What is in commercially made strawberry jam?
Isn’t strawberry jam difficult to make at home? It can be, because strawberries are notoriously low in the natural setting agent pectin, which is why commercial jams add more. Christine Huddleston makes a strawberry and rose petal jam with whole fruit and fresh lemon juice, which supplies the pectin; however, she says she sometimes needs to add a little extra. “A brilliant way to solve the problem is to substitute a quarter of the fruit with cranberries, which are full of pectin,” she says. “The jam will be a little sharper, but lovely.” Otherwise, these are her tips: “Put the whole strawberries in a pan with a little water, and simmer until they are soft. Old-fashioned preserving pans are best because they help evaporation. Slightly crush the berries with a potato masher for a nicer texture. For 6kg of strawberries use 6.5kg of sugar, and about 80ml of lemon juice (this might still be a soft set, so use jam sugar, which has pectin in it, and reduce the lemon juice to 30ml). Bring to t
