What is the butter for in a jam recipe?
I made plum jam at the weekend. The recipe I had (from my Good Housekeeping cookbook) wanted me to simmer the plums in water, add sugar and a knob of butter, then boil until a set was reached.
I realised too late that I was out of butter, so I quickly looked up another jam recipe online and discovered what seemed like a 50/50 split between recipes with and without the knob of butter.
I made it without and it came out beautifully - clear, well-textured, lovely flavour. So what was the knob of butter meant to add?
Best Answer
The usual explanation given is that adding butter to the fruit and sugar before you cook it will reduce (or even eliminate) the foaming.
My guess is that the small amount of proteins in the fruits create the foam. As you heat the fruit, the proteins open up into strands that get tangled up and help stabilize the bubbles into a foam. Adding the butter (a fat) helps prevent this tangling.
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What does butter in jam do?
Butter reduces the foam. Skip the butter. After cooking jam but before placing in jars, take off heat and stir for 5 minutes. This reduces the foam and also helps the fruit pieces to disperse evenly into the jam.Should I add butter when making jam?
A foamy scum may form on the surface of the jam; this is normal and can be removed by adding a little butter (about 20g) to break the surface tension or by skimming it off with a spoon while your mixture is cooling.What makes jam thick and sticky?
Longer cooking actually breaks down the pectin molecules. Eventually the evaporation of water makes jam thick but results in a gummy, sticky product, often with a darker color caused by the sugar caramelizing during the extended cooking time. Jam is best cooked rapidly, in small batches.What is the secret in making jam?
Pectin is a natural gelling agent found in the skins/peels and seeds of fruit. I do not like using store-bought pectin. It makes jams taste dull. Instead, I add high-pectin citrus, such as lemon or lime juice, or use a high-pectin fruit along with one that is low.More answers regarding what is the butter for in a jam recipe?
Answer 2
Butter def helps reduce foaming; the instructions in the older recipes state this. (And why I keep a copy of the older recipe pectin box insert.)
Answer 3
Butter reduces the foam. Skip the butter. After cooking jam but before placing in jars, take off heat and stir for 5 minutes. This reduces the foam and also helps the fruit pieces to disperse evenly into the jam. Win Win. Then place in jars and continue canning as usual. I read it in an canning book years ago sorry don’t know the name.
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