Winter preparation for beginners

With the help of cool tips, we store delicious juicy fruits in jars and enjoy home-made sweet winter, jams, jams and jellies.

The path to the perfect sweet is much simpler and faster with the help of jellies or jelly sugar, which significantly shortens the cooking time, thus preserving the original aroma and color of the fruit and nutrients that are lost during prolonged cooking.

But why just in our minds enjoy the unforgettable flavors we remember from the carefree days of our childhood?

Let's embark on a delicious creative adventure and, with a little help from coolka's tips, fill jars with delicious home-made jams, jams and jellies modeled on the unforgettable sweet from our grandmothers' winter house.

Use only the highest quality fruits!

Unconditionally, for marmalades, jams, jellies and other types of sweets, only the highest quality fruit is good enough for the winter. Therefore, in order for the sweet to have an optimal taste, appearance, density and other things that make up its quality, the fruit must be seasonal and as freshly harvested as possible in order to preserve all the nutrients. Furthermore, in order to contain enough fruit sugar, it must be neither too much nor too little, but optimally ripe. In addition, the fruit must be in perfect condition because even the least damaged or rotten parts can jeopardize the taste and durability of the sweet.

Jars and lids must be clean and dry!

As hygiene is important in addition to the quality of the ingredients, all used dishes, utensils and jars must be perfectly clean. Moreover, in order to prevent, among other things, spoilage, jars and lids must not only be perfectly clean but must also be sterilized. For this purpose, boil the jars for about eight minutes in boiling water or sterilize them in a preheated oven at 120 ° C for ten minutes. To prevent spoilage and the appearance of mold, the lids (it is best to use them only once!) Must be perfectly dry, so dry them well with a kitchen cloth or in an oven at a temperature of 80 ° C.

Sugar, icing sugar or jelly, the question is now!

If you want to cook sweet in the way of our grandmothers, according to the old tried and tested rule, 1000 g of fruit, depending on the type, mix with 700 to 1000 g of sugar and cook for at least an hour. But the path to the perfect sweet is much simpler and faster with the help of jellies or jelly sugar, which significantly shortens the cooking time, thus preserving the original aroma and color of the fruit and nutrients that are lost during prolonged cooking. If you use jelly, a powder gelling mixture, you need to add sugar to the prepared fruit, depending on the type of jelly, in the ratio stated on the package, while with the use of jelly sugar, which also contains pectin, you only need fruit. You can also use a natural agar-agar thickener for thickening, which is obtained from algae with a neutral taste.

The pan must be half full during cooking!

If you are a beginner, stick to your chosen recipe. But if you want more sweet, prepare at most a double amount at once because otherwise the jam or jam will not have the optimal taste, appearance and density. For cooking, primarily for spraying, use a large bowl and only half fill it with a pre-mixed mixture of fruit and sugar. Then heat it with constant stirring, and cook exactly as prescribed in the recipe or instructions on the package (cooking time starts from the moment the mixture boils and starts to simmer) because otherwise the jam or jam will not be of appropriate density.

Keep closed jars upside down for ten minutes!

As foam develops during cooking, which can have a negative effect on the appearance of jam or marmalade, and for example make it dark, but also on its durability, be sure to remove it before pouring it into jars. As soon as it is sweetly cooked, start filling it into prepared jars, being careful not to fill them to the top (leave an inch or two of empty space!). Then close the jars tightly immediately and place them upside down on a surface covered with a kitchen cloth and let them stand for ten minutes to create a vacuum that protects them from spoiling. Mark the jars with labels on which, in addition to the type of sweet, be sure to state the date of filling and store in a dry and cool place.