A product of moderately thick consistency prepared by boiling the whole fruit and sugar without retaining the shape of the fruit is termed as “Jam”. It is semi-solid and non transparent. It is also rich in flavour because ripe fruits are used in its preparation. Pectin in the fruit gives it a good set. High concentration of sugar facilitates preservation.
Preparation of Papaya Jam:
Material:
Ripe papaya fruits, sugar, citric acid, churner, paraffin wax.
Procedure of Jam Preparation:
1. Select ripe papaya fruits and after washing them thoroughly, cut the fruit into two halves and removes the seeds. Squeeze out the pulp and pass it through churner to make a homogeneous mass.
2. For every one kg of the pulp take ¾ to 1 kg of sugar and 10 gm of citric acid. Dissolve them in water and heat the mixture to nearly 60 0C and strain in through muslin cloth and mix it thoroughly with the pulp.
3. The fruit and sugar mixture is then boiled to concentrate the soluble solids to about 68.5 %. Remove the scum during cooking. Occasional stirring of the mass is essential till the temperature reaches 104 to 109 0C.
4. Soon after the end point is reached the jam is cooled in a cooling pan to about 200 0F and filled into previously sterilized bottles and allow it to set over night.
5. Next day pour a layer of melted paraffin wax on the surface of the jam and glass bottles are sealed and stored in a cool dry place.
Important Hints in Jam Preparation:
1. The process of Jam making should be done very rapidly and prolonged boiling should be avoided as it deteriorates the flavour and colour both.
2. To avoid excessive frothing during boiling, a little butter may be added to the jam.
3. While cooking, the ingredients should be stirred properly, otherwise it may char and may result in the spoilage of the whole product.
4. The final product should not contain less than 45 percent of fruits and 68.5 percent soluble solids when cold.
5. The finished product shall have a heavy consistency.
6. It shall have the flavour of the organism fruit and shall be free from burnt or other objectionable flavours, crystallization, mould growth and shall show no sign of fermentation.
Source: agriinfo
