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Saturday, January 22, 2011

How To Make Store-bought Pineapple Jam Taste Better? 让现成黄梨馅变好吃的简单好方法

In this post, I will be sharing how I modify store-bought pineapple jam to suit my own taste (more home-made like in a way).

I have seen how my Ah Ma and Gu Gu prepared and cooked pineapple jam when I was young, the process is so tedious and time-consuming that I don’t think I would want to go through....at least not alone. That’s the reason why I decided to go for ready made one when I first made my own pineapple tart in year 2009 even though I truly aware that store-bought pineapple jam can never beat home-made ones.

Store-bought pineapple jam is usually dryer (harder in texture) and sweeter as compared to home-made ones. Personally I prefer my pineapple jam to be little tart and moister, therefore, before using it I take one extra step to modify it to suit my own taste.

................(The picture was taken in year 2009)

You need a can of canned pineapple juice and a fresh lemon (as shown in picture) and of course the quality of store-bought pineapple jam mustn't be too bad (bad as in really jam/jelly like, it should have retained some fiber from the raw fruit).

First take out the amount of pineapple jam to be used for one baking session, and then add in some pineapple juice (start from ½ tbsp) to make it slightly moister (mix well with a spoon or spatula). Then add in a drop of lemon juice (yes, only add the lemon juice drop by drop because a little means a lot, you don’t want your pineapple jam has lemon taste in it).

Keep repeating the process (adding little pineapple juice follow by a drop of lemon juice), taste the pineapple jam during mixing and adjust according to your taste buds.

This is what I did in year 2009. Last year I didn’t make any pineapple tart due to pregnancy. This year I bought the same brand of pineapple jam but instead of adding pineapple juice I add rum. Yes, you hear it right. The same bottle of rum which I used in this fruitcake.

The end result? The taste of rum is not prominent but I think this is something different.

The amount of pineapple jam in the picture is 500g, yields about 64 balls. Always remember to divide the jam into equal size and roll into ball before proceed to assemble. To keep the pineapple jam ball moist, roll it with a pair of wet hand or dip the measuring spoon in water once in a while.


Instead of weighing each ball on the scale I use measuring spoon. The size of each pineapple ball is slightly less than ½ tbsp.

I had experimented different proportion of pastry and jam. I tried one level teaspoon to half level tablespoon of pastry and I found that the jam was too little.

I also tried half level tablespoon of jam to half level tablespoon of pastry (i.e one to one ratio, for beginner this is difficult to wrap) and I found that the jam was too much.

Then I tried half level spoon of jam to one level tablespoon of pastry, this time the pastry was too much. So what is the perfect proportion?

To most of my recipients, they found that slightly less than half tablespoon of jam to slightly rounded half tablespoon of pastry is just nice.

(The brand of pineapple jam I used is Bake King. This year I bought it from NTUC at promotional price SGD4.50/kg. I checked it out again this week it has already gone back to its original price at SGD5.60/kg.)


>>Upcoming post: “Pineapple” Pineapple Tart

12 comments:

  1. Angel, thanks for the tips, probably I shd try your method if I dun ve time to make pineapple jam myself.

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  2. Angela thanks to your tips i learnt something new again! i'm using 1/2 tsp to 1/2 tsp of pastry and fillings then my mum say the filling too much le!

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  3. I've heard people do it the same way like yours before and thanks for posting up. :)

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  4. This is a good tip on how to make store bought ones better for those who use it. I do agree it's too sweet and too dry and sticky too. The major problem for me about store bought paste is the added flavouring in it.
    There is no way I can remove that smell.

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  5. Hehe, I never measure how much jam or how much pastry. Just too time consuming. And I don't have a digital scale either. I will roll 500g of pineapple into around 60 balls. Pinch a small ball of dough, press flat, wrap, extra dough, take away. Luckily they were all quite even in size. :)

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  6. Oh wow! Thanks for sharing the tips, Angel. I didn't realise that adding pineapple juice will made the paste more moist and definitely taste better! I also have problem maintaining the size of my pineapple paste as it was too tedious to weigh them one by one. Using measuring spoon sounds fantastic!

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  7. Jess,
    I look forward to reading your pineapple tart post.

    J3ss Kitch3n,
    I tried one to one proportion and find the filling too much too. Some said 1 tsp filling to 1/2 tbsp dough is more proportionate.

    Anncoo,
    You are welcome! I read that you used Phoon Huat pineapple filling, I may want to try it next year.

    Wendy,
    I do taste a hint of pineapple essence in the jam I bought but it's not prominent especially after baking, so I just close one eye.

    SSB,
    You are good1 If I didn't use measuring spoon I think I will take longer time to complete coz I will keep pinching more dough then put back some then pinch a little again....u get what I mean? haha

    Jane,
    The jam I bought in 2009 was very very dry, I can't even break it down. So I got no choice but to think of a way to modify it. Luckily my method works. This year Bake King pineapple paste is more wet and lighter in colour (I think the cooking time is reduced, maybe) so I only added little liquid to soften it.

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  8. hi, thks for the tip!

    i read ur this posting a few weeks ago and it's been on my head

    tried on my pineapple tart and it tasted wonderful
    my first time using ready to make pineapple paste - excellent way to make it as good as homemade one :)

    thks! :)

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  9. Thank you for the great tip. Will definitely try it out.

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  10. Great tip. Thx. By the way, may I know what french music is on the blog? I love it.

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  11. I grated one fresh pineapple S$2 and add juice and flesh to the 1 kg store bought pineapple paste and i add juice of one lemon. I cook over a nonstick fry pan with a wooden spoon. The paste becomes soft and fragrant. Taste quite yummy :).

    ReplyDelete

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