Pineapple Preserve / Jam Recipe / Kids Recipes

Pineapple Preserve / Jam

Home made preserves on a warm loaf of bread or toast can freshen up our mood on any drowsy day ! The preserves are not only healthy as they have fresh whole fruits in them but also are more satisfying .

Generally all kids love jams and jellies  and these preserves can be easily made in our home with some fresh seasonal fruits. Today I am going to share one of my favourite fruit jam recipe , very much appealing and apt for the Summer season - Pineapple Jam.

This pineapple preserve can be made either on stove top or using a Microwave. I have used stove top. Very easy and quick recipe , it hardly took half hour to make this and my house is full with the heavenly smell of Jam.

Spiny on the outside and sweet inside, Pineapple is a  fantastic tropical  fruit. Coming to the health benefits, Pineapples contain high amount of vitamin C and Manganese. These tropical treats are also a good way to get important dietary fibre and Bromelain (an enzyme). For all its sweetness, one cup of Pineapple chunks contain only 82 calories. Pineapples are also fat-free, Cholesterol-free and low in Sodium. Not surprising, they do contain sugar with 16 grams per cup.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/45487-pineapple-nutrition.html

If you are looking for more recipes with Pineapple, check out for Pineapple fried rice , Pineapple Jam tarts.

Ingredients:

• Fresh medium size Pineapple -1 ( yields 2 cups of Pineapple chunks)
• Sugar - 1 cups
• Pineapple Essence - 1 tsp 
• Cinnamon stick- 2 inch
• Star anise - 1

Method: 

1. Peel the Pineapple , core and shred into small chunks. 

        2.  Put the chunks in a blender to get coarse puree of the Pineapple.  To enjoy the fresh tangy taste and heavenly mouth -feel just crush the Pineapple chunks coarsely rather than making a smooth paste. 

     3.  In a sauce pan add the Pineapple puree, cinnamon stick , sugar and star anise. 

      4. Mix well and bring to boil and then simmer , stirring frequently . The sugar will melt and gradually the mixture will turn thicker. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the mixture attains a jam like consistency. 

      5 . You can check the setting time of jam to know when to put off the flame. For this put 1 tsp of preserve on a plate and if it doesn't roll off the plate too fast , that is it tends to set, it means the jam has attained a setting point.

      6.  Put off the flame and add 1 tsp of Pineapple essence, mix well and let it cool down completely. Now store the jam in a clean and dry glass jar. Refrigerate it and use as required.  Enjoy it with buttered toast or sandwich or in chapati roll. You can also use this jam to make Pineapple Jam Tarts.

     Notes:

• The jam thickens further on cooling , adjust the time to put off the flame accordingly or else the sugar may crystallise. To avoid this use the setting point test explained in point 5.
• Can add lime and ginger juice for variation. Do not cook the lemon juice . Add it to the jam after the jam is off the flame and has cooled down .
• Have not added any artificial colour to the jam.. you may wish to add 2-3 drops of yellow food colour.
• You can use the same method to make this preserve in Microwave instead of gas top.

You can check out my Raw Mango Preserve recipe also if you like Jams and Preserves.