I'm no prize jam winner, but I do believe I'm improving over time. Today, I finished a Gothamist recipe (
link here) for kumquat jam. Total cost for three jars? $1, because sugar is cheap and the kumquats were free. I just had to spend ten minutes picking them off my aunt's tree. $1 is of course a very small fraction of the cost of a jar of d'arbo, one of my favorite widely available jam makers. I filled up my empty jar and I'll just pretend I'm eating d'arbo for the next few months.
My biggest problem with this recipe is that it took so long for me to boil off the liquid that there are no visible orange pieces left and the jam is a bit dark. It tastes fine and will be perfect for baking into things like carrot and zucchini cakes, but it's not superb enough to gift. Next time I think I'll boil down the liquid alone and add the fruit halfway in to keep the pieces intact. I might also not slice the pieces so thin.
5 comments:
You have an aunt in SF?
Nope, they're from when we were in LA
Off the topic of jam but I saw this blog and I thought of you. http://carolcookskeller.blogspot.com/. Maybe you have seen it. She cooked every item in the French Laundry cookbook. Also, I was curious where/how you obtained your fine dining taste and talents? Did you take any classes/training? Or does it just come naturally? Always reading and enjoying. G
I received a lovely set of Thomas Keller cookbooks for my wedding and have done nothing beyond admire the photos, so Carol's perseverance amazes me.
As for myself, I come from a family of avid eaters, and the habit just grew and grew when I moved to SF, a city of food lovers. Thanks for reading!
I too have an aunt with a kumquat tree. So I picked some fruit and will be making this jam tonight. I also picked a bunch of lemons from her lemon tree to make an orange lemon marmalade. I think that will go well with the walnut raisin bread pudding that I made earlier. Mmmm. - T.
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