What To Do About the Foam on Your Jam!
Your
are happily making jam, following the direction in a book or box of pectin...
until it says "skim the foam, or add 1 teaspoon of butter to prevent foaming".
Foam? Foaming? What is it? Does your jam have rabies?Nope, the foam is just the result of bubbles from the boiling jam coming up through the viscous jam. Just like a child blowing bubbles, the boiling jam produces bubbles.
Why remove it?
Well, it just doesn't taste very good. It doesn't taste bad, but it is not the consistency most people like in jam. It certainly won't hurt you, though.
What can I do about the foam
Besides making a B-grade horror movies with it, You can either prevent it or remove it.
Prevent it
1 teaspoon of butter, margarine or vegetable oil, added before you heat the mixture will almost eliminate it. On the downside, some food scientists worry that the small amount of butter could cause the batch to spoil sooner. I suspect this particular group of scientists probably still live at home...
Remove it
When
I forget to add the butter (about 50% of the time), I just wait till I remove
the jam from the heat, let it sit for a minute or two and then skim the foam off
with a ladle.
I save the foam in a microwavable container. See below for why!
What can I do with the foam?
When I am done making jam for the day, I usually have about 1 cup of congealed foam. Looks a lot like a healthy lung. That's not very appealing to most people, so....
J
ust
pop it into a microwave for 30 to 60 seconds or so on high. Be sure to
watch it the entire time, or it may boil over. You want to get it hot
again and to boil up a bit.
Once you remove it and it cools, it will look, act and taste like regular jam again! Rather than attempting to put this back into a batch for canning, this is the jam I stick in the fridge to use fresh!
Blake's Easy and Illustrated Jam and Ice Cream Directions
I've got some other pages for specific types of jam, too:
Jams and jellies:
- How to make berry jams (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, loganberry, mixed berry, etc.)
- How to make apple jelly
- How to make blueberry jam
- How to make apricot, peach, plum or nectarine jam.
- How to make fig jam
- NEW! How to make grape jelly from fresh grapes
- NEW! How to make muscadine or scuppernong jelly
- How to make orange marmalade
- Other jam recipes and jelly recipes.
- What happens if my jam or jelly doesn't gel? Remaking cooked runny jam or jelly instructions can be found on this page
Ice Cream, Gelato and Sorbets with your own fruit
- Electric and Manual ice cream makers that require ice and salt:
- NEW! How to make ice cream with your own fruit!
- NEW! How to make Gelato
- NEW! How to make sugar free, fat free ice cream
- Coming in September: How to make frozen yogurt
- Coming in September: How to make sorbet
- Electric ice cream makers that have a bowl that must be frozen in
your freezer:
- NEW! How to make ice cream with your own fruit!
- NEW! How to make Gelato
- NEW! How to make sugar free, fat free ice cream
- Coming in September: How to make frozen yogurt
- Coming in September: How to make sorbet
- Ice cream makers and manuals
- Lost your manual? We have most manuals here free to download!
- Looking for an ice cream maker? See reviews and information to select one and great prices, too
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Home Canning KitsFeatures:* All the tools you need for hot waterbath canning - in one comprehensive set! * Complete with 21 1/2 qt. enameled waterbath canner and "Ball Blue Book" of canning. * Also includes canning rack, funnel, jar lifter, jar wrencher, bubble freer, tongs and lid lifter. * A Kitchen Krafts exclusive collection. This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother
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Canning booksCanning & Preserving for Dummies
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The Ball Blue Book of PreservingThis is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child. It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jam, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc. If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy) Price $8.95 |
Summary - Typical Cost of Making Homemade Jam - makes 8 jars, 8 oz each** |
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| Item | Quantity | Cost in 2006 | Source | Subtotal |
| Berries (strawberries) | 1 gallon | $8.00/gallon | Pick your own | $8.00 |
| Canning jars (8 oz size), includes lids and rings | 18 jars | $7.00/dozen | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$10.00 |
| Sugar | 4 cups | $2.00 | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$2.00 |
| Pectin (low sugar, dry) | 1 and a third boxes * | $2.00 per box | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$2.70 |
| Total | $22.70 total or about $1.25 per jar |
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| * pectin use varies - blackberry
jam needs very little, raspberry a little more, strawberry the most.
** - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars and reduce the cost further; just buy new lids (the rings are reusable, but the flat lids are not)! |
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