barberry jam

All over the Middle East and North Africa, people spend much of the end of summer preserving surplus produce. They dry or pickle vegetables, and they candy fruit or make jams with them. Each country has a local jam made with a typically local fruit, and this barberry jam is made with one of Iran’s essential ingredients, barberries (zereshk, in Persian). Too sour to eat raw, barberries were used in England in medieval times to add an astringent note to quince and other bland fruits. They remained fairly sought after at the beginning of the twentieth century. The barberry bush was extirpated in England once it was found to harbor wheat-mildew parasites. In Iran, barberries are used mainly in savory dishes such as zereshk polow (barberry pilaf) and morasa polow (jeweled rice).

I have bought dark-colored barberries and I have bought them in vivid red. The more vibrant the color, the prettier the jam, but the sweet-sour taste will be pretty much the same. If you can’t find barberries, you can substitute dried sour cherries. Use three ¹/₂-pt [240-ml] sterilized jars (see page 129). Start this recipe the night before you plan to cook the jam.

MAKES 3 CUPS [960 G]

1²/₃ cups [250 g] dried barberries, rinsed

2 cups [480 ml] apple juice

1 cinnamon stick

4 green cardamom pods

Pinch of saffron threads

1 cup [200 g] organic cane sugar

Put the rinsed barberries in a bowl. Pour the apple juice over them and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to soak overnight.

Put the barberries and apple juice in a large saucepan—you don’t want the mixture to boil over during cooking. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and saffron and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Slowly add the sugar, still stirring. Let bubble for 4 minutes, always stirring. Remove from the heat and discard the cinnamon stick.

Pour the jam into sterilized jam jars. Cover each jar with wax paper, immediately seal the jars, and let cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.