This is a truly universal dish - jam in the form of red currant jelly. Having performed such a miracle, the housewife will be provided not only with delicious jam, but also with a preparation for layering the cake and the basis for an unusual sauce for meat. And just enjoying a refreshing, aromatic, moderately sour jelly in winter is a pleasure! We offer recipes for making classic transparent jelly and jam, cooked in the microwave.
Features of preparing red currant jelly jam for the winter
Most housewives, when asked what they make from red currants, will probably say that they make jam or compote. Not everyone decides to make delicious jelly, because, firstly, it must be seedless, and not everyone wants to bother with rubbing. Secondly, there is an opinion that it does not freeze for everyone and not always.
This is actually true. There are some subtleties in preparing this royal dessert. Let's name the main ones:
- You need to prepare the jelly quickly - the more you cook the mass, the worse it gels, and the valuable pectin in it is destroyed. The ascorbic acid we need, that is, vitamin C, is also lost;
- metal oxidizes the product, so instead of metal we use a hair sieve, wooden crushes and spatulas;
- Living jelly is tastier and healthier, that is, made from raw berries that have not been subjected to heat treatment. But it can only be stored in the refrigerator for a short time (maximum six months);
- sugar is what gives sweetness and thickness to the product, interacts with pectin and acids and forms a gel-like substance. The classic recipe involves the proportions of two parts sugar to one part peeled berries. You can do one to one, but not less, since the product may sour;
- The density and thickness of the jelly appear after two to three days, sometimes more. Therefore, after preparing the jar, you should leave it alone and do not stir the contents - at this time pectin bonds are being formed;
- no one is immune from failure - even an experienced housewife may fail to make jelly. The amount of pectin in berries is affected by the variety of currant.And if suddenly the workpiece does not gel, you can always add pectin powder or agar-agar.
How to select and prepare berries?
Everything is simple here: the redder and larger the berries, the more sugars and taste they contain. It is easier to work with such currants - it is easier to squeeze out the juice. So, if you plan to grow currants at your dacha, purchase large-fruited varieties.
The berries are picked from the bush on tassels, sorted, washed, dried slightly and removed from the tassel. The berries are ready for processing.
Preparing containers
Jars and lids need to be sterilized and dried. The containers and tools in which the product will be prepared (especially if you make jelly without cooking) must be clean and dry, preferably not made of metal.
How to make jelly-like redcurrant jam?
Jam-jelly can be prepared hot or cold.
Simple recipe
Boiled jelly takes a little longer to cook. Proportions:
- 1 kg of berries;
- 1 kg sugar;
- 50 g of water.
You can do without water at all. In this case, you first need to mash the berries, wait for the juice, and only then put them on the fire to warm them up.
Let's prepare it like this:
- Prepare the berries and place them in a bowl, add water.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring, until boiling, boil for about five minutes until the berries begin to burst. This is called steaming, you can speed up the process with a masher - the currants are more likely to release their juice when crushed.
- Turn off the heat and rub the pulp through a sieve or strain through cheesecloth. Some people put it through a juicer, which is acceptable, but this is not quite a classic method of processing.
- The pulp can be used in compote, and the juice can be poured into a container, add sugar, stir and simmer over low heat.Readiness can be determined by the characteristic appearance of the jam, which will begin to leave a trail from the spatula and stick to the walls of the container.
- Pour hot jelly into jars and close. It is stored in a cool place.
Raw jelly
A very tasty, vitamin-rich, absolutely summer jelly that everyone will like without exception. We take:
- 1 kg of sorted berries;
- 1.1 kg sugar.
The most difficult thing here is to wipe the berries. It is important to do this carefully, because the gelling substances are located in the skin of the berries. Grind as hard as possible, literally squeezing all the juices out of the currants.
You should get 1 liter of pure juice. Gradually add sugar and stir constantly. It is better to do this in a plastic container or enamel pan. Leave the mixture overnight so that the sugar is completely dissolved. In the morning, pour the jelly into jars and seal. Store in the refrigerator or cellar.
In a slow cooker
Prepare juice and sugar. The volume can be any, the proportions of juice and sugar are important.
Place the berries in a slow cooker and crush with a masher until the juice appears. Set the stewing program and wait until it boils. The berries will burst in about a quarter of an hour - you can pour the mass out of the bowl and start crushing, then strain through cheesecloth.
Mix the resulting juice with sugar, pour into the slow cooker and put back to simmer. As soon as it boils, skim off the foam and immediately pour into jars. No need to boil a lot!
Store as usual cooked jelly.
How and for how long can the preparations be stored?
Ideally, jelly should be stored in a refrigerator, cellar or cold basement. However, in urban life, we usually store country supplies in the apartment. This is acceptable for a heat-treated product and if the apartment is not hot. At very high temperatures the mass may become thinner.
Raw jelly is stored only in the cold and for no more than 6 months. However, it doesn’t last that long - it’s usually eaten first.
