Sweet tooth will probably be interested to know what marmalade is made of in modern factories. The composition of the purchased product usually includes a large number of dyes, flavors, various preservatives. If you want to try the sweetness without such "harmful", you should cook it yourself.
Material Content:
What real marmalade is made in the factory
The composition of marmalade, produced in modern factories, necessarily includes the main gelling substance.
It could be:
- Pectin. The most useful and safe option. This substance is obtained from some varieties of seaweed, as well as from fruits / berries. Its use has a beneficial effect on the work of various systems and organs of the human body.
- Agar agar. It is a “powerful” gelling agent that is also extracted from algae. It is very useful for the human body, as it contains a large number of trace elements.
- Modified starch. It does not contain useful substances, and the finished sweet with such a gelling substance turns out to be very high-calorie.
The basis of good marmalade in the factory is also natural fruit juice / puree.
Fresh or pulp is mixed with a sweet component (it can be sugar or molasses), after which the liquid is evaporated from the mixture. The resulting thick mass is mixed with the selected gelling agent, dye is added, after which the finished mass is left to solidify. In the manufacture of a quality product, natural safe dyes are used. For example, turmeric or elderberry juice.
Many modern manufacturers, in order to save on ingredients for sweets and reduce the cost of ready-made marmalade, use highly diluted fruit juice or ordinary water with the addition of chemical flavors in its manufacture. Dyes are also used unnatural. Such a dessert is cheaper, but will not bring any benefit to the body of the sweet tooth. And in some cases, it can even negatively affect his state of health. Unnatural marmalade is easy to distinguish from natural - the first has a "chemical" flavor and a very bright color.
How to make classic marmalade at home
There are several good recipes for making marmalade at home. The most common among culinary specialists is the classic one.
Ingredients:
- any berry juice - 280 - 300 ml;
- regular gelatin - 30 - 35 g;
- granulated sugar - 6 dessert spoons + for sprinkling pieces;
- lemon - half.
Cooking:
- Dissolve the gelling agent in berry juice (half). Mix the ingredients thoroughly and leave to swell.
- Pour sweet sand with the remaining liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring.
- Cool the resulting syrup. Pour in it the strained juice of half a citrus.
- Add gelatin.
- Mix and distribute everything in tins. Leave in the cold for a couple of hours.
Sprinkle the finished marmalade with the remaining sugar.
Orange treat
Ingredients:
- ripe sweet citruses - 3 pcs.;
- granulated sugar - 1 full glass;
- agar-agar - 8 - 9 g.
Cooking:
- From dense fleshy fruits, try to squeeze all the juice, along the way, choosing the seeds. To make it easier, you can hold oranges in hot water for a couple of minutes and roll on the table.
- The resulting fresh split into two equal portions.
- Dissolve sugar in one, and gelling agent in the other.
- While the agar-agar is infused, bring the sweet liquid to a boil. Only after the appearance of the first bubbles, pour the gelling mixture into it.
- Cook the ingredients together for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove mixture from heat and let it cool. Pour into silicone molds.
Leave the delicacy cool for half an hour.
From agar agar
Ingredients:
- frozen strawberries (you can also take fresh) - 320 - 350 g;
- agar-agar - 8 - 9 g;
- purified water - ½ tbsp .;
- any sweetener (stevia, honey) - to taste.
Cooking:
- Defrost berries if necessary.
- Pour agar-agar with the amount of water declared in the recipe for about an hour.
- Send all the berries to the bowl of any suitable kitchen “assistant” and beat until smooth. Mix the resulting composition with a diluted gelling agent.
- Bring the mass to a boil and immediately after the appearance of the first bubbles remove from the stove.
- Dissolve any sweetener to taste in a warm mixture.
- Pour it in a slightly cooled form on the molds.
Leave a treat in the refrigerator for 20 to 25 minutes, after which you can take a sample from the dessert.
Homemade Chewing Marmalade
According to this recipe, chewing marmalade turns out no worse than the purchased one. Moreover, it is not harmful even to the smallest sweet tooth.
Ingredients:
- any fruit jelly - 90 g;
- gelatin - 4 dessert spoons;
- granulated sugar - 2 dessert spoons;
- "Lemon" - half a small spoon;
- water - ½ tbsp.
Cooking:
- Mix all dry ingredients stated in the recipe. If “lemons” were not at hand, you can take 1 dessert spoon of freshly squeezed fresh lemon juice instead.
- Heat water in a small container. When the liquid begins to boil, pour the dry mixture into it. So that the products do not immediately stray into a lump, stir them with a whisk.
- Boil everything for about 3 to 4 minutes, pour into a mold of plastic / silicone and remove to the cold.
After a few hours, when the treat becomes firm enough, cut it into thin strips. Each to taste can be sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Apple dessert
Ingredients:
- apples - 1.5 kilos;
- granulated sugar - 580 - 600 g;
- water - 380 - 400 ml.
It is best to choose sour apples, otherwise a treat can turn out to be cloyingly sweet.
Cooking:
- Without peeling, chop apples into small pieces. Pour them with water and leave to simmer until soft.
- Fold the seed boxes from the fruits in a separate bowl, add water and cook for a quarter of an hour. Thus, it will be possible to obtain pectin for thickening the dessert.
- When the cores are softened, put them in a colander and squeeze with a spoon. Pour out the released liquid to apples. Pour half the sugar in there.
- Leave the fruits on the plate until soft and completely dissolve the sweet crystals.
- Puree the cooked fruits until the resulting mixture is smooth. Pour the rest with sweet sand.
- Again, send the future marmalade to a slow fire and cook it for a long time, until the mass decreases by about half. The result should be a kind of jam, which easily moves away from the walls of the dishes.
- Put the mass in a form covered with parchment, and smooth with a spoon.
- Dry marmalade in the oven at 100 degrees for 2 hours. Cool. Repeat the procedure the next day.
Dry the treat for a couple more hours at room temperature.
Natural jam marmalade
Ingredients:
- any ready-made jam - half a liter;
- gelatin - 1 small spoon.
Cooking:
- Pour the treat into the pan.
- Separately dissolve gelatin in warm water according to the instructions.
- Mix the masses.
- Darken the resulting composition over medium heat until thickened.
- Pour the mass into a mold and leave it cool for a couple of hours.
Cut ready frozen treats into arbitrary pieces.
If marmalade does not freeze, what to do
If the dessert in question does not harden in any way, there is a possibility that the fruit and berry mixture was not sufficiently cooked.
Perhaps in the future marmalade too much liquid remains. It is worth returning it to the stove and darkening a little more.
If the marmalade does not freeze in the promised couple of hours, you can just try to leave it cool for a longer period. Once again, check the consistency of the mass after a day. Most likely, the situation will already change for the better.
It is likely that the dessert does not freeze due to insufficient amount of thickener. You can try adding another 3-5 g to the reheated mass.
Homemade marmalade does not have such a bright and rich taste as a ready-made marmalade. But he has a safe composition. Such a dessert can be tasted even by the smallest family members.