How do bakeries get smooth jam to top their cheesecakes with?

How do bakeries get smooth jam to top their cheesecakes with? - Crop unrecognizable female with closed eyes biting tasty sweet cupcake with with strawberry jam filing and decorated with whipped cream and berries

Every brand of jam or preserves I’ve bought has a coagulated consistency. While it’s shiny, the surface isn’t smooth when either spread or spooned or piped.

Every cheesecake I’ve purchased from a bakery has been topped with, say, this smooth strawberry jam. The consistency is really smooth and gel like. Even on my tongue it feels so smooth. How do bakeries get their jam like that?



Best Answer

You are thinking of jelly like actual jelly in a can: Sweetened fruit juice thickened with pectin. While some bakeries use special pectin to make glazes (look at LM pectins) most jelly fillings and glazes are made with starch. In the US, usually corn starch.

Jelly donut filling is like canned pie filling: a sugar syrup that is thickened with starch. This is an example recipe.

Fruit glaze toppings are similar but have a bit more starch so they set up more firm. Here is a commercial example. Notice the ingredients, corn syrup and corn starch are prominent.

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Starch is cheap, sets up firm and is less sweet than sugar. Pectin has a better texture and flavor, in my opinion. When making glazes at home, boiling down jams and jellies produces superior results.




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How do you make jam smooth?

If you want smooth, seedless jam you should run them through the food processor or a high powered blender before cooking. That way everything is processed and the mixture is completely smooth.

Can I use jam to top cheesecake?

Pour the filling over the prepared crust and spread evenly to the edges of the pan. Drop spoonfuls of jam evenly over the top. Use a butter knife to swirl the jam into the filling. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 8 hours.

Why is my cheesecake grainy?

As a cheesecake is set using eggs, it needs a gentle heat and a water bath can help to provide this. If the eggs overcook they turn grainy, hence the texture, and also the proteins contract and force out moisture, which is why the cheesecake may have some liquid seeping out. Often also the surface will crack.

Why does Japanese cheesecake crack?

If the oven temperature is too high, the cheesecake will rise too fast, break the structure, and eventually crack. If the heat source is too close to the cake, the cake will also get big cracks. The taste will be fine, and after the cake cools down, the big cracks will be less obvious.



3 Cheesecake Recipes COMPARED (ft. a blindfold)




More answers regarding how do bakeries get smooth jam to top their cheesecakes with?

Answer 2

I haven't actually tried this on a cheesecake specifically but, when I need a spreadable jelly, I'll heat it in a pot until it goes back to being a runny liquid. (It's original state before the starch/pectin cooled and gelatinized.) Let it cool slightly then pour it over whatever you want to cover.

Answer 3

The topping for the cheesecake in my profile picture wasn't a jam but instead a very thick coulis made with puréed, strained blueberries and arrowroot (starch). I added some whole blueberries back in on this one, but you get a very smooth shiny topping if you don't do that. This is then quite stable.

blueberry cheesecake

To quote the wikipedia page linked above:

Arrowroot makes clear, shimmering fruit gels and prevents ice crystals from forming in homemade ice cream. It can also be used as a thickener for acidic foods, such as Asian sweet and sour sauce. It is used in cooking to produce a clear, thickened sauce, such as a fruit sauce. It will not make the sauce go cloudy, like cornstarch, flour, or other starchy thickening agents would. Emphasis mine

Answer 4

Put some sugar in a saucepan on super-low heat and add pectin right before it's caramelized, add a water/neutral vinegar/lemon juice mix, then put in macerated strawberries and cook down until almost before syrup. If you run that through a chinois (shinwah) and add cornstarch you'll get that effect. I would also try making a loose strawberry "curd" and finishing it with cornstarch.

Answer 5

It's most likely flavoured jelly and not jam.

Here is an example recipe of cheesecake with strawberry jelly, I haven't tried the recipe myself so I don't know if it's any good.

Answer 6

To make smooth jam topping for my cheesecakes or other baked goods, I use a stick blender, food processor or blender with a tablespoon or so of hot water and a jar of jam or preserves and process to the consistency I want.

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