19/10/15
Many of the gardeners might have experienced surplus production
during the season. Infinite number of
fruits dropping helplessly and lying on the ground with a melancholic note to
rot is a sad phenomenon. It doesn't benefit either the grower or the tree in
itself. The growers' basket remains crammed with the produce with minimal scope
of market.
The tree on the other hand conveys a tacit note of discontent to
witness its bearings falling incessantly. She clings to the opinion that the
fruits which she has nurtured and nourished so meticulously, even if her lanky
twigs were on the verge of giving up shall land up in a high-fetch market
adorned with protective covers . It throbs her heart at each thudding sound her
fruits hit the muddy shield beneath and remits a cry of help.
I came to a tacit understanding of the message conveyed to
me by the mother trees. And so did I gently slip off the fruits from its stalk
and processed it into JAMS. Jam, by definition is a product made by boiling fruit pulp with sufficient sugar to a
reasonably thick consistency, firm enough to hold the fruit tissues in
position.
And also, the tale of horticulture or agriculture does not
end in the field. The task is still half-done if the produce doesn't reach the
consumers. Hence market is an essential component of agricultural systems, for
which the post harvest processing of produce, especially the horticultural
produce conjoined with their perishable nature is a prerequisite.
The aforementioned phenomenal facts drove me to the track of
preparing Jam; simple home-made jams.
The steps and ingredients required are in close proximity and stand in the affordable
range of all aspiring home-made jam makers.
A simple module and practical lessons on post harvest
management of horticultural produce back at college has showered me with the
idea, & this is how I strive not to pack the hard-earned knowledge in the
basket of obsolescence.
And now, let's all gear into the track together. Are you
ready to embark on something which will render you with a product even during
the lean season? If so, let's clutch on
the steps which I will unfurl in the lines to follow.
The basic understanding of food preservation should be that
you create an environment that is not congenial for the growth and multiplication
of microorganisms, which causes food spoilage. The preservatives that will
sustain your jam are sugar and citric acid. How do you think these 2 preservatives is going to exercise
their miraculous power?
Well, Sugar acts as a preservative by a process known as
Osmosis, wherein it absorbs all the available moisture with the result that
there is very little water for the growth of microbes, thereby rendering the
environment unsuitable for their multiplication. By nature, low acid foods are
spoilt rapidly while acidic conditions inhibit the growth of many
microorganisms. That is how the role of citric acid is featured in food
preservation.
The FPO, Food Process Order of India specifications for the
preparation of jam are given in the table below;
|
Fruit/Vegetable
|
Ingredient for 1kg pulp
|
|
Sugar(Kg)
|
Citric acid(g)
|
Water(ml)
|
|
Apple
|
0.75
|
2
|
100
|
|
Pear
|
0.75
|
1.5
|
100
|
|
Peach
|
0.80
|
3
|
100
|
|
Plum
|
0.80
|
-
|
150
|
|
Strawberry
|
0.75
|
2
|
100
|
|
Mango
|
0.75
|
1.5
|
50
|
|
Carrot
|
0.75
|
2.5
|
200
|
Now, your ingredients, within the range of availability in
your garden with the specification depicted in the table above is ready to
undergo the process.
The steps are very simple. I will have them enlisted in the following 10 lines ;
1.Firm ripe fruits/vegetables
2.Washing
3.Peeling(not necessary in case of strawberries & even plums)
4. Pulping( removal of seeds & core)
5. Addition of sugar(add water if necessary)
6. Boiling (with continuous stirring)
7. Addition of citric acid
8. Judging of end point by further cooking(By sheet/flake test)
9. Filling hot into sterilized bottles
10.Cooling, Capping & Storage.
A little elaboration on the Sheet/Flake test(step 8); a little amount of jam is taken out during boiling, in a spoon or wooden
ladle & cooled slightly and allowed to drop. If it falls out in the form of
sheets or flakes instead of flowing in a continuous stream, this is an
indication that the end point has reached and your jam is ready for bottling.
It should be borne in mind to sterilize the cans/jars before use. This can be done by
placing the empty jars in boiling water for around 30 minutes. This ensures the
destruction of all viable microorganisms due to high temperature.
A simple pictorial guidance on the steps to be followed Jam
preparation shall I unfold herewith;
1) Plum Jam Preparation
 |
| Image 1: Washed, fresh, firm ripe fruits on the
left & chopped fruits with cores removed on the right |
Image 2: Fresh lemon & sugar
Why do you think I have lemon included in the list of my
ingredients? Well, the ease with which we can avail commercial citric acid is a
question. I had the question springing in my head & this would undoubtedly
stand in opposition to those in far-flung villages wanting to prepare &
taste their own home-made jams. For this reason, I opted to single out lemons,
available in our market owing to the fact that it contains high amount of
citric acid. So the pallid lemon juice can be used as a substitute for
commercial citric acid. In one or two of the instances, I used the bottled
lemon juice too.
The image beneath depicts how exactly the citric acid
looks like & how much of it amounts to 2g. It resembles sugar in its
crystalline form & hence, it
should not be mistaken for one. A tablespoon of it may roughly weigh 2g.
This is to assure convenience of its usage if electronic balance is a stock
at bay. Well, a pinch or two of it might have leaped into my viscous jam pot
had it been here on time.
|
 |
Image 3: Commercial citric acid nesting on
electronic weighing balance
|
In fact, I didn't use citric acid in any of my home-made
jams. This however curtailed my shelf life too. I had to trace the route of the
citric acid that I have it in possession at the moment all the way from
Siliguri. My stock basket of perishable commodities was empty by the time it
trudged its way here.
 |
Image 4: Stirring with wooden ladle
|
|
This is how it needs to be subjected to continuous
stirring after addition of all ingredients. The local made wooden ladle
serves the purpose well. In addition, I used the Food Blender for meshing
the pulp to a uniformly consistent matter.
|
The jars for bottling your product shall
be sterilized in boiling water & dried
well before hand. It shall be rid of any moisture so as to check microbial
growth.
 |
|
Image 5: Sterilization; & dried jars for
bottling jam
|
 |
Image 6: The Final products; Home-made Plum Jams
|
I do have some other products of which I shall present only
the imagery illustration. This is on account of the fact that the basic &
the underlying principal for jam preparation is same in any other product. It
is only a matter of a slight variation in the quantum of citric acid or sugar.
in fact, the F.P.O. specification doesn't necessitate the addition of citric
acid in plum jam. This may be in line with the fact that the raw fruit in
itself contains a lot of acid. I, nevertheless, added some lemon juice which
rendered my product a bit sour than it should actually be. I also reduced the
amount of sugar by a slight degree as I didn't want my product to be extremely
sweet.
 |
|
Image 7: Sequential steps in Apple jam processing
|
 |
Image 8: Banana Jam
|
 |
Image 9: Pear Jam
|
My jams of varying hues; the scarlet glazy plum jam; the
intense golden-yellow Golden delicious apple jam; the slightly faint yellow
banana jam; & the dim brownish-yellow Pear jam with its gritty texture all
suited well to varying taste buds. Everyone savored them with a note of
glimmering lusciousness while their eyes reflected a
taciturn look of wanting more. However, this
is only the first year of my embarking on this task. I tried all these on more
or less a trial & error method.. I will be working to improving the taste
as well as shelf life of the products. And a term of certainty, I will be
coming up with a greater diversity of products in the times to elapse.
