Slow Roasted Tomato Bacon Jam

With all of the filed ripened tomatoes around right now it is the perfect time for making sauces but I was thinking about something a little different, a tomato jam and with bacon day coming I was thinking that a tomato jam / bacon jam hybrid would be perfect! As nice as the field ripened tomatoes are they can be made even better by roasting them to caramelize them and bring out their flavour so I threw them into the oven and slow roasted them until they were starting to shrivel up and caramelize but still juicy on the inside. (Roasting the tomatoes also allows you to use those dull and drab winter hot house tomatoes to good effect!) Up next of course was the bacon followed by some of the usual jam suspects including brown sugar and maple syrup as sweeteners, a bit of vinegar for some tang and I threw in some chipotle chilies in adobo for a touch of heat. Once everything has simmered for a while on the stove all that is left is to puree to the jam desired consistency. Of course this slow roasted tomato bacon jam is absolutely fabulous on toast topped with a fried egg for breakfast and if you are looking for other ways to use it, take a look below the recipe for some more ideas.

Read the recipe »

Blackberry Bread Pudding

I have a freezer confession. I don’t use it very well most of the time. The ice-maker comes in handy, of course, and I couldn’t live without the freezer for the short time ice cream spends in it until it’s gone. But, when I actually store things away for a later date, I always leave them to frost over in the dark, forgotten depths. At some point, I’ll reorganize the contents only to find parts and pieces of things I thought I’d use and never did. Those quail wings intended for a stock, the extra pasta dough that I might have rolled into ravioli, and the lima beans I didn’t have time to cook last fall but was sure I’d turn into a gratin some day, were never used. I may have finally turned a corner though. During our far too short blackberry season, I popped some berries in the freezer knowing I couldn’t possibly forget those little gems. Then, when I baked those brioche pastries and used the extra dough for a brioche loaf, the bread when into the freezer. I had a vision of blackberry bread pudding happening when the time was right, and I really did it this time. There’s an Apple-Apple Bread Pudding in Baking: From My Home to Yours made with caramelized apples and apple butter. In the side-note, Dorie suggests trying the same technique with other fruits and jam. My frozen blackberries were thawed and macerated with sugar, and my brioche loaf was sliced and spread with Confituras blackberry jam for this summery bread pudding version. 

At a cooking class I attended a few years ago, I learned something about bread pudding that completely changed my thinking about it. In that class, the bread pudding was made with corners of the bread intentionally sticking up out of the custard. That way, lots of edges became crispy while the lower parts of the bread absorbed the custard. It was the good mix of textures that I really liked, and now I always keep that in mind in making bread pudding. Here, the brioche loaf was sliced and the pieces were slightly toasted in the oven to dry them. Each piece was cut in half and then spread with blackberry jam. One layer of jam-coated bread slices was placed in the baking dish, and the sugar-macerated blackberries and juice were poured over the bread. The remaining bread was arranged on top, and a rich custard made with milk, cream, eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla was poured over all the bread. It was left to sit so the bread could soak in the custard for about half an hour before it was baked. For baking, the dish was placed in a roasting pan and both went into a 325 degree F oven. Boiling water was poured into the roasting pan to come half-way up the side of the baking dish, and the bread pudding baked for an hour and 25 minutes. 

After it cooled for a bit, the pudding was easy to cut into wedges of custard-filled bread layered with jam and fruit. I served it with bourbon whipped cream and sliced peaches, and the crunchy tops and tender lower layers were delightful. Maybe I should start leaving notes for myself about what’s been shoved into the freezer. Or, maybe I just always need a really good plan like this one for what gets stored, and then I’ll surely make good on it. 

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Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam

I do not know how I could have possibly missed the whole bacon jam band wagon when it came around a while ago but I recently discovered it and jumped right on board! I mean, how could you possibly go wrong making a jam where the primary ingredient is bacon? I was completely smitten with the idea and had to make a batch right away!

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Marmalade

In amongst all of the oranges in the grocery store these days I noticed some new varieties that I had not come across before and I have been trying them out. One of the more interesting ones was the seville orange which was not what I was expecting when I cracked one open to eat along with breakfast; boy was it ever bitter! A quick search on the internet showed that the seville orange is indeed supposed to be bitter and that in fact it is prized for it and that bitterness makes it the perfect candidate for making marmalade. When I read that I knew what I would be doing with the rest of my bag of seville oranges; making marmalade.



After browsing a couple dozen recipes for marmalade I noticed that none of them called for pectin and since I had never made a jam or preserve without pectin, I was looking forward to making the marmalade. Citrus fruit has a lot of pectin naturally and it concentrates in the seeds. With this in mind, one of the critical aspects of marmalade recipes is to catch all of the seeds, pulp and extra bits and tie them up in a cheese cloth bag. This bag of seeds is then simmered with the peels so that the pectin is released into the marmalade to thicken it naturally. Another thing that I liked about the recipes for marmalade it that they are all pretty simple ingredient wise usually only containing the oranges, sugar and water with a lemon thrown in for good measure.



Other than a bit of juicing, scraping, slicing and simmering, the marmalade was pretty easy to make and once you get it to the simmering phase you can let it go for the most part, just stirring it every once in a while.

In the end I was quite pleased with the final results including the way that the marmalade thickened up despite the lack of extra pectin. The marmalade itself has a really nice sweetness with undertones of bitterness that balance things out and the the orange peel is perfectly tender. I am looking forward to trying the marmalade out on something!

Marmalade

(makes 4 cups)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound seville oranges, about 4 (washed)
1 lemon (washed)
4 cups water
4 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Cut the oranges and lemon in half cross wise.
2. Squeeze the juice and pits out through a mesh sieve collecting the juice in a large sauce pan.
3. Scrape all of the membranes and remaining pulp from the inside of the oranges. (For me it all came out easily leaving behind just the pith.)
4. Collect the pit, membranes and any pulp that came out and place it in a double layer of 8 inch square cheese cloth and tie it off.
5. Slice the orange and lemon peels into small thin pieces about 1/8 inch wide and no longer than an inch.
6. Bring the juice, water, peels and cheesecloth to a simmer over medium heat and cook, covered, until the peel gets tender, about 2 hours. Stir every 15 minutes, squeezing the juices from the cheesecloth when you do.
7. Remove the cheesecloth and squeeze out any liquid into the pot.
8. At this point you should have about 4 cups of liquid. Add more water if you have less and simmer to reduce if you have more.
9. Bring the liquid and sugar to a roiling boil until it thickens, about 10-15 minutes. To test, place a small spoonful on a plate that was in the freezer and run your finger through. If the path where your finger went through stays then it has set.
10. Pour into your jars leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top, seal, let cool and refrigerate.

Note: Since I do not have much room left in my pantry for more jars of preserves, I made a small batch and I plan on keeping them in my fridge over the next few months while I finish them. If you want to preserve some for a longer period of time or outside of a fridge you will have to use proper canning procedures. Sterilize the jars before filling them by boiling them in water for 10 minutes. After the jars are filled and sealed, cover them water and boil for 10 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Candied Orange Peel
Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Mango and Cardamom Jam

Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam

When I picked up the green tomatoes for the fried green tomato BLT sandwiches that I made earlier in the week, I got a whole basket of them and I had a lot left over. Luckily I had found just the recipe to use some of them up in on Steamy Kitchen in the form of a green tomato and jalapeno jam. I had heard of chili pepper jams and jellies in the past and they always sounded so interesting and I had been wanting to try one out. With the extra green tomatoes that I had on hand it was to perfect time to make one. This jam kind of reminded me of a chutney with the garlic, ginger and cider and it promised to be good. The jam was pretty easy to make! I boiled the green tomatoes for a while so that I could peel them more easily and then I pureed the other ingredients and simmered everything until it thickened. The final result was really amazing! It was nice and sweet and yet at the same time savoury and of course there was a really nice heat to it! I am looking forward to experimenting with this green tomato and jalapeno jam.

Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam

(makes 3 cups of jam)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 jalapenos (sliced)
1/2 cup herbs such as mint and cilantro (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 inch piece ginger (chopped)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pound green tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
3 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Puree the jalapenos, herbs, garlic, ginger vinegar and soy sauce in a food processor.
2. Place the mixture into a sauce pan and add the tomatoes and sugar.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer until it thickens, about 45 minutes.

Used in:
Chicken Baked in Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam
Peanut Butter and Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam Sandwich
Roasted Acorn Squash with Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam

Similar Recipes:
Pickled Green Tomatoes
Mango Chutney
Fried Green Tomatoes
Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Cranberry Chutney
Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam
Slow Roasted Tomato Bacon Jam

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Ever since I started making my own jams I have been making a strawberry jam every year when the strawberries are in season. With strawberry season now in full swing it was the perfect time to make some more strawberry jam and I was also running a bit low on supplies from previous years. I like to change things up a bit each year and try something a little different. This year I was thinking that if a touch of balsamic vinegar goes well with and enhances the flavour of strawberries then a strawberry balsamic jam would be a good idea. I pretty much just took the original strawberry jam recipe and added some balsamic vinegar.

After making the jam last weekend I could not resist opening up a jar to try it. My favorite way to taste test a new jam is to have it simply on a slice of toast. The strawberry balsamic jam did not set quite as much as some of my other jams have but it set well enough and it tasted great! You cannot taste the balsamic vinegar in the jam but there is that something extra that you just can't quite put you finger on. When I did a side by side comparison with a plain strawberry jam the strawberry balsamic jam seems brighter and the strawberry flavour seems to be stronger. I have been enjoying the strawberry balsamic preserves all week for breakfast on toast along with scrambled eggs and the still in season asparagus. Another one of my favorite ways to enjoy jams is on plain yogurt as a simple parfait. With fresh local strawberries available I have been enjoying the strawberry jam and yogurt parfait with fresh strawberries and some chopped pistachios.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

(makes 6-8 cups)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 + 1/2 cups strawberries (cleaned, hulled, sliced and mashed)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 box Certo pectin crystals
7 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Bring the strawberries, balsamic vinegar and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the sugar.
3. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
6. Pour into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Strawberries in Balsamic Vinegar
Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream
Strawberry Rice Pudding with Balsamic Syrup
Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam
Marmalade

Mango and Vanilla Jam

When I got the mangoes earlier in the week for the jerked pork wraps with mango and banana salsa I could not resist getting a full case. Even with snacking on them during the week I still had a lot left over and the first thing that came to mind as to how to use them was a jam. I remembered that when I made the mango and cardamom jam I was thinking that the flecks of cardamom looked like flecks of vanilla beans. A mango and vanilla jam also sounded really good and I had wanted to try making some. I used pretty much used the same recipe and replaced the cardamom with the seeds from a vanilla bean. I wanted this mango jam to be much chunkier so I cut the mango pieces bigger and did not mash them up. The mango and vanilla flavour combo turned out to be a great one! For some reason the vanilla seems to make this mango jam seem even sweeter. So far I have been enjoying the mango and vanilla jam on toast and it also goes really well on some plain yogurt for breakfast.

Mango and Vanilla Jam

(makes 5 cups)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups mango (stoned, peeled, chopped)
1 box pectin crystals
5 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 vanilla bean (seeds)

Directions:
1. Bring the mangoes and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat, stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
4. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Similar Recipes:
Mango and Cardamom Jam
Mango Chutney
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Mango and Cardamom Jam

More Mango Recipes

Mango and Cardamom Jam

I just can't seem to help myself; every time I walk through Chinatown those cases of perfectly ripe mangoes just keep calling to me and I end up walking home with another. I needed to use some more mangoes and the best way that I know to use a lot of fruit in a hurry is to make jam with it. I have made several jams over the last two years starting with single fruit or berry jams and then moving on to two fruit or berry jams. This time I wanted to try adding a spice to a jam. I have been enjoying cardamom lately and cardamom seems to be commonly paired with mangoes so I thought that a mango and cardamom jam would be a good idea. The box of pectin crystals that I normally get did not have a recipe for a mango jam on it so I kind of winged it using the ratios from the other recipes. Luckily it turned out well, thickening nicely but not too much. I left a lot of the pieces of mangoes fairly large as I like chunks of fruit in my jams. The mango and cardamom jam turned out great! It is nice and sweet and just bursting with mango flavour and the cardamom goes really well with mango! I will certainly be enjoying this jam!

Mango and Cardamom Jam

(makes 5 cups)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups mango (stoned, peeled, chopped)
1 box pectin crystals
5 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cardamom pods (crushed and ground)

Directions:
1. Bring the mangoes and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the sugar, lemon juice and cardamom and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat, stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
4. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Similar Recipes:
Mango and Vanilla Jam
Mango Chutney
Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Mango and Cardamom Jam
Mango Shrikhand
Marmalade

More Mango Recipes

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam

Last year I made some strawberry jam that I really enjoyed. With all of the fresh strawberries around I wanted to make some more but I still had some left from last year. Since I really like the strawberry and rhubarb combination I decided to make some strawberry and rhubarb jam this year. The jam was easy to make, I just followed the instructions in the pectin crystal package. One thing to remember when making jam on the stove is to use a really large pot. The jam expands when it reaches a hard boil and you don't want if spilling over the sides. Of course I could not help myself and I opened up a jar of the jam right away to try. The strawberry and rhubarb jam turned out really good! The tartness of the rhubarb balanced out the sweetness of what otherwise would have been a sweet strawberry jam.

Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries (hulled and crushed)
2 cups rhubarb (chopped)
1 box Certo pectin crystals
5 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Bring the strawberries, rhubarb and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the sugar.
3. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
6. Pour into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Mango and Cardamom Jam
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Fig Jam

This weekend the figs were more expensive at the market so I am guessing that fig season is coming to an end. I of course picked some up. I wanted to try making an interesting looking fig jam that I had seen here. Up till now I have not tried adding spices to a jam and I wanted to try it. I was also intrigued by the idea of cooking the jam in the microwave.

Cooking the jam in the microwave actually turned out to be more challenging than cooking it on the stove. I had to watch it very carefully. If I took my eyes off of it, it would boil over the sides of the container leaving a really sticky mess to clean out of the microwave. After about 9 minutes the jam would come to the point were it was about to boil over with in 30 seconds and I would have to stop it and stir.

Despite the sticky mess, the jam turned out pretty good. It ended up setting better that the other jams that I tried making this summer. I liked the spices and the chunks of figs in the jam. I tried dipping gruyere cheese sticks into the jam and it was pretty good.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh figs (quartered, I used 4 green and 4 brown figs)
1/2 cup orange (peeled, seeded, and diced)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon butter

Directions:
1. Place everything in a microwavable container and mix.
2. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
3. Microwave for 15 minutes at high. When it starts to boil stop the microwave and stir the jam. Repeat until the jam thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. (Note: Be careful and watch the jam as it can quickly boil over.)
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Blueberry Jam

Continuing on the blueberry theme, I did a blueberry jam next. The blueberries were much easier to prepare for jam than the strawberries or cherries. I just needed to rinse them, pick out any bad ones and remove a few stems. I used a mixture of cultivated and wild blueberries. The blueberry jam set really well. With only a few hours to set it was solid enough to be a bit difficult to spread on lightly toasted bread. The next time I make jam I am going to have to try making it without the use of pectin to see how it goes.

Ingredients:
5 cups blueberries (halved and crushed)
1 cup water
1 box Certo pectin crystals
2 & 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Bring the blueberries, water, pectin and 1 cup of sugar to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the rest of the sugar.
3. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
6. Pour into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Cherry Jam

This weekend there were local Ontario cherries at the market and a got a lot of them. The first thing that I did with the cherries (other than eating a bowl of them) was make cherry jam. Pitting 6 cups worth of cherries took a long time! But it was worth it. The cherry jam tastes amazing.

I accidentally grabbed the "light" version of the pectin crystals which ended up being alright as it called for a higher ratio of fruit to sugar. The jam did not seem to set and it is a bit runny.

Ingredients:
6 cups cherries (pitted, halved and crushed)
1 box Certo pectin crystals
4 & 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Bring the cherries, 1 cup of sugar and the pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the rest of the sugar.
3. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
6. Pour into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Strawberry Jam

Strawberry season is just starting here in Ontario and I got a lot of strawberries on the weekend. My grandmother used to make strawberry jam and I have had a craving for homemade strawberry jam for a while now.

I pretty much just followed the directions in the Certo (pectin crystal) package. It did not work out perfectly as the strawberries floated to the top of the jam. I think the problem was that I did not notice that I was supposed to bring it to a hard boil. A hard boil being a boil that does not stop boiling when stirred. (I learned something new.) It tastes great though! The recipe made a lot (7.5 jars), so I have a supply of strawberry jam to last a while.

Ingredients:
4 + 1/2 cups strawberries (hulled and crushed)
1 box Certo pectin crystals
7 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Bring the strawberries and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the sugar.
3. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
6. Pour into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.



Use in:
Balsamic Strawberry and Chicken Pizza with Sweet Onions and Smoked Bacon
Roasted Strawberry BBQ Sauce

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Strawberry Balsamic Jam