It’s winter. There isn’t that much fresh fruit around. OK, that’s a fib. There is a lot of fruit around, we don’t live in ancient times where scurvy was an actual concern, but still. Things feel a little dull right now, in the fresh fruit department. Until I made this jam and it is quite likely some of the best jam that I have ever made and I make some pretty yummy jam! I give you, in honor of Valentine’s Day, Pineapple Passion Fruit “Sunshine in a Jar” Jam. It is tart, it is sweet, it is bright and I could eat it by the spoonful. Absolutely perfect cure for the mid-Winter blues.
Jam-Jelly
So as we start the new year, here is one more “symbolic food” that I thought that I would make something with. The Pomegranate. This one is a bit controversial, to be honest. The oldest known symbolism of pomegranate is of fertility and abundance (all those little seeds!). Some cultures see it as a symbol for immortality and eternal life. And then there is the other extreme — some cultures see the fruit as a symbol of death. A lot of these are tied to religion, and as I am not the religious sort, I am going to just leave it as a spherical symbol (full circle) and abundance (all those seeds)! And it makes a really delicious, really easy to make jelly (I cheated and just used POM juice). Breakfast is served on a freshly baked piece of anadama bread.
Before we end strawberry season for the year, I did attempt to “lengthen” the season by making jam. I am good at making jam; it’s usually quite delicious. This year, the berries were sweet, so I went with a low sugar jam variety, and added vanilla bean paste as an extra “bump” in flavor. Makes about 6 jars.
Like I said last week already, it’s getting to be strawberry season, but before I go full on into the berries (that will be next week), I was gifted an armful of young tender rhubarb, so I decided to make this jam. It is lovely and tart and not too sweet and very delicious. I know that some people can be allergic to rhubarb (and to ginger too), so be aware that this is pretty much pure rhubarb. Enjoy!
Sunshine in a jar! Mangoes were on sale at Whole Foods this week, and when balls of sunshine are available, I bought some and ended up making this jam. Super quick to make and should extend the life of these lovely fruits for a bit. Lovely on toast but also with yogurt and granola. Or just plain by the spoonful.





