Kick up the Jam – Avoid jam foam without skimming
Y’a learn something new every day - some days are better than others.
Apparantly 1 teaspoon (or so) of butter added to your fruit and sugar (before heating) is enough to almost eliminate foam on your jam!
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about – cooking a jam requires bringing it to a boil – the boil causes air pockets which create a foam on the surface of your pan. Skimming this off will help ensure your product looks prettier and reduces the overall amount of air inside your jar (important for preserving). It’s easy enough to skim off though this can be more difficult to clean and results in lost jam.
The only downside I have seen is that some scientists claim that the preserve will not last as long.
For those of you who do not know this (like me), this is giant news and a wonderful tip – I actually haven’t been this excited in a long time. It may, indeed, be time to get a life. 
Comments
[...] Remove from heat, skim off any foam (although if you are brave enough to try this tip, you may have very [...]
So what do you do with your jam foam?
I do one of these:
1. whip it with cream cheese and call it fruit dip
2. you know how you end up with that amount of fruit that is not really enough to be a batch? Throw it in a food processor add the jam foam and gently fold in what ever softened ice cream you think will blend nicely. Refreeze in popsicle ( how IS that spelled?) molds. Feed the kids at heart.
I have seen this in many recipes but am always nervous to try it as i am concerned that the butter will get rancid. pls advise?
Nina,
Like you I have some reservations on this. I know several who do it – the argument is that they have done it forever and it’s never hurt. I find the skimming process to be one that is piecefull and, with practice, is something that takes minutes (or less). I skim my jam and put it in a bowl for toast in the coming week.
I have recently heard a different trick that I am more confident with that we haven’t shared here yet (spoiler alert
) which is a teeny drop or two of grapeseed oil (next to flavorless) to help break the surface tension. I heard this from a person who makes jam to sell – she avoid butter because she would have to list it on the ingredients and people raise an eyebrow.
At the end of the day, mine is another opinion without definitive facts – if you play it safe you will never regret…
Hello,
I’m new to all this and I don’t understand exactly why it is necessary to skim the jam at all. Is this done for saftey or estetic reasons. Please pardon me if this is a very ignorant question.
Regards,
Lyndburger
Hey Lyndburger,
No such thing as ignorance here. Love the questions.
There’s two two main reasons:
1) as you guessed aesthetic.
2) foam = air. if you have a lot of foam in a jar, you have more air than you know – effectively you are altering your headspace (ratio of air to jam). This can lead to spoilage.
Don’t worry about getting every ounce – but put it in a bowl and place that in the fridge and use as you’d like for several days or longer.
Hope that hels?
j
Hello Joel,
So it has been 9 months since you’ve posted on this. Have you tried it? Is it true? How long has your jam lasted if you did try? I may give this a whirl this weekend.
Anita
Anita,
I have not – having said that I have spoken to many who do.
I don`t mind the skimming – I use the foam for iced tea in coming days (add it as the sweetener).
The people I know who do claim it`s foolproof. I`m hesitant as the temperature hot water bathing is not high enough to preserve dairy or fat… The people I know (including people who sell theirs for a living) claim it`s never been a problem and that it`s just a small amount; it is their experience that is my basis of leaving this post up (in fact the technique was taught on the Food Network by Anna Olsen)….
My main reason got not trying it is my total love for iced tea with jam foam