Carrot jam: 6 recipes

Jam is a common option for homemade jams. More often than not, such a treat is based on berries or fruits, but vegetables also make good desserts. For this purpose, you can use carrots. Such jam is unusual, but delicious.

Composition and Calories

The energy value of 100 g of the product is 170 kcal. The content of carbohydrates in carrot jam - 43.8 g, proteins - 0.8 g, fats - 0.2 g.

Vitamin composition is represented by vitamins PP, E, K, C, B. Carrots contain fiber and minerals such as copper, potassium, iron, phosphorus, nickel, iodine, fluorine, chromium and zinc. But the most useful substance in the composition of jam is beta-carotene, which is necessary for the synthesis of vitamin A. After heat treatment of the root-crops almost all the useful substances are preserved.

What is useful for carrot jam

There is not always a significant difference in assessing the usefulness of raw and cooked vegetables. After cooking, the level of alpha and beta carotenes (powerful antioxidants) in carrots increases by 14%, lutein (a carotenoid important to the retina) by 11%.

The list of positive qualities of carrot jam:

1. Low caloric value. The energy value of the product is low, so it can be consumed even in the presence of excess weight. But because of the high glycemic index in diabetes, you should use the dainty with caution.
2. Pleasant and soft consistency. Carrot dessert can be consumed by children and the elderly, who find it difficult to chew solid food.
3. Fast digestion. The treat contains a small amount of fiber, so it is easily digested by the body. In addition, the boiled root vegetable is digested much better than raw.
4. A large amount of antioxidants. Cooked carrots have higher levels of them than raw carrots, so with regular and moderate consumption of the dessert it is possible to slow the aging process, prevent the development of cancer, dementia, Alzheimer's disease.
5. Eliminating the symptoms of avitaminosis. Thermal processing destroys some of the useful substances, but most of them are preserved.
6. Improving vision, strengthening the retina and increasing efficiency. Carrots and dishes prepared from it are as useful for the eyes as dill or blueberries. These products are recommended to use with conjunctivitis, myopia, and those who work in offices and spend a lot of time on the computer. The useful components of jam have a beneficial effect on the whole body, restoring the ability to work.
7. Reducing cholesterol levels and normalization of the cardiovascular system. The body is freed from excess cholesterol, vessels are cleared.
8. Improving the well-being of anemia, colds, thyroid disorders. Carrot jam contains iron, ascorbic acid and iodine. These substances are not destroyed by heat treatment. A dainty, cooked on the basis of carrots, helps to fight colds. It is also used for prevention.
9. Proper development of the fetus during pregnancy and ensuring the active growth of the child in the future. Children at school age, women during pregnancy and all people to maintain health in general, beta-carotene is very necessary. It has a positive effect on the lungs and reduces the likelihood of cancer.

How to choose a carrot for jam

In order for the dessert to turn out beautiful, tasty and useful, it is necessary to approach the choice of vegetables responsibly. The best options include varieties "Moscow Winter", "Karotel", "Nantskaya". Other varieties of carrots are also suitable, as long as they are orange in color, of medium size and with a small core. With these characteristics, the root vegetable usually has a pronounced sweet taste.

Washed vegetables are dried, peeled, cut into pieces of the desired shape and size. You can chop them as you wish, but the finer these pieces, the faster the jam will be cooked. For example, they can be triangles, rhombuses, or hearts. If you want the slices of vegetable to look appetizing in a jar, it is worth giving them a certain shape.

It is recommended to peel carrots on the day of collection. The vegetable is carefully prepared, remove damaged areas. You do not need to wash the carrots for a long time, because in this case partially loses ascorbic acid. Boil it for too long, too, you can not, the pieces should remain moderately hard, and not turn into a mashed potato.

How to make jam from carrots: recipes

Developed a large number of recipes for cooking desserts based on carrots. To make a variety and get an even more unusual taste, fruits and other vegetables are added to carrots. For starters, you can make a classic carrot dessert.

Classic recipe

Ingredients for the jam:

• 1 kg each of granulated sugar and carrots (it is desirable to take a young vegetable);
• 0.45 liters of drinking water;
• 1 tsp (without the slide) of citric acid.

The cooking process:

1. First the syrup is boiled. Prepare a saucepan of the required size (preferably an enameled dish), fill it with water and pour sugar.
2. The liquid with sugar is constantly stirred, brought to a boil and complete dissolution of sugar. Usually 5 minutes is enough, longer boil the syrup is not necessary.
3. Chop the vegetables on a grater or with a food processor and send them to the boiling syrup.
4. After 10-12 minutes the pan is set aside and insist the contents for at least 10 hours.
5. Next, the carrots in sugar syrup is put back on the stove and cook until the mass thickens. When this stage is completed, the vegetable becomes translucent.
6. Add citric acid, after which the jam is poured into jars. They must be sterilized in advance.
7. After 24 hours, the jam is sent to a cool place for storage.

Carrot and lemon jam

This recipe is popular among carrot lovers and those who prefer to periodically prepare unusual desserts, adding new products to the composition. Thanks to the use of lemon, the taste of the finished product becomes more intense.

Ingredients:

• 350 g of fresh vegetable;
• 1 lemon of medium size;
• 1 tbsp. sugar.

Cooking process:

1. Prepare carrots. Thoroughly washed, peeled, then shredded, giving the desired shape to the slices of the vegetable.
2. Pour the carrots into a suitably sized container, followed by a layer of granulated sugar.
3. When the juice begins to emerge, put the pot on the stove and heat the contents, stirring it slightly.
4. The lemon is cut into small slices (do not remove the skin), the ingredient is sent to the pot. When heated, the lemon juice is gradually released, so additional liquid is not required.
5. Boil carrots with lemon until cooked and the sugar is completely dissolved for 20 minutes, if necessary - longer. In this recipe, the main ingredient should become soft.
6. The products are chopped with a blender. The result should be a mushy dessert. Without waiting for the jam to cool, it is poured into jars. Glass jars should be filled only after sterilization.

The lemon can be replaced with an orange. The main thing is that there was a citrus fruit in the composition. The cooking process in this case is no different.

Treat with carrots and lemon zest

Ingredients:

• 1 kg each of granulated sugar and root vegetables;
• one lemon;
• 1 tbsp. purified water.

Preparation process:

1. Washed in cold water, the vegetable (for this purpose, you can use a toothbrush) is boiled and cooled.
2. While the main ingredient of the healthy delicacy is being prepared, the lemon is finely sliced off the zest. The peel is steeped in boiling liquid, simmered a little together with water and sugar (these ingredients are used in small quantities) until it becomes soft. This process usually lasts about an hour.
3. Boiled carrots are peeled and cut into circles or any other way.
4. Shredded vegetable is poured into a container covered with enamel.
5. Lemon is cut into half rings of small thickness and also sent to the pot. Carrot and lemon mixture is filled with granulated sugar.
6. In the container add the zest along with the liquid. Stir the contents of the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly.
7. The carrots should become transparent and the syrup should thicken. The finished jam is poured hot into prepared jars (sterilized and dry), tightly sealed with lids and cooled. Then the treat of carrots and lemon zest is sent for storage in a cool place.

Carrot jam with spices

Ingredients:

• A kilo of carrots and the same amount of sugar;
• Citric acid 2-3 grams;
• A mixture of vanilla, ginger, saffron, cardamom (spices in ground form).

Preparation process:

1. The vegetable is thoroughly washed from dirt in cold water and peeled. It is recommended to use a special knife, as it cuts a thin layer.
2. Carrots are cut into beautiful, but small pieces. It can be bars, circles and their halves or any other shapes. If desired, the vegetable can be grated in the same way as a Korean-style carrot.
3. To make jam pick up an enamel pan of the required volume. A bowl will also do, if it is deep. The container is filled with carrots and covered with sugar.
4. After 8-12 hours, when the carrot juice is released in a sufficient volume, the pot is poured a little water (30-60 ml). Carrots are sent to the stove and at minimum heat after boiling, boil for 5-10 minutes. The foam that forms on the surface, remove. The jam is left to cool at room temperature, then it is boiled one to three more times for 5-10 minutes.
5. When the jam is put on the stove for the last time, before it boils, pour in a solution of citric acid (prepared with the addition of 1 tbsp. liquid) and spices.

The dessert is ready when the drip holds well on the surface and does not drip, and the carrot has become transparent and darker.

The jam is stored in small jars, corked with tin or plastic lids. The same recipe is used to make a carrot-apple treat. Carrots in sugar are infused together with sour-sweet apples. The skin is not removed.

Carrot and apple jam

Ingredients:

• carrots - 0,2 kg;
• apples (choose the ripe and juicy ones) - 0,3 kg;
• sugar - 0,4 kg;
• lemon of small size.

Preparation process:

1. Washed apples are cut, remove the core. They are cut into cubes or slices. It is desirable to leave the skin, because it is very useful. However, in cases where the skin is too thick, the apples can be peeled.
2. Carrots are cleaned of soil, thoroughly washed under running water. The skin is cut off, the vegetable is chopped with a coarse or medium grater.
3. The basis for the jam is combined with sugar. Then the carrot-apple mixture is actively stirred so that the juice is released.
4. The lemon is crushed with a blender along with the peel (if this is not possible, you can use a grater). The ingredient is added to the prepared mixture, it will give a unique flavor to the finished product.
5. The pot is sent to the stove. After the contents come to a boil, it boils for about 40-50 minutes.
6. Thick delicacy stored in the refrigerator under a capron lid or rolled up for the winter in small jars.

Carrot and geranium jam

Ingredients:

• 830 g carrots:
• 5-6 geranium leaves;
• 970 g granulated sugar;
• 550 ml of drinking water;
• 12 ml of tartaric acid.

Preparation process:

1. Peeled root vegetables, previously rinsed under running water, grind on a coarse grater. Vegetable is boiled 4 times at minimum heat for 10-12 minutes. Each time waiting for the carrots to cool completely. Such manipulations allow you to get a tasty product without a specific smell.
2. Water is combined with sugar in a bowl with a thick bottom. The pot is placed on the stove and cook the syrup until it thickens.
3. Next, cooked carrots and geraniums are added to the syrup, secured with string.
4. The jam is boiled until the ingredients are translucent. When the dessert is ready, the geraniums are removed, the heating is stopped and tartaric acid is added.

The dessert can be consumed after it has cooled. If you plan to roll up the jam, do not wait for it to cool.

Rules for storing jam

Delicacy, cooked on the basis of carrots, is stored for 12 months, that is, until the next season. It is allowed to use thick paper, capron and metal lids. To keep jam better and longer, it is recommended to give preference to metal versions. Long-term storage should be avoided if possible, because over time, the taste of the product and the level of useful substances may change.

For storage of carrot jam choose a cool and light-protected place. For example, you can put the jars in a cupboard or take it to the basement. A thin layer of oil is applied to the top of the jars to provide protection from moisture. In the selected place the temperature should be constant, then the dessert will not sugary, its consistency will remain unchanged. Optimal values - from 0 to +20°C.

Recommendations for making carrot desserts

Preparing carrot desserts is not difficult, but you need to know some subtleties:

1. The color of the vegetable in the jam will be richer if the skin is scraped off with a sharp knife. You need to remove only the thin top layer, then the carrot as part of the dessert remains bright.
2. If the vegetables for jam are peeled in advance, it is recommended to put them in a dry dish and cover them with a damp cloth, but not for more than 3 hours. With such simple actions, the base for jam will stay fresh longer.
3. If the carrots are young, the skin is left. But in such cases, it should be washed more thoroughly, preferably with a toothbrush.
4. It is important to choose a pot of optimal size. Carrot desserts are prepared in containers that are filled with ingredients almost entirely.
5. To ensure that the useful substances are preserved in the vegetable, and not transferred to the liquid during cooking, it is lowered into boiling water and cooked under a closed lid.
6. To get the most useful product, do not subject it to prolonged heat treatment. You can speed up the process by grinding the main ingredient. It will take much less time, while the root vegetable will become quite soft.
7. The taste and color of carrot dessert will be more pleasant if you take a young and mature vegetable of the sweet variety.
8. You can experiment with the composition and replace additional ingredients with other products. For example, take berries instead of apples, lemons or oranges.

Applying the recommendations on the choice and preparation of ingredients, you can get a product that will not leave anyone indifferent. Carrot dessert can be consumed alone with tea or added to custards, pies and other dishes.

If you want to please your loved ones with something unusual, you can make carrot jam. The vegetable contains a large number of useful substances, which, when cooked, are partially preserved. Desserts with carrots in the basis have a positive effect on the body, contribute to improving health. In addition, carrot jam can be made all year round!

Interesting facts about carrots

1. Carrots were originally purple in color. It began to be cultivated in Afghanistan, and then in Rome and ancient Greece.
2. Culture with orange-colored fruits scientists bred in the 16th century in the Netherlands. Legend has it that such work was done for the royal family of Orange. It was the orange color that was dynastic. It is not known how it actually happened, but even paintings of the time often depicted carrots.
3. The vegetable is useful both raw and boiled. Boiling destroys only part of the useful substances. Cooked product is better assimilated if used moderately.
4. In Russian zoos, the color of flamingo feathers can be preserved by using carrots.
5. Not only the fruits but also the tops are used as food. The top part of the crop is also useful and is the basis for tea, salads, soups, and second courses.
6. Alaska has grown the world's heaviest and longest carrots. The record was set by a British farmer. The root vegetable weighed 8.61 kg and was 5.84 m long.
7. In Germany, the vegetable was used to make coffee. For this purpose it was roasted. In some villages you can still learn the recipe for the drink.
8. The basis of the carrot is water - 90%.
9. The root of the crop does an excellent job of cleaning the teeth and provides a gentle massage to the gums. By using it, you can avoid the development of periodontal disease and tooth decay.
10. In Europe, by law, only fruit can be used as the basis for jam. Since carrot jam produced in Portugal is supplied to European countries, carrots are considered fruit there.
11. The small town of Holtville, California, is recognized as the carrot capital of the world, and festivals are held there every year.
12. Since ancient times, the juice obtained from carrots was given to frigid women. Men also took this useful compound, which acted almost like Viagra. In addition, with the help of this product, the fair sex can improve the condition of the skin and nails, strengthen the hair and get rid of the problem of hair loss.
13. Carrot is a unique vegetable. Antioxidants are found in many foods, and they usually break down in cooking, but not in carrots! In it, their level in the process of cooking only increases, and twice. These substances are very important for the body, their main function is to activate redox processes at the cellular level, which, to some extent, helps to reduce the risk of tumor formation.
14. The juice of the root vegetable is saturated with phytoncides, which are an antiseptic of natural origin. It contains many heart-healthy substances, which makes it an indispensable product for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Surprisingly, just 1 glass of juice a day with regular consumption can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack (by 44%) and stroke (by 50%).
15. Beta-carotene is essential for those who want to get a beautiful tan. This substance increases the production of melanin and neutralizes the damage of ultraviolet rays. The main thing is not to allow an overdose, otherwise the skin can turn yellow.