How Cani keep greengage jam green rather than orangey brown?
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Personally, I have only seen it green with large amounts of artificial color. Lemon and such may help keep it more towards yellow than a deep brown like an apple butter, but I would be surprised if it color preservation is substantial. Traditionally, this jam was made with less ripe fruit which would be more towards green, less towards yellow to try to not make an overly sweet jam which would also tend towards a less dark end product, but still unlikely to seem green without coloring.– dlbSep 1, 2016 at 17:45
2 Answers
It sounds like it is oxidizing so you need an antioxidant for the jam. First I need to know what ingredients Greengage jam contains. Then I can advise you on natural antioxidants to add (like lemon juice for avocados).
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1Plums may be too ripe, with low citric acid content. Either lemon juice, or citric acid, both of which are found in some Greengage jam recipes, should help with the oxidation problem. Sep 1, 2016 at 13:44
The only way to keep the the green color you want would be to use a no-cook (freezer) recipe to make your jam. The process of cooking breaks down the chlorophyll in the plums, eventually changing it to a yellowish color.
For the geeky science explanation you can check this out The Why, How and Consequences of cooking our food