In a pine forest, almost crouching to the ground, grows a berry called “drupe”. In another way it is also called “northern pomegranate”. In color and taste it really resembles this southern fruit. Its berries are round, with large seeds, and various sauces, jellies, marinades, and wine are prepared from the sweet and sour juice. The most popular is stone fruit jam, which is a delight in the cold winter. Many people prefer to freeze the berry, since it does not lose its beneficial properties even in this form.
Features of making jam from stone fruits for the winter
To make jam or other preparations from berries, you will have to work hard to collect them. Unfortunately, the berries are not sold on the market, but the fruits ripen from July to September. In addition, it is necessary to know the place of its “habitat”.
The appearance of the bone stone resembles jewelry. To prepare for the winter, the seeds are often removed from the berries. However, nutritionists do not recommend throwing them away, as they give the dish a sweet and sour taste, making it less high in calories.
If desired, the seeds are washed, dried, ground in a coffee grinder and used as a seasoning.
Rules for choosing berries
Drupes are collected in the summer, until mid-autumn. The berries should be round in shape, bright red in color, and taste like pomegranate. The leaves are usually diamond-shaped, with a bright green color.
This is interesting! If the leaves curl up, it means the day will be hot, and if they are melted, it means the day will be rainy..
To prevent the jam from spoiling for a long time, you need to choose the right berries, which should be quite dense, juicy, and not bruised. The picked bones are placed in a bucket or basket with a thick bottom. You need to prepare a dish from the berries on the day of harvest or leave it for the next day, covering it with granulated sugar in advance.
How to properly prepare the container?
Like any winter preparation, stone fruit jam is stored in glass containers, which must be prepared in advance. To do this, wash the cylinders under running water with laundry soap and soda. Place on a baking sheet and place in a cold electric oven, turn it on to one hundred and twenty degrees, wait until the cylinders heat up.
In fifteen minutes the jars will be hot and ready. According to the rules, jam is poured into containers while hot.
How to make jam from stone fruits at home?
At home, a kilogram of berries is first separated from the stalk, washed, and placed in a colander to drain excess water. Dry on clean kitchen towels and pour in hot syrup, to prepare which you need to mix and boil two hundred grams of sugar and two glasses of water.
Leave until completely cool (at least five hours). After a while, the syrup is drained, and the berries are placed on low heat, brought to a boil, the mass becomes thicker. Then pour syrup again and bring to readiness again over low heat.
Attention! The readiness of the jam is determined using a spoon.
If the syrup drains from it slowly, like a thick thread, then the dish is ready. The berries should be distributed evenly in the syrup, not float to the top, and be glassy and translucent.
Five minutes before readiness, add a little citric acid, pour into the prepared hot container and roll up the lid.
Recipe with seeds
Usually this sweet preparation for the winter is prepared with seeds, since such jam is healthier and has a piquant taste. Meanwhile, many still prefer to remove the seeds from the berries, citing the fact that the dish ultimately turns out more tender.
For the recipe with seeds you will need a kilogram of berries, 1.2 kilograms of granulated sugar and two glasses of water. Sugar is poured into water, stirred and put on fire. As soon as it dissolves and the syrup begins to boil, add the berries with seeds. After five minutes, remove the syrup from the heat, removing any foam that has formed.
Leave on the workbench for five to six hours so that the stone fruit is saturated with the sweet solution.After the allotted time, place the container with berries and syrup on the stove again for five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. After five hours, it is again put on low heat for five minutes. The procedure is repeated two more times.
At the last stage, the container is prepared, filled with hot syrup with berries, rolled up, wrapped in a warm blanket and allowed to cool completely. Store in a cool place.
Seedless option
The berries are sorted, separated from the stems, washed in a bowl of water and passed through a colander. The bones are removed using a special device. Cover with sugar and leave overnight. For a kilogram of stone fruit you will need one and a half kilograms of sugar.
The berries will give juice overnight, so do not add water to the bowl. Place on low heat, making sure the sugar dissolves. If foam forms, remove it. As soon as the syrup becomes viscous, remove from heat and pour into sterile jars.
Expiration date and storage rules
Properly prepared jam can be stored for three years in a cool place. If it turns sour in the first month, it means that some rules for storing or preparing the product were violated.
If less sugar is taken than necessary, then the dish turns sour. Otherwise, it may become sugary. If the berries were spoiled, then such jam can be stored for no more than a month. If the container is processed incorrectly, the finished product begins to mold.
