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My fig jam disaster taught me a lesson about sugar ratios
Tried making my own fig jam for a fall snack plate last weekend. Used half the sugar the recipe called for and ended up with a runny mess that soaked into my crackers in 10 seconds flat. Has anyone else had a homemade preserve fail on a snack board?
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the_felix22d ago
Oh yeah, nothing says "impress your guests" like jam that immediately turns into fig soup the second it hits a cracker. I learned that one the hard way with blackberry jam last fall. My crackers basically turned into tiny rowboats floating in a sea of purple goo after about thirty seconds. You'd think after fifty plus years of cooking I'd know better than to mess with the sugar, but no, I had to get clever. Ended up having to tell everyone it was a "deconstructed fig compote experience" just to save face.
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Yeah that exact thing happened to me with peach jam a couple years ago. I got all excited about using less sugar and ended up with basically sweet peach soup. The trick I found is you actually need the full amount of sugar because it's not just for sweetness it acts as a preservative and helps it set properly. If you're worried about it being too sweet you can add a splash of lemon juice or even a little balsamic vinegar to balance it out. That's what saved my peach jam the second time around it tasted way more complex and actually stayed on the crackers.
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