Friday, October 02, 2009

carrot jam?






yes, carrot jam! remember my uncle who lives in Sweden? We visited him last October? Well, I was really thrilled to have him visit us here in Syracuse last April. Daii is a really good cook. While staying with him, I'd enjoyed a unique jam that he had made- made up of carrots (and also apples, lemon, cardamom and vanilla.) The flavor is so good, the jam is so fragrant and bright and vibrant, you have to try some yourself! I photographed while he was making the jam, and will now give you a photo-essay:





zest and juice some lemons.





peel and grate some carrots and tart apples.



add some sugar and pectin- or, sugar with pectin already included, like what daii brought!



add some cardamom (crushed pods, or ground, if pods, you'll have to fish them out once the jam is done) and vanilla.



cook and cook and cook and cook



and cook some more! skim the foam and other debris (cardamom bits?) periodically.



let cool completely, then pour into sterilized jars. I didn't can these (I haven't canned anything yet!), because we were going to give a lot of them away and I was sure they'd be gobbled up quickly. In addition, since they weren't heat-treated, the jam retained a fresh, crisp character. Store them in the refrigerator. We are working on our last jar right now, so this jam has stayed good for at least 6 months! Try it today- I know you'll like it!


Share/Save/Bookmark

20 comments:

No More Sad Geraniums said...

That looks great! I have lots of spreads to play around with now... any idea of what the sugar to veg ratio was?

Soja said...

What a lovely colour! Sounds really tasty, I'll definitely try this. :-)

BTW, depending on the amount of sugar, jam put into sterilised jars and with a good seal should last for years out of the fridge. It doesn't need to be canned. I have friends and family in the UK that have very old jars in their cellars! I guess we use different recipes to those for the "freezer jam" I read about on American blogs. I think maybe you could leave the pectin out, as apples are so high in pectin anyway, (especially if you boil up the pips in a bag with the jam). If I have a go, and I end up with mouldy jam that doesn't set. I'll let you know!!! :-)

Anonymous said...

wow that jam sounds amazing!

nora said...

um, wow?!

carrotmuseum said...

Great piece, carrot jam and marmalade is still popular in the UK. A couple of simple recipes in the World Carrot Museum.

Did you know the EU classifies carrot as a fruit? becasue of the potuguese jam industry!!

Luciana said...

Seriously, that jam was so delicious!

Anonymous said...

That sounds really good... and it has CARDAMOM in it? Gotta make some! Funny, my dad's family lives in Sweden and I've never seen or had it, but maybe it's not very Swedish, or my family is just boring :) Thanks for sharing, Bazu!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful color--yum!

Courtney

laura said...

omg, carrot and cardamom sound like an amazing combination. i'm tossing this on the pile of stuff i need to try, absolutely!

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

wow, what a lovely jam! carrots are so sweet, i bet this tastes amazing.

Anonymous said...

I'm a fool for carrots and NEED to try this. I think there should be a Bazu farmers market stand that sells this...but in St. Louis.

Yum slobber yum yum!

Anonymous said...

Carrot jam? That sounds awesome.

KitteeBee said...

i love this idea! was it carroty or just sweet? what's the texture like? and sugar and pectin all mixed together is so crazy cool.

xo
kittee

DJ said...

I love carrot jam - it brings back very happy memories of holidays in Gran Canaria as a child.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Those flavors sound like they taste really good together.

aTxVegn said...

It's beautiful! I'm sure it's really delicious.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Dang, that sounds good. I love the idea of sugar with pectin in it already!

meena meena said...

this is great! my dad is a jelly guy, and i mean hes in the kitchen every night whipping up quarts of the stuff out of any fruit you can find. he'll totally appreciate a new kind of jelly to try, and by the looks of it, well all love it. thanks!

Anonymous said...

Very impressive. That shot of the marmalade on the toast was priceless!

Anonymous said...

that looks delicious but the ingredients for the carrot jam not listed?