2-Ingredient Homemade Jam

Hello Friends,

I know what you’re thinking…

Two-ingredient homemade jam?  How did we get on this topic?  Aren’t we supposed to be refinishing furniture?

 

Huuuum, yea.  I got a little sidetracked.  But….in my defense……. if you’ve got about 15-minutes and two ingredients, you can have homemade jam for dinner tonight……or breakfast tomorrow.

Seriously.  It’s just that simple.
Truth is, in the world of serious jam making, using overripe fruit is considered a no-no.  The reasons are all scientific and such.  But, to spare us from having to drag out our old chemistry books, let’s just say that overripe fruit has these long-chained polysaccharides, called pectins, that are riling up the jelling process.  The word is they are breaking down early so getting a good jel is just not possible.

Know what I say?  ………Hogwash.

Granted, I’m not making jam to can and store over weeks or months.  I’m one of these “what am I gonna do with this awful fruit” kind of jammers.

I take the sad and lowly fruit, be it orphaned because it is overripe or too sour, and turn it into a super yuminsky treat……in about 15 minutes…..give or take.  And it’s always all gone in a day or two.  So I don’t have any of the storage worries that burden the serious jammers.

Ready to see how it’s done?

HOW TO GET YOUR JAM GOIN’:

Step 1.  Say hello to some bad jammin’ fruit.  It is overripe, mushy in places, hard in others, and jaw-lockin’ tart.

Step 2.  Wash, peel, and slice those bad boys.  I use a kettle with a heavy bottom and spray it with non-stick spray.  Then I let the slices and all of that sticky juice drop right into the pot.

Step 3.  Bring the fruit to a boil over a low heat and add white granulated sugar.  How much?  It totally depends on the tartness of the fruit and your personal taste.  I had about 2 cups of tart fruit and ended up adding a total of 3/4 cup.

Step 4.  Simmer the water that comes from the fruit out of the kettle.  Depending on the fruit, this will take about 10 to 15 minutes.  Back in the day, this was called “cookin’ down the fruit.”  If, during this process, the fruit doesn’t fall apart on its own, use a fork or pastry cutter to create small chunks.

The final product should be thick, but not jelled.  The concentrated fruit nectar and sugar make a honey-like consistency that nestles the fruit pieces.  

And there’s all there is to it.  It’s not much harder than boiling an egg.

If you’d like to share this idea with others or tuck it away for later, please feel free to share any of the photos or the pinterest-ready graphic below.

And, as always, thanks so much for stopping by.