Jam, jellies & marmalade
Practical Action
Apple jam
Ingredients (to make 1kg jam):
1.4kg apples (peeled and cored)
1.4kg sugar
50ml lemon juice
1tsp cinnamon powder (optional) or cardamom powder according to personal taste
200-400ml water
Preparation of the fruit
Sort the fruit. Remove under-ripe, over-ripe and rotten apples.
Wash the apples, peel them and remove the core.
Slice the apples finely and place in a large saucepan with enough water to prevent the fruit from
burning on the base of the pan (do not add too much water as you will need to cook for longer to
remove the excess).
Preparation of the jars and lids
For glass jars: Wash the jars and lids and put them into a large saucepan.
Fill the saucepan with water so that the jars and lids are covered and heat until the water boils.
Let the water boil for about 5 minutes.
Remove the jars and turn upside down so that the water can all drain out.
DO NOT dry them with a dirty cloth.
If you are using recycled plastic jars, clean them with a solution of chlorinated water (100ppm).
Turn upside down so all the water can drain out.
Heat treatment and addition of sugar
Cook the apples over a low heat for about 15-20 minutes until the apples are soft. Add the lemon
juice, sugar and cinnamon or cardamom if you are using it. Keep over a low heat until the sugar
had dissolved. Turn up the heat to high so that the mixture boils. Stir continuously to prevent the
jam burning.
Boil rapidly for about 30 minutes until the jam is set (use a refractometer if available, a jam
thermometer, or the drop test or wrinkle test). Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. If
any foam rises to the surface of the jam during boiling, scoop it off with the spoon to remove it.
Filling and packaging
Cool the jam to about 85°C and pour into the hot sterilised jars. The jars should be hot when
they are filled or they may crack.
Fill the jars to about 9/10ths of their volume. Place the clean lids onto the jars, fasten them
loosely and invert the jars to sterilise the lid with the hot jam.
If you are using plastic jars, let the jam cool to about 80°C before pouring into the jars.
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