My mom, after reading the previous post, was both intrigued by the possibility of making jam without pectin and the prospect of winning a cooking challenge. Greaves Jam, as I'm sure you recall, did not list pectin in the ingredients list but I assumed it was included. As it turns out, jam can be made pectin-free, which translates to less sugar and much more finickiness in the cooking process.
Mom entered the contest. And things just got interesting.
So let's have a look at our new contender and Greaves, the undisputed winner of our last round:
| Greaves | Sugar Raspberries (I assume it has pectin) |
| Mommy-san's | Sugar
Raspberries
(order assumed as there was no label)
|
From last time, we judged the jams on the following factors:
- Aroma
- Taste
- Consistency
- Sweetness
- Raspberriness
- Existence of little bits
And here's how it turned out.
Greaves
| Light aroma A little sweet Good consistency Rich raspberry taste Has bits | Wife: Good Me: Good |
Mommy-san's
|
Almost no aroma
Good color A little thick Extra rich raspberry taste Lots of bits Perfect sweetness No label |
Wife: Good
Me: Great |
Mommy-san's is the only jam that wasn't too sweet for me. The first taste that hits your tongue upon eating Greaves is sweetness, and the raspberries come later. With Mommy-san, the raspberries come first, and they linger wonderfully. My wife likes the punchiness of Greaves' taste, though I find it a little fake on account of the sweetness. My hat tips towards Greaves for aroma, little bits (M-san has a bit too many), and consistency.
Wife's ranking: Greaves, and almost tied, M-san's, with a big gap before the other 5.
My ranking: M-san's, Greaves 'cause it just tasted so much better.
On average, I'd have to give a slight victory to Mommy-san's, or at least that would have been the verdict had my mom not warned me about hers becoming thinker when cold.
So in the fridge they went.
And two days later, a retest. Same great taste but much thicker - unfortunately unspreadable.
With the unexpected new post-refridgerated spreadiness factor, Greaves wins slightly. Sorry, mom. I will accept further entries in the future, if you are so inclined.
Well Ian, yes I am inclined, the gauntlet has been thrown. Next year, I will again go out to the country and get berries picked that day. I will follow the process, but will monitor the timing of the boiling better. I let the jam boil too long. You are right, it is very finicky when there is no pectin added, however, there is a GREAT deal less sugar, as a matter of fact it is equal parts sugar and berries. There is a little secret that I did at the beginning of the process where I warmed the berries a bit and stirred in some lemon juice. This caused the juices to release and that wonderful raspberry flavour to be enhanced. Next year I will also remove some of the seeds, when I hope I win!
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