How to Use a Hydrometer For Jam Making

How to use a hydrometer for jam making

Jam is a type of preserve made by heating whole fruit (or sometimes vegetables) together with water and sugar until pectin is activated to cause it to set when portioned out into containers like jars. Pectin is a gelatinous polysaccharide found naturally in many types of ripe fruits that is responsible for keeping jam’s shape after cooling down.

Hydrometers are commonly used to assess the Brix level in fruit juices, wine, jelly/jam, honey and some milk products. Homebrewers also utilize hydrometers extensively as part of their fermentation processes – most notably to measure sugar content within beer wort (or beer), more commonly referred to as its “brix scale”, although similar measures such as Oechsle Plato and Baume are available as alternatives.

Instrument: This instrument comprises of a wide bottom sealed glass tube equipped with either a lead or mercury ballast to maintain stability, as well as a graduated narrow stem for measuring liquid. After adding liquid into the glass tube, once its surface touches the meniscus scale its relative density can be determined.

To use the device, simply wipe down the prism dish with a dry tissue and take a small sample of jam being tested from its purest form – not including any impurities which have formed due to boiling – from which you can measure its purity. After taking your readings, they can either be recorded on a digital display or transferred directly onto smart devices using Bluetooth App connectivity.