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Don't Use The Processor When Making Jam

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MARY A. KEITH

Published: March 11, 2009

I'm considering trying to make some strawberry jam. I read the directions in the package of pectin and I'm curious; it says to crush the berries before measuring. Wouldn't it be quicker to just chop them in a food processor? Wouldn't doing it quickly keep them brighter red?

Yes, it would be quicker. No, the speed wouldn't keep them brighter red, because with that kind of speed comes air. When you process something in a blender or food processor, those spinning blades whip a lot of air into the food too. All those little bubbles will get trapped in the fruit, so the fruit is more likely to float in the jar and before long all that air will be turning the bright red into brown. You'll actually lose color faster in the long run if you process them. If you don't have a wooden mallet to crush them, you can use a flat-bottomed jar or can, cleaned well and labels removed!

I read about having to add acid to tomatoes for canning, and it makes sense. But, do I have to use lemon juice, or will vinegar work? If that won't work, can I use fresh lemons? My neighbor has a tree of great big lemons and I could have some of hers.

You could use vinegar, but there are two reasons not to. One is that vinegar is a weaker acid, so you have to use twice as much. And vinegar has a harsher flavor, so you're more likely to notice the taste. Instead of 2 tablespoons you need to use 4 tablespoons in a quart of tomatoes. That's a quarter cup of vinegar, and you will surely be able to taste it. As for lemon juice, bottled juice is recommended because its acid level is pretty standard. You know you'll get as much acid as you need with the commercial product, where fresh lemons can vary. If your neighbor's tree is a Meyer lemon, which has large fruit, it is also known to be a mild fruit. So you might not get enough acid to make the tomatoes safe. It's better to buy a bottle of lemon juice.

Why do these convenience stores insist on putting mayonnaise on the ready-made sandwiches they sell? Won't that make them spoil faster? I don't like to buy them with mayonnaise.

Probably they put it on because that's what customers will buy. In fact, the mayonnaise is not what spoils. It has so much oil and acid that not much will grow in mayonnaise. It actually helps protect the other ingredients. But unless the sandwiches are refrigerated they will spoil anyway, mayonnaise or not.

What is carob and where can I find it? I've been told carob bars are better for me than chocolate bars.

Carob powder is made by grinding the toasted beans or pods from a tree that grows in hot desert areas. It is also the source of locust bean gum, a thickener that you might see on some food labels. Carob is lower in fat than chocolate and has no caffeine-like compounds. It does have a slightly chocolate-like flavor and used to be very popular. You can still find it in some of the diet and energy bars on the market and might find the ground powder in health food stores. However, after it is put into a bar or candy, most of the health advantages are gone. A lot of sugar and fat, mostly saturated fat, is added to make a decent-tasting bar. Often carob bars have as many or more calories as chocolate bars. You can save some calories if you use it instead of cocoa powder in milk or baked goods.

How much celery do I need to eat to burn extra calories? Is there anything else that will burn calories? I just can't enjoy it.

Those "calculations" that prove you'll burn extra calories by eating celery are not valid. Celery has so few calories, only six per stalk, that you're not going to gain any weight on it, that is true. But you're not going to burn any extra calories off by eating it. You'd have to eat an awful lot of celery before it balanced out the calories in a doughnut (between 200 and 300 each!). If you don't like it, there's no need to force yourself to eat it. Just go easy on the doughnuts.

Mary A. Keith, a nutritionist and health agent at Hillsborough County Extension, can be reached at (813) 744-5519 or mkeith@ufl.edu.

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