Ampro Shine 'n Jam Gel Extra Hold

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Due to its subtle flavour, I added half the lemon juice to the watermelon at the cooking stage for it to infuse. Then pour the jam or jelly into the pot and bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Remember to stir it constantly as it can burn easily.

Nowadays "jam" generally refers to a spreadable, chunky-textured mix made from both the juice and chopped or whole pieces of the fruit, while jelly—from the French gelée —is made from strained fruit juice and is (ideally) smooth and translucent. Marmalade, in the modern sense, is generally citrus, made from the juice and peels of oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and the like. Don’t use more than 6 cups of crushed fruit in your recipe. Amounts larger than this just can’t reach the right temperature that is needed for the recipe to set properly. All hair gels are not created equal—and if you have curly, coily, or kinky natural hair, then you know that different occasions call for different gels. The right gel will provide clumping for your wash-and-go curls and definition for your twist-outs, but the wrong gel? Well, that’s just a dry, crunchy mess. What ifI ran out of fruit for the recipe? It’s fine to add another fruit, but be sure to keepit all to the sameratio. You should always store pectin in an airtight container to keep the moisture out. Also storing in a cool, dry place is best.

How long will this jam keep?

Jams can remind us of summers past, even summers several years gone. It is the sugar and acid that makes this possible. Jams usually contain about 60% sugar, which is enough to stop most microorganisms growing. The high acidity also makes it an unpleasant place to breed. However, some moulds can grow even in these harsh conditions and so it is important to take care when preparing and sterilising your jars. For each quart (4 cups) of jelly, you will need 3/4 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of liquid pectin, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. The choice of fruit for jam-making is almost endless. I always try to use seasonal fruit to get the best flavour for my jam. Slightly unripe or "just ripe" fruit will form a jam more easily than very ripe fruit as it contains more pectin and is more acidic. Flavour. You can choose the best, freshest fruit and make amazingly flavourful jam. The speed of cooking also helps give best results – no boiling away the flavour.

We ate one tray but the rest were destined for jam, although I did have to throw away just over a third of the remainder as they were soft and over ripe (which is not good for eating or jam making). Remember that a hard boil can’t be stirred down and often makes the jam foam and swell upward in the pot. Until the 1700s, when sugar become more affordable, marmalades and jams were expensive, available only on the tables of the wealthy. Elizabethan banquets ended with marmalade, gingerbread, and comfits, and Louis XIV liked to polish off his fabulous feasts with postprandial dishes of jam. In the European Union, the jam directive (Council Directive 79/693/EEC, 24 July 1979) sets minimum standards for the amount of "fruit" in jam. It also expanded the definition of fruit. This was done to take several unusual kinds of jam made in the EU into account. For this purpose, "fruit" is considered to include fruits that are not usually treated as fruits, such as tomatoes; fruits that are not normally made into jams, such as melons and watermelons; and vegetables that are sometimes made into jams, such as: rhubarb (the edible part of the stalks), carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins. This definition continues to apply in a later directive, Council Directive 2001/113/EC (20 December 2001).

What ifthe seal on my jar broke? You must store the jam in the fridge. If the seal broke in the pantry and you’re not sure when it broke, you need to throw away thejam. I chose to cook the watermelon first (unlike many recipes) as I didn’t want it to have a granular texture.

Note: ALWAYS follow the specific directions on the recipe for the right balance between ingredients. For example, if you wish to use less sugar, find a recipe that lets you reduce the sugar amount or use an artificial sweetener without compromising the gelling of the product. If your recipe uses pectin, follow the directions and boil for the exact amount of time specified in therecipe. Prize-Winning StrawberryJam

Practice makes perfect! We are constantly preserving, and make 2 or 3 batches a month. That is a lot of preserves and a lot of practise in getting the perfect set every time. I made 2 versions and the family agreed that the version with white rum really brought out the flavour of the watermelon which is quite subtle on its own.

Sugar not only sweetens the jam and helps the fruit maintain its brilliant color, but it also helps pectin do its stuff. Sugar attracts water, yanking it away from the pectin, which boosts network formation and enhances gelling. Sugar’s water-grabbing activity also helps prevent the growth of molds and bacteria (no available water, no microbes), which gives jam its long-term keeping qualities. To solve the first problem we add sugar, which binds to the water molecules and frees up the pectin chains to form their network. The negative charges are reduced by acid naturally found in the fruit or added to the mixture. The acid reduces the electrical charge on the pectin branches and so allows them to bond. To increase acidity lemon juice can be added. But be careful: if your mixture is too acidic, this will damage the pectin. Third The sugar needs to dissolve, so pour the mixture into a good sized saucepan – you need plenty of room to boil it, but you don’t need a massive preserving pan – and heat it gently until all the sugar has dissolved. Once this has happens – it only take 5 minutes or so the jam is ready to boiled so that it sets.If you choose this method then it’s very important to use no-sugar pectin. This type of pectin is made to form a gel with little to no sugar.