Victoria jam

Victoria jam is a way to please yourself with something summery even on cold winter evenings. There are quite a few ways to make jam, ranging from classic, thick and sickly sweet, to light, slightly sour and capable of turning into a dessert in the form of jelly.

Classic recipe for Victoria jam with whole berries

A recipe for those who love the most classic and familiar jam: thick, sickly sweet, with soft berries. Thanks to citric acid, it can be stored for quite a long time and will delight you until the next summer season.

1. 
   How to make simple Victoria jam for the winter? Sort the berries, separate from the sepals and rinse carefully so that the strawberries do not bruise. Place the berries in a deep container, add half the sugar and leave for 2-3 hours.
2. 
   Drain the strawberries in a colander and pour the juice into a deep saucepan.Add the second half of the sugar to it and simmer over low heat until it is completely dissolved. Add strawberries to the resulting syrup.
3. 
   Bring the contents of the pan to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, skimming off the foam if necessary. After the time has passed, turn off the heat and leave the jam for 3 hours until completely cooled. Then boil again, cook for 5 minutes and leave to cool. Repeat these steps three to six times.
4. 
   Cook the mixture for the last time for 15 minutes and add citric acid diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio.
5. 
   Pour the finished jam into sterilized jars, screw the lid on tightly, turn it upside down and leave to cool. To avoid getting burned, you can first wait for the jam to cool, it doesn't really matter.

Bon appetit!

How to make five-minute jam from Victoria?

Jam prepared in this way is not only made much faster than the classic version, but also turns out to be less cloying and thick, and also more healthy.

Cooking time: 180 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Servings – 8

Ingredients:

• Strawberries – 1 kg.
• Granulated sugar – 400 gr.

Cooking process:

1. Jam jars must be prepared in advance. Wash them first with detergent or baking soda, and then pasteurize them in the way that is most convenient for you. Let cool and dry.

2. Sort the strawberries, tear off the sepals, rinse under running water and place on a paper towel to absorb most of the moisture. Pat the berries dry with a second towel and place them in a deep bowl or pan.

3. Sprinkle the strawberries with an even layer of sugar and refrigerate for 4-5 hours.

4.Place the infused berries along with the released juice on the fire, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, skimming off the foam that forms on the surface.

5. Pour the finished jam into jars, close the lid tightly, turn it upside down and place on a towel folded in several layers. Wait for the jam to cool.

Bon appetit!

Thick Victoria jam with gelatin

This jam will be somewhat different from the usual, thick and sickly sweet. It will be more like natural fruit jelly, which, moreover, can harden if you leave the open jar in the refrigerator.

Cooking time: 100 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Servings – 8

Ingredients:

• Strawberries – 1.5 kg.
• Granulated sugar – 700 gr.
• Gelatin – 50 gr.
• Water – 300 ml.

Cooking process:

1. Pre-rinse and sterilize the container in which you will roll the jam. This can be done, for example, using boiling water or an oven. Then you can start making jam. To do this, sort the berries, rinse, separate from the stalks and place in a saucepan.

2. Cover the strawberries with an even layer of sugar and place over medium heat.

3. As the juice releases from the berries, gently stir the contents of the pan until the sugar is completely dissolved. If the pan is not wide and deep, constantly lift the berries from the bottom to the top so that they do not burn.

4. After 5 minutes, the sugar and juice will turn into syrup, which now needs to be brought to a boil and cooked for 10 minutes. Don't forget to stir the berries constantly. As it boils, foam will begin to form on the surface; you need to remove it only if you want to get clear jam.

5.While the berries are cooking, in a separate bowl, soak the gelatin in water and leave for 15 minutes to swell. Then add it to the saucepan with the prepared and slightly cooled jam and stir vigorously so that the gelatin melts and is evenly distributed in the mixture. It is important not to add gelatin immediately to freshly cooked jam, because at too high temperatures it may lose its properties.

6. Pour the jam into jars, screw the lids on tightly and leave to cool, after which you can put them in a cool place for storage.

Bon appetit!

Tasty and healthy Victoria jam without cooking

This jam is healthier than classic jam, since the berries are kept as fresh as possible and contain a high content of vitamins. It is also more aromatic, has a slight sourness and is not so cloying.

Cooking time: 6 hours

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Servings – 4

Ingredients:

• Strawberries – 500 gr.
• Granulated sugar – 400 gr.
• Water – 70 ml.

Cooking process:

1. Carefully sort the berries, rinse under running water, place on paper towels, blot off excess moisture and tear off the leaves.

2. For the syrup, combine water and sugar in a saucepan, place over medium heat and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved.

3. Place the berries in a deep bowl and pour hot syrup over them. It is better to prepare this jam in small portions, up to 1 kilogram of berries, so that it is more convenient and all the fruits are evenly soaked in syrup. Leave the strawberries like this for 2 hours to allow the juice to release.

4. After the specified time has passed, drain the liquid from the berries back into the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms.

5.Pour the hot syrup over the berries again and leave until completely cool.

6. Repeat this procedure 1-3 more times. After the last boiling of the syrup, place the berries in jars and fill them there. Roll up the jars tightly, wrap them in a blanket and leave until the morning.

Bon appetit!

Fried Victoria jam with pectin

Pectin is a natural thickener, which is not naturally abundant in strawberries. Depending on the amount added, you can make the jam thick or turn it into jelly.

Cooking time: 120 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Servings – 6

Ingredients:

• Strawberries – 1.5 kg.
• Granulated sugar – 330 gr.
• Pectin – 10 gr.
• Thyme – 6 branches;
• Lemon juice – 2 tsp.

Cooking process:

1. Carefully sort the strawberries, rinse under running water and tear off the leaves. If the fruits are large enough, they can be cut into two or four parts.

2. Place the strawberries in a deep saucepan or frying pan with a high side, add pectin to it and mix thoroughly.

3. Place the dishes over medium heat and simmer the berries for 10 minutes, stirring regularly so that the juice is released more actively.

4. Add thyme, half the lemon juice and sugar to the strawberries and cook until it is completely dissolved in the liquid. Stir the contents of the pan regularly.

5. After about ten minutes, a dense foam will form on the surface of the jam, and the liquid itself will become thicker. This means it is ready.

6. Pour the hot jam into pre-sterilized jars, roll up and leave until completely cooled at room temperature.

Bon appetit!

How to make thick Victoria jam with agar-agar?

Jam with agar-agar is very similar in consistency and properties to jam with gelatin, it’s just that agar is much more convenient and easier to use. For example, it does not lose its gelling properties when boiling.

Cooking time: 120 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Servings – 5

Ingredients:

• Strawberries – 800 gr.
• Granulated sugar – 350 gr.
• Agar-agar – 8 gr.
• Water – 1.5 l.
• Lemon juice – 20 ml.

Cooking process:

1. Before weighing out the required amount of strawberries, you need to sort them so that the net weight consists of only whole and unspoiled berries.

2. Rinse it under running water, remove the stalks and sepals, dry lightly with paper towels, cut into 2-4 pieces and place in a deep saucepan.

3. Cover the strawberries with an even layer of sugar, shake the pan slightly so that it falls between the berries, and leave for 3-4 hours.

4. After the specified time, the berries should release enough juice, and practically no sugar will be visible. Place the pan on the stove and heat the strawberries over low heat.

5. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, dilute the agar-agar in lemon juice and water and let it swell.

6. When the strawberry juice boils in the pan, remove the foam that has formed on the surface, add agar-agar and actively stir the jam for several minutes so that it melts and is evenly distributed in the liquid.

7. Simmer the contents of the pan over low heat for 25 minutes, stirring regularly.

8. Place the finished jam in pre-pasteurized jars, screw on the lid tightly, turn upside down and leave at room temperature until completely cooled.

Bon appetit!

Step-by-step recipe for making Victoria jam in a slow cooker

The multicooker significantly reduces the time it takes to prepare jam, eliminating the need to constantly stand over the pan and make sure that nothing burns or boils over. It is also convenient to pasteurize jam jars.

Cooking time: 90 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Servings – 12

Ingredients:

• Strawberries – 1 kg.
• Granulated sugar – 1 kg.
• Water – 80-100 ml.

Cooking process:

1. First, prepare your jam jars. Wash them thoroughly with baking soda or detergent, then pour water into the multicooker bowl, place the lids there and place a steaming rack on top. Place the jars upside down on this rack. Turn on the “Steam” operating mode for 30 minutes.

2. After time has passed, carefully remove the hot jars and lids and place them on a towel until completely cool and dry.

3. Sort the strawberries, separate them from the leaves and rinse. You can leave the berries in a colander for a while to drain the water, or you can lay them out on a towel and dry them.

4. Place the dried berries in the multicooker bowl and sprinkle sugar on top, you can do this in layers. Before preparing jam, it is better to remove the valve through which air passes, if possible, so that it does not become clogged, or you can simply cook with the lid ajar. Set the “Extinguishing” mode on the control panel for 60 minutes.

5. In the middle of cooking, check the jam and skim off any foam that has formed on the surface if necessary. You don’t have to do this if you don’t need the finished jam to be as transparent as possible.

6. Pour the finished jam into dry jars, tightly roll up the lids and leave until completely cooled. It is recommended to place them upside down on a towel folded several times.

Bon appetit!

Victoria jam with citric acid for the winter

Citric acid hides the cloying sweetness of the jam, acts as a preservative, which promotes longer storage, and also helps maintain the brightness and richness of the color of the jam.

Cooking time: 8 hours

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Servings – 12

Ingredients:

• Strawberries – 1 kg.
• Granulated sugar – 1 kg.
• Citric acid – 1 pinch;

Cooking process:

1. Carefully sort the berries, selecting spoiled and wrinkled ones. Separate the selected strawberries from the leaves, place them in a container of cool water and let them float for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally with your hands. Then catch the strawberries with a sieve or slotted spoon, place them on a paper towel and blot away excess moisture.

2. Place the dried strawberries in a deep saucepan and add sugar. Shake the container slightly so that it falls between the berries.

3. Cover the dishes with gauze or a waffle towel and leave for 3-4 hours so that the berries release their juice. If possible, it is best to leave the strawberries overnight.

4. In 4 hours, the sugar will not completely dissolve, but there will be enough juice for jam; it should cover the berries by about half.

5. Place the pan on low heat, cover with a lid and leave for 5-10 minutes until the sugar completely melts and turns into syrup. It is not advisable to stir the jam with a spoon or spatula, so as not to damage the berries, so just periodically lightly shake the contents of the pan. Bring the syrup to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, skimming any foam that forms from the surface. Then remove the pan from the heat and let the jam cool completely at room temperature, this will take a few hours.

6.Once the jam has cooled completely, put it back on the fire and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat, add citric acid and mix everything carefully.

7. Bring the jam to a boil for the third time, after cooling it completely. Cook for 5 minutes, skimming foam from the surface.

8. Let the jam cool slightly and pour it into pre-pasteurized jars. Leave the container about 1-1.5 centimeters empty. Screw the lids on tightly, turn the jars upside down, wrap them in a blanket or blanket and let cool. Then they can be stored for a long time in a dry and cool place.

Bon appetit!