4 minute read
EDIBLE TREATS
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JAM ON
Not Your Momma’s Preserves
WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUZANNE KROWIAK
Nothing is better on a weekend morning than toast with homemade jam. Not only does it taste delicious, it’s one of the prettiest things you can put on your table.
Th e great news is that you don’t have to know how to can food or have buckets of fresh fruit to get started. Small-batch jam is perfect for people who want to pick up a small amount of produce at the farmers’ market or grocery, and have something on the table within 30 minutes.
Th is raspberry vanilla jam with black pepper is one of my favorites. One of the reasons I love it is because it’s so easy to throw together. Th ere is no peeling, seeding or chopping necessary. You just rinse your raspberries and throw them in a saucepan with lemon juice, sugar, a vanilla bean and fresh-ground black pepper.
Th is jam will be stored in the refrigerator, and not canned. Th at means you can be fl exible on the amounts of sugar and lemon juice you add to the pan. When canning food to store in the pantry, more specifi city is required in the amount of acid and sugar, because both are important players in the preservation and safety of a shelf-stable jam.
If you try the recipe below and it’s too sweet, reduce the sugar. If it’s not sweet enough, add more. Same thing goes for the lemon juice. Feel free to adjust the amount to your personal taste. Be aware this version has less sugar than a typical jam recipe. Since it will be stored in the refrigerator and eaten right away, I really wanted the fl avor of the raspberries to be the star.
Serve it alongside your favorite bread, or even on a charcuterie tray with some strong-fl avored cheeses and cured meats. Your guests will be impressed, and your belly will be pleased. Suzanne Krowiak is a Master Food Preserver and founder of Indy Food Swappers. A former television writer and producer, she currently teaches classes and gives presentations on food preservation and other D.I.Y. food topics. Follow her @indyfoodswap on Twitter.
Yield: About 1 cup
1 pound fresh raspberries ½ cup sugar (more or less, to taste) 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 vanilla bean Fresh ground pepper, to taste
In a large saucepan, mash the raspberries with a potato masher. Add the sugar and lemon juice, and stir to combine. Cut the vanilla bean in half. Split open each half and scrape the seeds into the jam mixture. Th row the pods in the pot as well.
Over medium heat, cook the mixture, stirring gently, until the sugar is dissolved. Add ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper (more or less, to taste).
Raise the heat to medium-high and boil gently, stirring frequently, until it begins to thicken to a jam-like consistency. Th is will take approximately 10–20 minutes, depending on the intensity of the heat.
One way to test if the jam is ready is to put a small spoon in your freezer when you start the recipe. When you see the jam is thickening, turn off the heat. Take the cold spoon out of the freezer, scoop up a small amount of the jam, and return the spoon to the freezer (on a small plate, to avoid a mess). After 2–3 minutes, take the spoon out of the freezer and hold it up sideways. If it has the consistency of jam out of the refrigerator, it’s ready. If the jam drips off the spoon like thin soup, continue heating the jam on the stovetop over medium heat until you reach the desired consistency. Remember: It will thicken when you refrigerate it, so don’t overcook it.
Remove the vanilla bean pods from the saucepan and discard. Ladle the jam into a jar or bowl, and allow to cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating. Jam will last 2–3 weeks in the refrigerator.
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