Homemade jam is a small luxury prepared with love. An afternoon spent preparing the fruit, boiling it down with sugar and lemon juice, and then washing and filling jars should result in a batch of thick, tasty jams. We home jammers are occasionally left with a batch of runny or loose jam instead of the beautiful jam we laboured for. Don’t worry, runny jam can be fixed and thickened with a little patience. Here are some pointers for resolving a loose jam. These strategies can assist you whether you wish to ensure a thick jam from the start or restore a runny jam.
- Cornstarch is commonly used to thicken jams, sauces, soups, and glazes. It’s also a possible alternative for jam recipes with less added sugar or fruits with naturally lower sugar or pectin levels. One thing to keep in mind when using cornstarch as a thickening agent is that it causes the jam to seem murky or milky. Make a slurry of cornstarch and water, then add it to the jam mixture. When you bring it to a boil, the jam should thicken practically instantly.
- While gelatin might be difficult to work with, including it in a recipe is a fantastic way to save runny jams. The simplest technique to thicken jam using gelatin is to soften sheets of gelatin in boiling water and then add them to the jam while it cooks. Alternatively, mix powdered gelatin in warm water and stir it into the jam while it is still cooking.
- If you’ve created jam and allowed it to cool, but it’s still runny, return it to a saucepan and bring it back to a boil. Boil until the jam begins to decrease and thicken.
- Chia seed jam is a jam that does not require cooking. The chia seeds absorb the juice and moisture from the fruit purée and plump up, thickening the jam without the use of heat, additional sugar, or pectin. Consider it a chia seed custard cooked with fruit instead of milk.