Jam must contain a certain percentage of fruit and sugar in order to be called jam. In Canada for instance fruit jam must have at least 45% fruit. In the EU it’s 35% for jam and 45% for extra jam. So what’s the remaining 55% if it’s not fruit? In most cases it’s a gelling agent (pectin), an acidifying agent (citric acid), a preservative (potassium sorbate) and sugar. Lot’s of sugar! For instance Waitrose’s Essential Strawberry Jam contains (per 100 grams) 63 grams of sugar and it’s made with 45 grams of strawberries. See picture.
If the combination contains less sugar, then it’s no longer jam. Fior di Frutta (as produced by Rigoni di Asiago) uses organic fruit, apple juice and natural pectin to make a fruit spread. Their strawberry not-jam is made with 60% strawberries and contains 36 grams of sugar per 100 grams. The sugar is not added, it’s natural sugar (strawberries and apples). A very tasty and huge improvement, but we can do better by making our own. The trick is not to make too much, store it in the refrigerator and enjoy within a few days.
What You Need
- 4 Apricots
- 1 small Orange
- 2 Rhubarb Stalks
- 1 tablespoon of Sugar (or less)
What You Do
- Wash and dry the apricots and the rhubarb
- Slice the rhubarb (0,5 cm or 0.2 in)
- Remove the stone of the apricots and cut the apricot in small pieces
- Add orange juice to the pan
- Add apricot and rhubarb
- Heat until boiling, reduce heat
- Close the lid and leave for 5-10 minutes
- Check if the rhubarb is soft
- Pulse once or twice with a blender to smoothen some of the mixture
- Add sugar
- Mix well
- Taste and adjust if necessary
- Transfer to 2 very clean jars (2*250 grams)
- Close the jars and transfer to a bassin with cold water
- Will keep well for a limited time in the refrigerator
PS
Combining rhubarb with strawberries is also a great idea!
Cook and Drink 
I often mix rhubarb with strawberries, but never tried adding apricots. Love the idea. Will definitely try it soon. 🙂
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The apricots add texture and sweetness; works very well with the rhubarb and the orange juice. Hope you like the combination!
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I’m sure I will. once the ripe apricots will be available, which should be very soon. 🙂
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Bon appétit!
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Until I read this post, I never realized that there were standards for jam (though I probably should have known that there were). It’s interesting (and a little sad) that a high fruit product is not categorized as a jam.
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The criteria seem to contradict each other. The minimal content of fruit ensures the flavours and the minimum content of sugar ensures a long shelf life. As consumers, we prefer more fruit, which doesn’t need to be at the expense of the shelf life, for instance if we store the jam in the refrigerator. But not according to the standards!
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That’s really interesting. I hadn’t realized that there is a relationship between sugar and shelf life.
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The minimum of 65% (or 55% in some countries) remains unchanged, despite the development of alternatives and the fact that in general we consume too much sugar.
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