jam - what did I do wrong?

[murphy99]

hello

I have made jam for the first time and I think it burnt

I have a proper Jam pan and thermomenter , it was all going well and on a rolling boil , not quite up to the Jam mark when I smelt burning sugar. I have potted the Jam but the bottom of the pan is black with burnt bits

Is this usual ? What did I do wrong as I took my time following the instructions! I used jam sugar, it was plum and apple Jam.

Is my Jam ruined? It doesn't smell burnt!

What should I do now to clean the bottom of the pan?

Oh dear , what a disappointment

Thanks helen

[shirlthegirl43]

Maybe you were boiling it too fast? To help clean your pan, put water in it and a squeeze of washing up liquid, then put it on the hob and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 - 10 mins then use whatever scourer is suitable for the pan. My pan is stainless steel and I use the steel scourers which brings it up like new.

As for the jam, I would taste it and see how it is.

[Flummery]

You do need to keep stirring while it boils. This is another good reason for a popper jam pan. It gets rather volcanic when stirred so you need lots of room above the jam so it won't boil over. Constant stirring and constant vigilance!

[Alison]

You also need to disolve the sugar slowly at a lower heat before you bring to a boil.

[murphy99]

OH stirring

I thought you let it boil until it reached the temperature... what is a rolling boil then? I thought I stirred until it came to a boil and then just let it boil Oh well ! the recipe said a high heat, should I not have it on a high heat then?

I think it is burnt, well caramel

I just need to rescue my pan now so I can try again !

Thanks for you help, I am glad I am doing my learing on bought fruit and not stuff we have lovingly grown ourselves!

Cheers
helen

[Alison]

Ideally you slowly disolve the sugar with the fruit and then when there are no granules left you increase the heat and get it up to a good rolling boil which is when the surface seems to erm, well, roll! Basically it's pretty much impossible to get it too hot on a normal hot plate but you do need to make sure it's properly mixed first. Don't worry about your pan, it'll come up fine with a bit of elbow grease.

[rana]

Before putting the sugar with the fruit I heat it in the oven (on low) - never had any problems with un-dissolved sugar or burning pans..

[murphy99]

I think I need to take more time disolving the sugar and then bringing it up to the boil...AND Stir

I took loads of time getting the fruit cooked nice and slowly, should have taken more care in the final stages!

According to the instructions that came with the pan , if I put biological soap powder in the pan and then cover with water and leave for 24hrs the pan will be clean. It seems to be working , after a couple of hours the burnt is starting to lift... no elbow grease needed, definitely my kind of cleaning

I am usually a pretty good cook, I can't believe I botched this so badly, oh well live and learn!

cheers helen

[LostGoddess]

According to the instructions that came with the pan , if I put biological soap powder in the pan and then cover with water and leave for 24hrs the pan will be clean. It seems to be working , after a couple of hours the burnt is starting to lift... no elbow grease needed, definitely my kind of cleaning

My new maslin pan has these instructions too, although I would be inclined to use a large dose of bicarbonate of soda and very hot water.
It sounds to me like your sugar wasn't fully dissolved. I have found that warming the sugar in the oven works well.
Please don't be put off! I almost quit making preserves after the time I spent shredding peel for my first batch of marmalade to have it burn on the bottom! But to be honest no one even knew of my woes when they ate the stuff, despite the slight 'darkness' about it....

[Flummery]

If you have some sugar granules still left on the bottom of the pan when you raise the heat, they will stick and start the burning process. If you aren't stirring to disperse them, that's when the pan goes to glue!

Next time will be better!

[SlugLobber]

You do need to keep stirring while it boils. This is another good reason for a popper jam pan. It gets rather volcanic when stirred so you need lots of room above the jam so it won't boil over. Constant stirring and constant vigilance!

Yup, I learnt that there IS a reason for 'proper jam pans' on Saturday! I had to split the batch and recombine before bottling!!