Any jam makers here?

[Party-of-five]

Ive just discoverd I like making jam
Ive only made strawberry so far and at the moment I have plums on...

Just a question
Does the sugar help the setting? or is it purely just sweetness?
just seems alot of sugar
TIA

[Cherished]

I have only made a Lime jam, the recipe I used said it was a chutney but the consistency is that of a jam and being limes it's a little bitter but the sugar makes it sweet too. It's GREAT with cheese and crackers and if you're a meat eater I would imagine it'd be great in a sandwich too. I think the sugar does thicken up the mixture as heated sugar does thicken up toffee kwim.

[ss_storm]

i made apricot jam a little while ago, first jam I've ever made. I did enjoy it though (the making, not just the eating) so when I can get some cheap fruit suitable for jam making will have a go at something different.
i know, sooo much sugar!! Do you think it would assist in the preserving of the fruit? Don't think it makes a difference to it setting (apart from the texture/thickness) as pectin actually sets the jam. Did you use jamsetta when you made yours?

[Party-of-five]

Apricot jam yum!!
No I havent used jamsetta...im using this really old cookbook and it said plums are high pectin so didnt need it.
so Ive either got three jars of plum jam or three jars of plum icecream topping

[leckert]

I'm not the one who makes jam in this house, DH is the one. However I know that he uses the same weight of fruit as he does for sugar, so 1kg of fruit = 1 kg of sugar. There's a bit of water in there but I have no idea how much and he's off playing tennis this afternoon so can't check for you.

He's made some interesting combinations over the years - Plum & Fig, Fig, Plum, Apricot, Peach & Apricot, Fig & Pineapple (or fig with pineapple in it). We have plum and fig trees that get loaded every year (and the neighbours have an apricot and peach tree next to our fence that gets loaded too).

[AnyDream]

You can make jam without sugar but since sugar is the preservative, you need to freeze it or keep it in the fridge (ie you could make small batches and then just use it). I do think however many recipes just ahve too much sugar. I found this out the hard way when I was making chutney, which has the addition of vinegar for preserving, end result really too sweet. I'm going for next batches to start with 3/4 of the stated sugar amount and then progressively cut down from there until I get a result I"m happy with.

PS if there are setting issues, just chuck some jam-setta in.