Composition / ingredients
Step-by-step cooking
Step 1:
How to cook jam with agar agar? Prepare everything you need. It is better to take fresh cherries. Pre-wash it under running water and remove the bones. I use frozen cherries, which I previously defrosted. Note that agar-agar can have different gelling power! To achieve the perfect result, follow the instructions indicated on the packaging of your agar-agar. The ingredients are indicated with a small margin for boiling.
Step 2:
Put the cherries in a saucepan with thick walls and add sugar. Bring the berries to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Cook the cherries for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that the sugar completely dissolves. If too much foam forms, it should be removed with a slotted spoon or spoon.
Step 3:
During this time, we will prepare the banks. They need to be washed beforehand. I will have only one jar with a volume of 0.5 liters. So, pour a centimeter of filtered water into the jars and heat it in the microwave for 3 minutes. The water should boil. Thus, banks are considered sterilized. Just pour boiling water over the lids and leave them until they are needed.
Step 4:
Dilute agar-agar in warm water, stir until smooth.
Step 5:
While stirring the jam, pour water with agar into the saucepan. And boil for another 3 minutes. Visually, nothing will change much, because the agar will begin to act a little later.
Step 6:
Pour the hot jam into jars and seal with lids. In an upside-down state, wrap the jars with a warm blanket until completely cooled. After that, the jam can be put away for storage.
If we wanted to achieve a thicker jam consistency without adding agar, we would have to boil the mixture for a long time before self-thickening. The trick of agar-agar is that it (added in the right amount, thickens the liquid syrup vi shni in a matter of minutes.
Bon appetit!
Remember that spices such as salt, sugar, as well as vinegar and its substitutes are used in recipes for winter preparations not only for taste, but primarily as preservatives. Therefore, in no case should you reduce the concentration of salt and sugar, and also replace vinegar (essence) with a weaker concentration than indicated in the recipe, otherwise vinegar (salt / sugar) will not show their preservative properties and the workpiece will be spoiled.
Before adding agar, pay attention to its marking. The numbers on the package, for example 600, 900 or 1200, indicate the strength (elasticity) of the resulting gel. The higher this figure, the denser the jelly will turn out.
Always keep in mind that the proportions of agar-agar indicated in the recipe are relative, since the result is influenced not only by the strength of the gel (figures on the package), but also by the quality of agar-agar, as well as the amount of sugar and acid in the dish. In order not to make a mistake and get the desired result, it is recommended to do a test.
To do this, take 1 tablespoon of a ready-made, but not yet cooled dish, and place it in the freezer for 1 minute. If the jelly turned out to be of the desired consistency, then the proportions are observed correctly. Otherwise, it is necessary to thicken or, conversely, dilute the dish.
An open bag with agar-agar can be stored for a long time, but it must be checked before use, since due to sunlight and air ingress, agar may lose its gelling properties.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Granulated sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Sour cherry - 52 kcal/100g
- Sweet cherry - 64 kcal/100g
- Dried cherries - 292 kcal/100g
- Canned cherry - 61 kcal/100g
- Water - 0 kcal/100g
- Agar-agar - 301 kcal/100g
