Kiwi jam: original recipe and 5 healthy variations

Kiwi jam is certainly a not very common preserve but it will surprise you, not only for its characteristic colour but above all for its particular taste. Let’s get to know this fruit better and find out how to make kiwi jam.

The kiwi homemade jam, despite being an unusual jam, does not require special preparation processes. Even if for simplicity we call it jam, it would be more correct to call it jam. Have you ever wondered why the term jam is different from a jam? A “jam” is defined as a product with at least 35% fruit (any fruit) and 45% sugar, while “jam” is a product that, like jam, has at least 45% sugar, but can be prepared only with citrus fruits (at least 20%).

The kiwi is a fruit native to China and was later imported to New Zealand where he acquired the name of the bird symbol of the nation. In Italy, it is a fruit that we can find during the autumn and winter period. The most common variety of kiwi, Hayward, is characterized by the bright green colour of the pulp and the brown and hairy skin, as well as by the sweet and slightly acidic taste.

From a nutritional point of view, kiwifruit provides 61 kcal per 100g mainly from simple carbohydrates and sugars. Kiwis are very rich in fibre, in fact, they provide 3g of fibre every 100g, which makes them useful in fighting constipation. It is also one of the richest fruits in vitamin C (92.7 mg per 100g). Remember, however, that vitamin C is sensitive to high temperatures, therefore, when we use kiwis for the preparation of jam, part of the vitamin content will be lost.

After getting to know this fruit better, let’s learn how to make kiwi jam and 5 healthy variations.

Kiwi jam: the original recipe

INGREDIENTS
FOR ABOUT 2 JARS OF 250G
Clean kiwis ›500 gr
Whole cane sugar ›250 gr
Filtered juice of one lemon An Apple

Preparation

Peel the kiwis and cut them into cubes trying to eliminate the central white part (you must obtain the indicated weight with the fruit already cleaned);

Peel and cut the apple into cubes too, then put the fruit in a high-sided pot together with the sugar and lemon juice;

Mix all the ingredients and start cooking until boiling, at this point, lower the heat to prevent the sugar from caramelizing and remove any foam that forms on the surface with a skimmer;

After an hour of cooking, remove the pan from the heat and blend everything with an immersion blender;

Put the pot back on the heat and continue cooking, do the test in a saucer to evaluate the consistency, when it is thick enough, you can pour it into the previously sterilized jars;

Close the jars tightly and boil them in a bain-marie for about half an hour and then let them cool. This last step is essential to increase the preservation time of the jam.

How to store kiwi jam

You can keep the kiwi jam for about six months. Before consuming it, we advise you to wait a week and then keep the open jar in the refrigerator for a maximum of one week. If you keep the jam for a long time, before opening the jar, do a visual inspection to check that no mould has formed, also if the cap is curved upwards and pressing with your finger in its centre you hear a “click-clack” ”, The jar is no longer vacuum-sealed and its contents must not be consumed or tasted.

What to combine with and how to consume kiwi jam

If you are one of the lovers of white yoghurt for breakfast, you can make it even more delicious by garnishing it with a few teaspoons of kiwi jam and a handful of oat flakes. We could define it as a bowel-friendly breakfast, between the probiotics of yoghurt and the fibre of oat flakes and kiwi jam, but above all, the latter will give yoghurt that touch of natural sweetness making it even more pleasant.

The kiwi jam is really unusual and, contrary to what one might think, it is also very delicious to spread on toast or rusks. If you want to enjoy breakfast between the classic and the unusual, we advise you to combine a good cup of ginger tea with a slice of well-toasted cereal bread, garnished with a veil of homemade kiwi jam. The taste of ginger goes very well with kiwifruit jam, in fact, as illustrated below, we propose the variant of kiwi and ginger jam.

Finally, another particular combination is that of jam with cheeses. Kiwi jam goes well with fresh and soft cheeses, but with an intense taste, such as cheeses made with sheep or goat milk.

5 healthy variations for kiwi jam

We have told you how to make traditional kiwi jam, but why not try other imaginative and healthy jams? We offer you 5 variations, all to taste.

Sugar-free kiwi jam

The sugar-free kiwi jam is the most low-calorie version of all those proposed, so it can be useful for those who follow a controlled diet. To prepare this jam, follow the traditional procedure, but it is necessary to eliminate the brown sugar and replace it with 250 g of maltitol. Maltitol is a sugar substitute, chemically it belongs to the family of sugar alcohols normally present in nature. The advantage of its use lies in the fact that it provides just over half the calories of sugar, has a lower glycemic index than the latter and finally does not have the unpleasant aftertaste that, sometimes, other sugar substitutes have.

Kiwi and apple jam

The original recipe calls for the use of an apple for its gelatinizing effect. For this variant, however, we will use all the ingredients provided by the original recipe, but we will divide the amount of fruit between kiwi and apples (250 g of kiwi and 250 g of apples). The procedure is the same, the result will be an even more creamy, fragrant and sweet jam.

Kiwi and ginger jam

In recent years, ginger is a spice that has gained fame for its benefits, but which has also proved to be very versatile in cooking. We have explained how to prepare traditional kiwi jam, but we can make it even tastier and more fragrant by adding ginger. The procedure is the same, you just need to add two teaspoons of powdered ginger along with the kiwifruit and all the other ingredients.

Kiwi and orange marmalade

This jam is the meeting of a great classic, orange marmalade, with an unusual preparation, kiwi jam. The combination of kiwis with oranges gives this jam a particularly tasty flavour. To get two jars, just divide the amount of fruit in the recipe in half between kiwis and oranges. Follow the procedure of the original recipe and add the peeled oranges to the kiwis, deprived of the external white skin, the seeds and then cut into pieces. To obtain a creamier jam, we advise you to pass the blended fruit with an immersion blender also with a vegetable mill in order to eliminate a part of the seeds.

Kiwi and pear jam

This variant is a sweet and full-bodied jam, a real delicacy for a classy aperitif, combining it with cheeses, or for a sweet snack, spreading it on rusks. To make it, just reduce the amount of kiwi to 300g and add 200g of pears. Peel and cut the kiwis and pears into small pieces and continue as per the procedure of the original recipe. Like kiwis, pears are also rich in fibre. These are useful to regularize intestinal transit and to promote the sense of satiety.

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