Juicy crispy orange pulp of pumpkin may contain more than 9% sugar. Why not use such wealth for delicious cuts? You can, for example, cook delicious pumpkin jam. It will delight not only the taste, but also become the source of the most important trace elements and vitamins, for which this culture is called the “Queen of the Gardens”.

Classic pumpkin jam for the winter

For a classic pumpkin jam you need the same products as for a similar winter harvest of other berries or fruits. Be sure to add a little citric acid or lemon juice at the end of cooking, which will help the mass remain as bright and orange.

Product Proportions:

  • 1.5 kg of pumpkin pulp;
  • 500 g of white crystalline sugar;
  • 100-150 ml of water;
  • 5 g of citric acid or 5-10 ml of lemon juice.

Cooking step by step:

  1. Thinly cut the skin from the vegetable, select the seeds, and cut the pulp into small cubes.
  2. Pour some water into a saucepan of a suitable displacement and add pumpkin cubes. Put on fire and boil under the lid until the vegetable is soft.
  3. Grind the stewed pumpkin through a frequent metal sieve or beat in a blender until puree.
  4. Combine the resulting mass with sugar and lemon juice, boil over medium heat until thick, and then decompose into prepared clean cans, cork.

If you want to make the taste of jam more interesting, spices can be made: ginger powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom or vanilla. They should be added almost at the very end of cooking.

With oranges

It is difficult to find a suitable sweet pumpkin, from which you can make a delicious, not fresh jam. But even if you combine unsweetened vegetables with juicy oranges and cinnamon, you get jam as healthy as classic, but much more aromatic and tastier.

To make pumpkin jam with orange, you need to prepare:

  • 450 g of pumpkin pulp;
  • 300 g of sugar;
  • 270 g of oranges;
  • 1 stick of cinnamon.

Cooking Algorithm:

  1. Chopped pumpkin pulp peeled from hard peel and seeds on a coarse grater and “crush” with sugar. Leave the resulting mass for several hours so that the juice stands out.
  2. Carefully wash the oranges, wipe them dry and remove the zest from them. It will take about 1-2 tablespoons. After that, squeeze the juice from citrus fruits.
  3. Pour orange juice into a container with grated pumpkin, add zest and put on fire. Strain the mass for about 40-50 minutes until the vegetable is ready. Determining whether the desired jam density is achieved is very simple. A small fraction of hot jam should be dripped on a saucer chilled in the freezer. If it does not spread, you can remove the pan from the fire.
  4. A quarter of an hour before jam is ready, add a cinnamon stick. The finished product can be made more uniform by interrupting it with a blender, or you can leave the resulting consistency.
  5. It is necessary to store orange-pumpkin jam in the refrigerator, or cork it in sterile jars, having previously fished a stick of cinnamon from the workpiece.

Since oranges should make pumpkin jam tastier, the fruits must be fragrant, juicy and sweet. In order not to make a mistake with the choice in the store, you should buy citrus fruits with a pronounced, convex top.

Read also:stevia - what is it

Step by step recipe with lemon

Citrus fruits, various spices and spices perfectly set off the taste of the “Queen of the Gardens” in various preparations, not only enriching their vitamin composition, but also making them more palatable.

So, even those who do not like this vegetable will not mind tasting pumpkin jam with lemon, which includes:

  • 500 g of pumpkin pulp;
  • 500 g of sugar;
  • 3 buds of cloves;
  • 3 peas of allspice;
  • 1 large lemon.

Working process:

  1. Cut the orange pulp into small cubes, fill with sugar and set aside for several hours (preferably all night) so that the sugar can completely dissolve in the juice that is released.
  2. Dishes with pumpkin in their own juice should be sent to medium heat and boil for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the zest from the lemon a little (for flavor), and take the fruit apart into slices from which to remove the films and seeds.
  3. Grind the peeled lemon slices into gruel with a blender, and, together with spices and zest, send to pumpkin jam. Let it boil for another 15 minutes.

Ready jam can be wiped through a sieve to make it homogeneous, or rolled up in jars like that. In this case, when the workpiece is infused, the pumpkin cubes will become translucent and will glow in the light with a beautiful honey color.

Pumpkin jam with dried apricots

Many housewives call this harvesting "apricot jam without apricots." After standing for less than a week, the jam acquires not only a soft silky structure, but also a characteristic apricot flavor.

For such an interesting version of jam you need:

  • 800 g pumpkin (pulp);
  • 400 g dried apricots;
  • 400 g of sugar;
  • 1 lemon
  • 200 ml of water;
  • 10 g of pectin.

The sequence of actions:

  1. Wash dried apricots under cool running water in a glass of boiling water so that it is slightly softened. Peel lemon, films and pits.
  2. Pass the pumpkin pulp through a meat grinder with a fine wire rack, do the same with softened dried apricots and peeled lemon.
  3. From the water in which the dried apricots soaked, and the prescription measure of sugar, boil the syrup. It is necessary to warm water with sand until all crystals are dissolved.
  4. Then put the ground ingredients in the sweet solution, and, constantly stirring so that the workpiece does not burn, boil until thick.
  5. Add pectin mixed with the same amount of sugar to an almost ready-made jam. Let it boil for another one or two minutes, and you can distribute the mass on the prepared container.

It should be taken into account that pectin is different (citrus or apple), having different gelling power, therefore, adding it to jam, you must first be guided by the manufacturer's recommendations, calculated per kilogram of raw materials.

With apples

Thick amber jam from apples and pumpkins, perhaps, will be the last preparation that can be done in the outgoing summer season. But the taste of the final product and the simplicity of its preparation suggests that the time and effort spent is worth it. After all, on long winter days you can enjoy delicious pastries stuffed with such jam or just eat it with tea.

Ingredients for harvesting:

  • 1 kg of pumpkin;
  • 1 kg of apples;
  • 1.5 kg of sugar;
  • 200 ml of water;
  • 1 lemon (juice and zest);
  • 5 g ground cinnamon.

Cooking:

  1. Peel apples and pumpkin from peel and seeds. Cut the resulting pulp into small cubes, and, pouring water, boil until soft over low heat under a lid.
  2. Turn the cooked pulp into mashed potatoes using a sieve or a blender, add sugar, zest and lemon juice to it.
  3. Bring the mixture to a boil, pour and stir cinnamon. Then cook, periodically mixing, 30-40 minutes. Distribute the finished jam in sterile jars, roll up and let it cool completely.

Pumpkin pulp and apples contain pectin, which is not only responsible for the thick consistency of jam, but also a natural preservative, so you can reduce the amount of sugar if desired. This will not affect the shelf life of the final product.

Cooking with quince

Quince has a tart taste and a fairly solid texture, and raw pumpkin is not the most delicious product, but it’s amazing: if you combine them together, the finished treat will come out just amazing.

To make pumpkin and quince jam, you will need:

  • 500 g pumpkin (pulp);
  • 300 g quince;
  • 500 g of sugar.

Cooking method:

  1. Peel and quince, peel, remove the seeds and cut them into thin slices of approximately the same size.
  2. Fold the prepared fruit pulp into a large saucepan and cover with sugar, mix and let stand for about three hours.
  3. When a sufficient amount of liquid is released, put the pan on the fire, cook at low boil for half an hour to 40 minutes.
  4. Ready jam can only be laid out in jars and tighten with iron lids.

The fruits of pumpkin and quince can be perfectly stored in the basement when the proper conditions are created until spring, so you can not cook jam in large portions, because you can always cook a jar of fresh goodies.

Useful pumpkin jam for Ducane

Even a diet is not a reason to deny yourself sweets, especially if treat means tasty and healthy pumpkin jam made according to Ducane. It can also be used instead of high-calorie creams in a layer of cakes and other pastries.

Product List:

  • 500 g pumpkin;
  • 75 g sweetener or to taste;
  • ½ lemon (juice);
  • 3 g vanilla;
  • 3 g of cinnamon;
  • 3 g of ginger;
  • 3 g nutmeg.

Cooking method:

  1. Stew the pumpkin in small slices (1-2 cm) with a small amount of water until soft. Then add the sweetener, turn it into a saucepan with a hand blender in a saucepan, where it is stewed.
  2. Pour lemon juice and spices into the resulting mass. Then boil the jam over moderate heat, constantly stirring it, to the required density. Store the finished product in a refrigerator in a glass container.

In addition to the not always useful artificial substitutes for sugar, there are also natural substances with a low glycemic index, which are many times sweeter than sand. These are stevia, agave syrup, xylitol birch and molasses. But the use of honey in the preparation of jams is best avoided, since this product is not recommended to be heated.

In a slow cooker

Cooking pumpkin jam in a slow cooker is much easier than in a saucepan or basin on the stove. At least for the reason that you do not need to constantly mix the workpiece, fearing that the treat will burn.

For one half-liter jar of pumpkin jam you will need:

  • 500 g pumpkin;
  • 300 g of sugar;
  • 1 orange
  • 1 large apple.

How to make pumpkin jam in a slow cooker:

  1. Grate the pulp of a pumpkin.
  2. Peel the apple from the peel and seeds, chop in the same way.
  3. The ingredients are folded into multi-capacity and sprinkled with sugar.
  4. When the pumpkin and apple give enough juice, add the zest and orange juice to them, close the lid of the device and cook in jam mode for 40 to 60 minutes. If such a function is not in the list of programs, then you can use other options: "Soup", "Steamer", "Cooking".

When laying raw materials in a multicooker bowl, you cannot fill it more than 2/3, since during heat treatment vegetables and fruits can increase in volume and stick to the top lid.

Pumpkin jam is a way to accustom children and adults of sweet tooth to delicious and healthy desserts. After all, such an unremarkable vegetable that costs a penny can turn into a gourmet delicacy with citrus, apricot or spicy aroma. Just do not be afraid of experiments and boldly create new tastes.