Jam and marmalade

Most bread machines are able to make jam, but this feature is something most consumers never use. It’s too bad, since it’s so easy to do that most people who’ve tried it never go back to the traditional method of making jam. All you do is put the ingredients into the pan, set the program, start it, and come back later to freshly-prepared jam. The bread maker mixes and cooks the jam for you, and you don’t end up with a stack of dirty pans to clean. This program also can make lard, pig cracklings, jelly, tea, and purees.

Advantages of home-made jam

• You can be certain of the quality
• You select the fruits
• You can choose the amount and type of sweetener
• Less sugar equals less calories
• Preservation using pasteurization, without any chemical preservatives
• It preserves any excess fruit from your garden that you can’t eat

Strawberry jam in the Sana Smart Bread Maker

Ingredients
1 kg of strawberries
500 g jam sugar 2: 1
citric acid

Instructions: Wash jars thoroughly with hot water. Cook the lids in hot water for at least five minutes. Cut or blend strawberries into pieces, depending on the size you prefer. You can use frozen strawberries if you prefer, and they don’t need to thaw out first if you aren’t cutting them into smaller pieces. Put the strawberries into the pan, cover with the jam sugar, and set the program. When it is finished, test the jam to see if it is firm enough. Put a teaspoon of jam on a cold dish and see if it is still firm after five minutes. If it is too runny add 1-2 teaspoons of citric acid and mix it. Test it again to see if it is firm enough. When it is firm enough, fill the jars with hot jam and screw on the lids tightly and invert the jars for five minutes. Store the jars in a cool dark place. It can take up to a week for complete jelling to take place, so don’t worry if the jam seems too runny for the first few days. Be careful not to put too much fruit in the container when cooking your jam. If you put in too much fruit (more than 2kg), it can spill out over the sides of the container. Also, do not use the energy-saving glass lid. The temperature would become too high and the jam will flow over the edge regardless of the quantity.

Other recipes

Rice porridge. Pour a liter of boiling water or milk into the pan, then add 200g of rice.
Add the vanilla and cane sugar to taste. Select program no. 5, set the temperature to 200 ° C and the time to 30 minutes. After the machine signals the end of cooking, taste the porridge and see how soft it is. If you prefer it softer, add a few more minutes to the cooking cycle. At this stage it is also possible to sweeten it. Put it in a bowl and add any extras like cinnamon, fruit, honey, chocolate, nuts, etc. Remember, if you use the energy-saving glass lid, it will cook faster.

Pork cracklings. Cut a stick of pork lard into cubes. Set the machine to program #5 at 130 ° C. Set the program for no mixing for the first 15 minutes, followed by 105 minutes at mixing speed 1. When the program is finished, check to see if the cracklings are sufficiently cooked. If they are lighter than you prefer, you can continue cooking for another hour at 130 ° C, or as needed. Two hours will be enough if you prefer juicier cracklings, three hours if you like them golden and well-done. You don’t need to use the glass lid with cracklings, although if you are cooking a larger amount (2 kg) it should be covered to keep things cleaner.
- Be careful not to spill the hot fat when you remove the cracklings.

Roasted tea. Prepare 1 kg of any fresh or frozen fruit. You can experiment with a combination of different fruits. For example, a good combination is a berry mixture like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries. Put the fruit in the pan, stir in 500 g of white or brown sugar, add 1 lemon sliced into pieces (with or without the rind), 2 level teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 5 cloves and possibly a little rum. Select the “Jam” program. In phase 1, set the temperature to
180 C for 15 minutes without stirring, in the 2nd phase set the temperature to 180 ° C for 40 minutes at stirring level 1, and phase 3 to “Off”. Do not cover the container with the glass lids, as this will cause the fruit to boil over into the machine. As soon as it is completed, pour the mixture into sterilized jars. Screw on the lids tightly and after 5 minutes invert the jars. It makes a delicious hot drink in the winter. Just mix 2-3 teaspoons of the mixture into a cup of hot water. In the summer, it makes a refreshing iced tea. Just mix the same amount with cold water.

Plum jam. Put into the container 1 kg of halved and pitted prunes, 200 ml water, 200g sugar, and either 25 ml vinegar or rum. If you prefer, you can leave out the vinegar or rum, and some of the sugar. Set the program to #5, for jam. Again, don’t use the glass lid, as this will cause the fruit to bubble over into the machine. When the program is finished, check the dam to see if it is thick enough. Typically the program will have to be run 2-3 times until the desired thickness is reached. Before restarting the program, check the flavor and add sugar or rum according to your taste, especially if you are using very sour plums.

Tips

• You can replace white sugar with brown sugar or even stevia. Jam sweetened with stevia is suitable for diabetics or anyone trying to cut down on their sugar or calories. Some people don’t like the taste of stevia, so experiement with a small amount first, to see how you like it. Also note that jams sweetened with stevia will not thicken as much as those made with sugar.
• It is possible to use frozen fruit in the jam and roasted tea recipes.
• Season your homemade jam with vlastnoručně vyrobený jogurt.