Homemade Alphonso Mango Jam (Without Pectin & Artificial Coloring)

June 26

Day 94 of Lockdown 5.0 and Day 26 of Unlock 1.0

Mangoes are in season. And living in Maharashtra, a place famous for its signature Ratnagiri Alphonso mangoes, how is it possible that we do not mention a recipe with it this season.

Well it is very much possible. I will tell you why. I have been staying in Maharashtra for close to about 15 years now. Fifteen long years in this part of India where people go absolutely crazy just at the mention of Alphonso. This variant is also known as Hapus, Hapoos, Bombay variety, etc., and often considered to be a king even amongst the King of fruits. If we talk about the origin, the Alphonso mango was created by the Portugese with grafting technique in such a way that they could be cut and served on the table and was named after the Portuguese Viceroy, Alfonso de Albuquerque, who conquered Goa from the Bijapur Sultanet. The Alphonso mangoes are so specific to a particular region in terms of taste, cost and popularity that it has now gained the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the produce from Ratnagiri, Sindhugurg and adjoining Konkan region.

In all these years of stay I have noticed one thing, just the way we Bengalis are upbeat about the Roshogolla, similarly every Marathi is euphoric when they talk about Hapus. I kept wondering is all the hoopla around Alphonsos really worth? Obvious reaction as an outside to the state was to go and checkout myself. When I inquired about the price of Alphonso I was really taken aback. This was some 10 years ago. I got to know that Hapus unlike other mango variants are not sold in loose pieces but you need to at least buy half a dozen or dozen. And the cost for that was on an average of Rs 400 -Rs 600. So if you had a plan to do a trial before you purchased a whole box that is not possible.

Here let me mention during the summers (mango season) you would find many street side hawkers sitting with big wooden boxes (peti) of mangoes with Alphonso written on them. At times the skin of the mangoes had so many wrinkles because they were sitting under the Pune heat for days that you feel pity for the mangoes themselves. So there was a lingering question in the mind whether the mangoes being sold at every nook and corner was authentic or not. And I never had the heart to spend 600 odd bucks just to find out that I had been duped. So I kept my mango cravings limited to the Badami version which were easier to find and cheaper.

This thought had kept my Alphonso dreams at bay for all of these fifteen years. Unbelievable but true. I did try mango shakes which had Alphonso flavoring, but never tried the real fruit. Until the lock down started.

As I look back to the lock down period, I again and again feel that though the initial phase was very very troublesome for everyone of us trying to cope, slowly the new normal made us experience a lot of things in organic ways. Just like the mangoes. The housing society I stay in, is pretty close by to many farm lands. With the lockdown imposed farmers were suffering because they could not sell their produce. Thus they started contacting societies like ours and source directly from their farms to us. During one such occasion, someone posted on the group that farm fresh Alphonsos are available at Rs 400 per dozen. It was really cheap, so I checked with the person if I could get half a dozen and he was generous enough to say yes.

I was waiting in eager anticipation for the day when I would get the mangoes. And finally they arrived - the cardboard box with picture of ripe Alphonso mango on the cover. The box also had 'breathing holes' for the mangoes and the fruits were placed on a bed of straws. They were still green on the surface, but the person informed they were ready to be eaten.  I took one of the mangoes and took a deep whiff around the top, the aroma itself was quite tempting. As I cut open the first mango, the first thing that caught my eye was the vibrant orange color. It was dark and smooth. I mean really smooth. I was used to mangoes which had a lot of fibers and Alphonso does not have any such harsh fibers. The first bite of the fruit filled me with happiness, I could feel the deep aroma and smoothness twirl on my tongue - this definitely was worth every penny and more! The craze around Alphonso was absolutely justified.

But having said that, I would also add that in order to not fall prey to any phony mango sellers, make sure that the Alphonso mangoes you order are organic ones, preferably fresh from farm. The ones which are cultivated without any chemicals and pesticides, retaining all of their natural sweetness, richness and flavor.

With so many mangoes at my disposal I decided to try out some new recipes with mangoes. Since this was the first time I would be incorporating ripe mangoes in any dish, I wanted something easy. And when I looked for various options, jams and preserves were the recipes which came with the least number of steps and complexity. I could never believe Jams can be made such easily and quickly until the day I tried it on my own for the very first time.

This is possibly the easiest and least ingredient heavy recipe that I have ever prepared with such amazing results. And now I regret buying jams from the store. Home made jams are so very delicious than the preservative loaded store bought ones. I really really recommend everyone reading this to try the recipe. Do note I used a little overripe mangoes, but normal ones are also fine for this recipe.

Do try out this recipe and let me know how was your experience. I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Serving : 150 gm

Ingredients :

• Ripe Alphonso Mango - 4 (small/medium sized, any variety can be used)
• Sugar - 3/4th cup (adjust as per sweetness of mango)
• Salt - 1 pinch
• Lemon Juice (or vinegar) - 1 tbsp 

Procedure: 

1.  First of all wash the mangoes well and get any dirt off the skin.

2. Start by slicing off 2 fat cheeks about half an inch from the center on either side.Repeat the wedge technique for the remaining sides.Hold one of the cheeks in your palm and use a knife to make horizontal and vertical cuts. Then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Squeeze out remaining flesh and juice off the seed into the same bowl.

Signature Rich Color of the Alphonsos 

3. You can choose to grind the mangoes into a smooth pulp if you want your jam to have a very smooth and even texture. Grinding is usually a good idea if you are working with a fibrous variety of mango.

But for Alphonso my recommendation would be to just use a fork and smash the pieces into rough pulp so that we have a pulpy texture to the jam. believe me it tastes far better than a smooth textured jam.

4.  Now there are three ways to go with the sugar. I followed 3rd method.

a) Take normal sugar, grind it in the grinder to make powdered sugar. This will reduce the time for sugar to melt

b) Take normal sugar mix it with the mango pulp and let it rest till the sugars are almost dissolved

c) Add normal sugar directly to the pan while cooking. By the time the jam starts to take shape both sugar and mango with be perfectly cooked.

5.  Typically Maintain a ratio of 3:1 for mangoes to sugar. And then you can adjust the sugar levels as per the sweetness of the mangoes you are using.  

Ratnagiri Alphonsos, which are the original Alphonsos, are usually very sweet. If you are using any other variety of mango be sure to check the sugar while preparing the jam.

6.  Take the mango  pulp, sugar, salt and lemon juice in a non stick pan and heat it on medium flame while continuously stirring it. Mash the mangoes with the spatula to further break them down uniformly. Don't worry about it being uniform.

Note: The salt and lemon juice will act as a preservative and add to the flavour. This is why we do not need pectin in this recipe.

Tip: Alphonsos are naturally vibrant, so no additional coloring is required. however if you are using any other variant, the color might appear a little pale. In that case you can opt for natural food coloring agents.

7.  Keep stirring the contents while it cooks on medium flame otherwise it may stick to the pan. As mentioned, the cooking process will breakdown the mangoes and the sugar simultaneously.

Tip: You can spruce up the jam by adding additional flavoring agents like cardamom, spices, saffron etc. But I would recommend if you are suing Alphonsos just make the vanilla version of it and don't go for an overkill with additional flavors as it will mess up with the beautiful earthy aroma of the mangoes.

8. Meanwhile keep a steel plate in the fridge for about 10 minutes. We will use this to test the jam consistency later.

9. Once the sugar has incorporated into the jam, it will start to splutter a bit, keep the lid handy in that case. Keep stirring as the jam starts to thicken.

10. I cooked for about 10 minutes (since quantity of ingredients were less. If the amount of mangoes is more you need to increase the time accordingly to reach the right consistency) and then took a consistency test. Take out the cooled plate, add a spoon of the jam on the plate, wait for like 20 seconds and then tilt the plate. If the jam is not dripping, then the jam is ready.

11. It is recommended to keep the consistency a bit runny when in the pan, because as it cools down it will thicken to the right consistency. If you make the jam dry in the pan itself, it will be too thick by the time you bottle it.

12. Sterilize a glass jar and spoon in boiling water (jar should be heat proof). If you are not sure just have some warm water and dip in the open jar for a while. Take out the jar let the steam go off and it cools down a bit

13. You can now pour in the jam into the jar. Jam doesn't need to be cooled down. Let it sit in the jar for sometime till all the steam escapes and jam cools down. Put a lid on only after the jam has cooled down.

14. Store it in the refrigerator for longer shelf life. You can use it for about 6 months or more depending on how efficient the sterilization process was.

Tip: Never use a wet spoon/knife or your fingers to take out the jam, this will lessen the shelf life

Use it over toasts, baguettes, crackers, fillings, toppings, deserts or just have it as it is!

Do try this out and tag me (@curriesnstories07) on Instagram on your photos whenever you try the recipe and I will give a shout out to you.