Are overripe fruits really ideal for making good jam? An expert answers us

Jam is a product that is particularly appreciated by the French. In total, 70% of French households buy it around seven times a year, which represents an annual consumption of around 3 to 4 kilos per household. While supermarket shelves offer a wide choice of jams, nothing is better than homemade jams. The advantage? While the preparation takes time, it is particularly easy to make it yourself. Provided, of course, that you know a few secrets to make it a success.

Precisely in order to become an expert on the subject, we interviewed a true connoisseur, Stephan Perrotte. In 2014, he won the Best Jam Maker in France Competition before winning the World Jam Championship in 2015. This maestro shared his advice on the subject with us. We were thus interested in a common mistake that we make too often when preparing our jam. We tell you everything.

To have a good jam, you need… good products. This seems logical but you will see it is not so obvious. Indeed, most of the time, many people make jams with overripe fruit that starts to spoil. This is a mistake: “You have to have a very good quality fruit”explains Stéphan Perrotte. “We need to get away from the idea that our grandmothers had of picking up fruit at the end of the market to make a good jam. Why? Quite simply: imagine strawberries that were picked in the morning at 5/6am and that will spend the whole morning in the sun at 30°C, for 8/10 hours. In terms of aroma, it will be complicated….” The expert concludes: “As Bocuse said, you can only make good with very good things.”

So you will have understood that to make a good jam the key point is to have good fruit. This is essential.

To select good fruits, Stephan Perrotte has his tip: “Rather than buying at the market, the best thing is to go directly to your producer, if possible. You now have plenty of places where there are producers who have picking corners and that’s a really good tip because you’ll pay less for your fruit and you’ll be able to choose it.”

With these two secrets, your jam can only be particularly tasty! So you know what you have to do.