Red Guava / Peru / Amrud (Fruit) Jam.

“Red Guava / Peru / Amrud (Fruit) Jam” … After enjoying the peru juice, its time for Peru Jam now … Here is sweet and delicious homemade peru jam without preservatives that can be prepared easily and stored in fridge … A winner with Kids … Apply the Jam over Toast, Bread or Cream Cracker Biscuits or serve with out very own panpolo / neer dosa … Comes in handy for evening snack or in between persisting hunger pangs during winter season … Yummy Yumz .......

** I was thrilled to see these red guavas / perus in market in my vicinity. Though this is available in Mumbai, I have to go to bigger market and that too there is no guarantee that I will get it. It is usually found in abundance during winter season and this season, I see them everywhere, must be a bumper crop of the red perus. In my enthusiasm I bought a load of these perus and though they were not very ripe when I bought them, they turned very ripe within few days. So all I did was eat them sprinkled with pepper ~ salt and a yummy juice, though I had lots of dishes I wanted to prepare off in my mind. Now that the perus were soft and too ripe, I decided to prepare jam out of it. I have posted a few fruit jams before and my method remains the same. It has given me the best results, so I do not change the style of preparing the same. 

** All you need are three ingredients, the fruit, sugar and lemons. That’s it, all available in the kitchen. I have not added any preservative. I never add as it is for my home use. I just pour it in a glass bottle with a tight lid and put it in the fridge. Remove some in another small bottle which I use for regular use which is also kept in the fridge. I always follow this habit as my Mom used to tell not to open large bottles in which we have bulk jam / pickle / chutney too often. She always used to remove in small bottles and use from them and keep refilling it. That way you will not open the larger stock all the time. This ensures that the jam / pickles remain intact without getting exposed to air often. Also remember to always use clean and dry stainless steel spoon to remove the jam whenever you open the jar. Never use water dripping spoons or unclean ones, this also leads to the jam / pickle getting spoilt. 

** Coming back to perus, I had about 7-8 large sized red guava / perus. The color was also bright pink and the taste was semi sweet which meant I would get a lovely jam out of it. I have not added any colour to it. Sugar is something that has to be added in proportion for shelf life. I usually add equal amount of that of fruit pulp. The content of sugar depends upon the sweetness of the fruit too. So please ensure the same before you add on the sugar. With practice you will start getting perfect jams and you will never ever want to buy them from outside any more. I have prepared many varieties of jams like fig, tomato, strawberry, papaya and even ripe jackfruit before. My next was to be spicy one’s on hubby’s demand, but somehow that is still pending, though I did promise him. But, keep in touch with my Blog for my new entries. Till then do prepare this awesome peru jam and enjoy with your family. You can apply this jam on bread, toast, chapati or on bland biscuits like the cream crackers we get. You can also use this jam in similar manner that you use the jam’s. I just love them with panpolo / neer dosa a thin lazy dosa. So what are you waiting for, serve you kid healthy options of jam and you will beam in pleasure when you see them relishing it.

** I have given in detail the recipe of preparation of Red Guava / Peru Jam with tips ….. I suggest you read the matter fully for proper understanding of the procedure in leisure … It is very important you understand the ratio of pulp and sugar and of lemon addition ……

** Ingredients you will need Approximately :

Red Guava / Peru / Amrud  : 7-8 medium sized ripe fruits

Sugar : About 5 cups 

Lemon : 2 

** Peel off the skin of the guava / peru with a potato peeler. It goes off smoothly. Cut them into chunks. I used about 7-8 perus. Put it into a mixer blender with a cup of water and run till the pulp is smooth. Do not worry, the seeds will not get ground. They are too brittle and remain, but do not over grind the pulp. Just a minute or two, that’s all, that is why I suggest you take a little bit off over ripe perus. Strain through a fine sieve. 

** I got about 6 cups of strained pulp out of the peru. Put this in a thick bottomed kadai. Do not add water. If you add water, you will unnecessarily increase the time of obtaining the jam consistency. Bring the peru paste to a boil on medium heat by stirring it often. Once you see bubble bursting out of the puree, lower the heat and keep stirring till it slightly thickens as we need to evaporate the added water while preparing the pulp before adding in the sugar. Once it thicken add in the sugar and mix well. The amount of sugar depends upon the sweetness of the perus. I added about 5 full cups of sugar to this jam. You can increase or decrease as per the sweetness of perus. 

** Note : I added a cup of water while making the peru pulp and that is why I got six cups of the pulp. If you are able to make a pulp without addition of water, that is the best. I could not, so I added water. Peru does not get strained even through fine sieve as it is very bulky and the seeds have to be strained off, so water will have to be added. 

** Note : For all my jams I add equal amount of sugar to that of pulp, but since, I first reduced the pulp to five as I had added on one cup of water, I added on only 5 cups of sugar. If you do not add water while grinding, use equal amount of sugar. 

** How Much Sugar ? This is always the most important question. The ratio of sugar and fruit / veggies pulp is usually 1:1. Most chef’s recommend this. You get the desired result in this ratio. I always follow this suggestion whenever I prepare Jam. But yes if the Ingredient used is very sweet you can decrease the level of sugar by about 10-20%. Again there are many recipes that suggest sugar content in half amount of that of the pulp. Lesser amount of sugar can be added and done if you are to consume it off fast say within a fortnight or so. But then it is your choice. I always suggest 1:1 ratio. This is to ensure that the jam comes out sweet as well as remain’s good too. So I would say you be the best judge of the same. Preparing the jam a few times will enable you to judge the content of sugar to be added by trial and error. I have successfully prepared the jam’s most of the time with equal amount or a little bit less. 

** After adding in the sugar mix well with the pulp. To this mixture add in freshly squeezed juice of one lemon, mix well and continue cooking on medium heat till the mixture thickens. Do not raise the heat too much nor leave the jam unattended. If the heat is too high, the peru burst out in bubbles and may create a mess as well as may hurt you. So be careful and do not stand too close to the kadai. Keep the heat medium and keep stirring the jam quite often. The jam will thicken and reduce in quantity. Now add in freshly squeezed juice off another lemon and mix well. As the jam reduces in quantity be careful and do not overcook the same. If not sure, reduce the flame to minimum.

** Why Lemon Juice : Addition of lemon juice is a must for preparation of homemade Jam. Sugar as you cook tends to harden and further cooking often leads to crystallization of the sugar. Addition of lemon juice prevents crystallization. Lemon being alkaline has immense properties of the same, so it prevents sugar from getting crystallized and the jam thickens evenly and nicely with crystal lumps. So lemon juice is a must. How much depends on the quantity of the jam you are preparing. For this particular jam where I used approximately 6 glasses of peru pulp and about 5 full cups of sugar I have added freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons of medium size. 

** Now, As the Jam thickens, to check if done just dip a spoon, if the back side of the spoon gets a thick coated jam when removing its done. Another method to check is drop a large tablespoon of the jam on a plate, if you see liquid seeping out its not done. If you see thick mass and when you tilt the plate if only thick liquid slopes slowly its, done. Leave it aside for 2 minutes. It should be sticky when cooled. Then the jam is done. Remove from fire and pour the hot jam into sterilized glass jars. 

** The sterilization of glass jars is very important to prevent jam from getting spoilt. Also hot jam should be poured into the jars. If you are scared the bottle may break / crack, keep a large spoon with a long handle inside the jar, the handle of which should be outside the bottle and then pour over sliding through the spoon into the jar. This will ensure the glassware does not crack stays intact. Always use good quality jam bottles for storing to prevent mishaps. Leave ½ inch space on the top of the glass jar. Do not pour the jam till the rim of the bottle / jar.

** Remove the spoon out if placed carefully. Now the jam is bottled. Leave aside partially covered with a plate to cool a little bit. Cover with a tight lid only after the jam has cooled for 5-10 minutes. The Jam is done and is actually ready to be used. Put the jam jar in the fridge and use as and when necessary. Do not forget to remove some into a smaller bottle for use. I have successfully kept it for 6 months. Though my jam gets over within a period of 3 months.

** Just to check the shelf life I kept the apple jam I had prepared in a smaller bottle for 6 months and it remained good. But frankly I suggest consumption of homemade jams within maximum 3 months period. So do not prepare them in large quantities. You can surely prepare different combinations and flavors and enjoy them as comes the season of fruit or veggies. Seasonal fruits are best prepared fresh and consumed fast and enjoyed as in our country, we have fruit seasons that come on every few months. 

** You can also combine your own concoctions and enjoy the same. I am so eager to prepare mix and matches of jams, but the problem in my home is they are not get over that fast. So from the next time, I am thinking of cutting down on the quantity and preparing lesser amount, so that I get to share many more jams with awesome combinations that are already existing in my mind and waiting to be prepared. So another suggestion is cut down the quantity by half and prepare little so that we can enjoy more combinations of jams. 

** “Red Guava / Peru (Fruit) Jam” is done and ready to be served. You can apply or serve this awesome jam on bread, toast, dosa, chapati, paratha or cream cracker biscuit and relish the same. Do give me a feed back via email if you prepare the same. Enjoy this jam with family and friends. Also plz. remember to store the Jam in refrigerator. It will not remain good at room temperature. But in fridge it remain good for 3-5 months for sure. Do check out for the other jam recipes, by using the search option or the label section on the right side of the page. There are some step by step procedures there which will help you understand Jam making better.

** An earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you. I have also started a food group by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" the link of which is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring".