrup has a strong taste.

HONEY

Absolutely delicious in preserves. It is much sweeter than sugar and has a unique ‘wild quality’ that it imparts to any preserve in which it is used. Mixed blossom honey is the most economical choice, but there are some wonderfully flavoured pure blossom honeys: clover, eucalyptus, rosemary, orange blossom, heather and lime. Do be careful to blend blossom honey carefully with the fruit in the preserves because their tastes are quite distinctive. I would not recommend using chestnut blossom honey in preserves as it is very overwhelming. I like to use the more delicately flavoured honey for use in fruit curds, where it can transform the flavour. Honey added to jam makes it a subtly different preserve, but it will not set if used alone, therefore substitute a quarter to half of the sugar for honey depending on the fruit or flowers used and the consistency of the set preferred.

MOLASSES

Very thick and black and not suitable for use in home preserving.