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Sweet Treats

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Top tips for a simple homemade jam

Jams, chutneys and marmalades: What’s the difference?
A jam is simply fruit that is cooked and preserved to a jelly-like form using sugar and, in
commercial cases, an ingredient called pectin. Chutney is essentially the same as jam but
includes spices, herbs and often less sugar, which gives it its more savoury flavour.
Marmalade uses the juice and peels of citrus fruit and doesn’t generally include pectin.

Prepare your fruit
If you’re using dried fruit pieces (as we do in the demonstrated recipe), you’ll need to soak
them in hot water for about 30-60 minutes to soften and plump up before adding the sugar.
Fresh fruit can be added immediately to the rest of the ingredients.

To add pectin or not?
There are two options when it comes to pectin for jam-making. Either use store-bought
pectin or allow the naturally occurring pectin found in most citrus fruit, especially the peels,
to help set the jam. Processed or store-bought pectin is extracted from citrus peels and is a
helpful setting or thickening agent. Also, like sugar, it helps to preserve the jam. It gives jam

its jelly-like consistency and is used in the making of most commercial jams. It comes in a
powder form, but you can also buy 'jam sugar', which has added pectin, instead of regular
sugar.

Using naturally occurring pectin results in a more loosely set jam and requires a slightly

longer cooking time. These jams can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks and they
work just as well as pectin jams. For the demonstrated recipe, we’re using a recipe that does
not include pectin.

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