Jam Season Has Taken Over And Patchwork Is On Hold

The preserving season is now nearly over, but I have been busy over the last few weeks and made a nice stock for the long winter. I love to make jams, it is not complicated and I use less sugar. This time I did some more experiments with combining different fruits and spices. When I came back from my trip to Prague, our fig tree was full of ripe fruit. Not only do I love to eat these dark delicious figs, but also the birds. They did get their fair share as the quantity hanging on the tree was enormous. So it was once more time to get out my tools, ingredients, glasses and start to cook. Fig jam is very tasty when adding ginger, cinnamon, star anise or cardamom. All 4 spices at once or combinations of any 2 or 3 gives the jam a distinguish taste. And of course adding lemon, lime or even orange juice is a welcome option and a small undertone for the tongue. I always leave some fruit flesh in the finished jam.

Here is the true connection between patchwork and jams : colour imagination in quilting or taste options in preserving have no limits! Use the colours, use the spices – the world is open to all new things.

On the local market we get a lot of different fruits. Nearly all of them are grown not far from here in the Murcia region. I have already worked with apricots and peaches. Vanilla pod goes really well with both. A touch of star anise gives the jam an exotic taste. This year I had a premier and tried working with nectarines – this is for me “the” perfect taste, the jam has a wonderful orange color and a smooth texture. My favorites are also a mixture with figs and peaches or figs and red plums. Now I have time to think about new spices and herbs to try out next year.

Patchwork was not completely on hold, this is what I have finished :