Any ideas for using obscene amounts of jam?
My mother recently bemoaned our seemingly chronic shortage of available food containers. Being the one with the least sparse knowledge of the wilderness that is our freezer box, I suggested that we might just not be eating whatever we're storing, and decided to take a look.
Basically, the culprit is my mothers penchant for jam making, and the fact that we've never actually finished an entire batch of jam. We have about 5 dl to a litres worth (2 to 4 cups) from each year, starting from 2011's exquisite, but now toddler-aged strawberry jam and ending at 2015's lingonberry jam, as well as some of my sister's sporadic chutney-making. Not only that, but the reason she was worried in the first place was because she just finished making a new, citrus-flavoured batch.
22 Comments
I just wanted to thank you all for the brilliant advice, as well as the concern for my jam consumption, which I'll try to keep at a reasonable level. Made a roast chicken last night with some fig jam which turned out wonderfully. I've also pawned off what I could, the age of the jam being relative to how much they love me. Most of them went to friends who promised to return whenever available (soon enough), and one was sacrificed as a surprise gift for my favourite semi-homeless guy (A new one, promise). I even managed to do some old-school trading with a family friend named Pia, who owns hens.
Next up is probably baking, but for now, I'll have to get back to my ploughman's-lunch-for-dinner.
(Oh, and the strawberry jam? We kept it. Fingers crossed on not getting food poisoning.)
http://whatjuliaate.blogspot.com/2012/07/jamgria.html
http://www.somethingswanky.com/brie-jam-hand-pies/
http://hungrytigress.com/2012/03/roast-the-toast-peach-bourbon-jam-butter/
http://eatboutique.com/2011/12/30/sparkling-jam-cocktail/
http://www.motherthyme.com/2012/05/jam-squares.html
http://growitcookitcanit.com/2012/07/25/jam-vinaigrette-from-the-redwood-valley-farmers-market-chef-demo/
http://www.spoonforkbacon.com/2011/09/blackberry-jam-straws-blackberry-stuffed-cinnamon-rolls/
http://redstartolonestar.blogspot.com/2012/07/grated-cake-with-jam.html
http://www.thekitchn.com/-guest-post-from-josue-86073
Jam and Blue Cheese Savouries
Makes about 3 dozen
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Ground black pepper
Fig preserves (or any jam), about 3 Tablespoons
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the flour, butter, blue cheese and a few grinds of black pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball.
3. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull the dough together. Roll out to 1/8 inch thick with a floured rolling pin. Cut rounds out of the dough with a floured 1-inch cutter and transfer the rounds to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. Using the back or a round half-teaspoon measure or your knuckle, make an indention in the top of each dough round. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of fig preserves into each indention, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentations.
5. Bake the savories for 10 – 14 minutes, until the preserves are bubbling and the pastry is light golden on the bottom.
6. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, the remove to a wire rack to cool.
All-purpose Savory Jam Glaze
Published in The Oregonian January 18, 2011
Makes enough for 4 pounds of meat
The author suggests the following meat/jam combinations: Pork -- fig, peach, plum, cherry, blueberry or blackberry; salmon -- peach, cherry, blackberry or blueberry; chicken -- peach, cherry, blackberry, blueberry or raspberry. Note that because of the sugar in the jam, the glaze may burn if applied on meats too early or cooked at higher temperatures.
2 teaspoons butter
1 shallot, diced
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup jam
1/4 cup red wine
1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the shallot until translucent, then whisk in the salt, jam, wine, vinegar and mustard. Simmer until thickened to a glaze and brush on meat before roasting; for a deeper glaze, repeat application a second time during cooking.
Jam Cake
Mix in a large bowl:
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Whisk until light:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup olive oil
Add in and beat well:
3 large eggs
Then add in:
1/4 cup of milk or yogurt
Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
Then beat in:
1 half-pint of jam
Bake at 350 degrees in a 9-inch plain tube cake pan for thirty minutes. Let cool at least ten minutes before unmolding.
Voted the Best Reply!
http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/simple-oatmeal-cookie-jam-bars/
1) spread between layers of cake, then frost the whole cake with a traditional icing
2) mix lightly with savory spreads (mayo, yogurt, soft cheeses) for interesting hors d'oeuvre
package in pretty jars and give as hostess gifts or loot bags (with peanut butter) for children's birthday parties
3) fill sweet omelettes or crepes. similarly, use as topping for pancakes or waffles, sometimes thinned with a complementary liqueur
4) use instead of other sweetener in milkshakes and smoothies
5) use as topping for sweet or savory cheesecake (e.g. fig jam with blue cheese cheesecake).
the "package in jars and give away" is a separate idea from the "mix with savory spreads"
The main reason is health: jams are sugar, high amounts of fructose and other sugars. Not only are these empty calories, they also contribute to other physical ailments.
For sure, keep a little around to enjoy your mother's and sister's efforts, but I would avoid trying to shoehorn a large amount of jam into my diet because of a glut of supply.
- use it as honey/sugar (reduce fluid) substitute whenever baking quick bread, bread, pudding, bread pudding, etc
- part of marinade in pork, chicken, etc.
- substitute for sweetener in teas and some fruity cocktails (will need to experiments for which ones).
*Or I can send you my address so I can get some lol. I love homemade jam.