Jam Session

Carrots

Like rhubarb, carrots are a vegetable. But if we can love carrot cake, surely we can embrace carrot jam. While you can buy carrots all year long, late spring, summer, and early fall are when the sweetest carrots appear in the market. They come in many colors and sizes. Red, purple, white, and the familiar orange. There are the long and thin Danvers and Nantes and the round and chubby Chantenays and Thumbelinas. Do not be fooled by the bags of so-called baby carrots you find in the supermarket. As we know from experience in cooking and in life, looks are not everything. They are just large starchy ones that have been abraded and trimmed to look like the real baby carrots sold at farmers’ markets. For these preserves, choosing really flavorful carrots is key. Carrots pair well with citrus, and fortunately lemons and oranges are always available. You can use regular oranges or blood oranges if you want a deeper color in your carrot jam.

Grating carrots in the food processor is the way to go. Some cooks slice the carrots, cook them, and mash them, but I think the shreds look elegant, and they become tender quickly during cooking. However, if you prefer a smooth, uniform texture, you can cook and mash sliced carrots and use the puree as if you were making Roasted Pumpkin Butter (this page).

The carrot jams are rather dense and intense and don’t have much excess liquid. So when you spread them on toast or an English muffin, they need a creamy contrast. They really shine if you pair them with crème fraiche, mascarpone, ricotta, cream cheese, or labne.

Natural flavor-pairing affinities for carrot preserves are orange and lemon, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, anise, orange-flower water, and rose water.

While most fruit preserves last for a few months in the refrigerator after opening, and even a few weeks at room temperature, carrot (and pumpkin) preserves do not have a long shelf life after they’ve been opened. Refrigerate them after opening and eat within 2 weeks.

This jam is good on toast, pancakes, biscuits, and English muffins, and even makes a great sauce for a shortcake dessert.

Peel, trim, and grate the carrots, using a food processor. You will have about 4 cups.

In a large preserving pot, gently combine the carrots, water, and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit, uncovered, for 1 hour for the carrots to soften and drink up some of the liquid.

Place a baking sheet on the counter near your stove. Heat a kettle of water. Set a stockpot on the stove and fill it with enough water to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Sterilize the jars (see this page) in the water bath.

Add 2½ cups of the sugar, the zest, and 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice to the carrots. Return to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to low and simmer until the jam has thickened and the carrots are tender and have taken on a glassy appearance. The juices will be quite syrupy. Taste and add more lemon juice for brightness if you think it needs it, some or all of the remaining ½ cup of sugar to adjust the sweetness, and up to ½ cup more water if you think it is too dry. Cook for a few minutes to incorporate the sugar and water. Do a plate test (see this page). It should mound on the plate and be syrupy, not dry. Remove the pot from the heat.

Bring the water bath back to a boil. If the jars have cooled, warm them in the water bath or in a 200°F oven. Simmer the lids in a saucepan of hot water. Place the jars on the baking sheet.

Ladle the jam into the jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean and set the lids on the mouths of the jars. Twist on the rings.

Using a jar lifter, gently lower the jars into the pot. When the water returns to a boil, decrease the heat to an active simmer, and process the jars for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the water for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using the jar lifter, transfer the jars from the pot to the baking sheet and let sit for at least 6 hours, until cool enough to handle. Check to be sure the jars have sealed (see this page). Label and store the sealed jam for 6 months to 2 years. Once open, store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

In my book Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen, there’s a recipe for a delicious and surprising double-crust carrot-ginger tart, which is what inspired this recipe. I decided a version of the filling would be a good preserve. At first this jam will look soupy, but the carrots gradually drink up the liquid. Pay attention and watch the juiciness quotient. If the mixture seems dry, add a bit more water or juice. The lemon juice is the key flavor enhancer, as it heightens the ginger’s zing. Fresh ginger varies in intensity. If it is mild, you might want to add a bit of heat—such as a pinch of hot pepper—at the end of cooking.

Peel, trim, and grate the carrots, using a food processor. Remove from the food processor bowl and set aside. You will have about 6 cups.

Halve and seed the orange and lemon. Cut the citrus into chunks, add to the food processor bowl, and pulse until pureed. Remove from the food processor bowl and set aside.

Peel and slice the ginger. Add to the food processor bowl and pulse until pureed. You will have about 1 cup.

In a large preserving pot, gently combine the carrots, orange and lemon, ginger, water, and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Add the sugar and 3 to 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let sit, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Place a baking sheet on the counter near your stove. Heat a kettle of water. Set two stockpots on the stove and fill them with enough water to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Sterilize the jars (see this page) in the water bath.

Taste the jam and stir in the remaining 3 to 4 tablespoons of lemon juice as needed. If the ginger is too mild, add a pinch of ground ginger or hot pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; then decrease the heat to low and simmer the jam for a few minutes longer, until it thickens and passes the plate test (see this page), achieving a soft set and mounding on the plate. It should be syrupy, not dry. Remove the pot from the heat.

Bring the water bath back to a boil. If the jars have cooled, warm them in the water bath or in a 200°F oven. Simmer the lids in a saucepan of hot water. Place the jars on the baking sheet.

Ladle the jam into the jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean and set the lids on the mouths of the jars. Twist on the rings.

Using a jar lifter, gently lower the jars into the pots. When the water returns to a boil, decrease the heat to an active simmer, and process the jars for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the water for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using the jar lifter, transfer the jars from the pots to the baking sheet and let sit for at least 6 hours, until cool enough to handle. Check to be sure the jars have sealed (see this page). Label and store the sealed jam for 6 months to 2 years. Once open, store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

They say that plants that grow together go together. Rhubarb and carrots appear at the farmers’ market at about the same time, so why not pair them for a bright-colored jam? The addition of cardamom or Fiori di Sicilia gives this jam a Middle Eastern aura.

Peel, trim, and grate the carrots, using a food processor. You will have about 4 cups.

Wash, trim (no need to peel it unless it is particularly stringy), and dice the rhubarb. You will have about 4 cups.

In a large preserving pot, gently combine the rhubarb, carrots, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, and sugar and toss to mix. Let sit overnight to macerate.

The next day, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, uncovered, for 1 hour. Add the cardamom. Taste and adjust the flavor, adding more lemon juice as needed.

Cook the jam, stirring to prevent scorching, until it has thickened and passes the plate test (see this page), mounding on the plate. Add the Fiori di Sicilia to taste. Remove the pot from the heat.

Bring the water bath back to a boil. If the jars have cooled, warm them in the water bath or in a 200°F oven. Simmer the lids in a saucepan of hot water. Place the jars on the baking sheet.

Ladle the jam into the jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean and set the lids on the mouths of the jars. Twist on the rings.

Using a jar lifter, gently lower the jars into the pot. When the water returns to a boil, decrease the heat to an active simmer, and process the jars for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the water for 1 to 2 minutes.

It is probably not a coincidence that carrot jam is so popular in Iran. The wild ancestor of the carrot originated in ancient Persia. Carrot jam is on every breakfast buffet table in Iran, to be paired with clotted cream or mild soft cheese atop flatbread. I found most Persian jams to be very sweet, so my goal was to create a jam that had a better balance between carrots and citrus, with mild spices. For more punch, you could add grated fresh ginger. Not very Persian, but lively.

1 to 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, or dried ground ginger to taste (optional)

Peel, trim, and grate the carrots, using a food processor. You will have about 7 cups.

Grate the zest of the oranges into a small bowl. Pare away the white pith from the fruit, separate the segments over the bowl so the juices are collected, remove the seeds, and chop the fruit. Combine the zest and fruit.

In a large preserving pot, gently combine the carrots and water or combined water and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the orange zest and fruit, 4 cups of the sugar, and the ginger to the carrots and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in the lemon juice and cardamom. Taste and add more lemon juice for brightness if you think it needs it and some or all of the remaining 1 cup of sugar to adjust the sweetness.

Simmer the jam a few minutes longer and then drop a spoonful onto one of the cold plates. After 1 minute, tilt the plate or run your finger through the jam to test the texture. It should be thick, the carrots translucent, and the juices somewhat reduced but still syrupy.

If the juices have been mostly absorbed, add just enough water or orange juice to thin the jam until it is syrupy. Simmer for a few minutes and then add the orange flower water. Remove the pot from the heat.

Bring the water bath back to a boil. If the jars have cooled, warm them in the water bath or in a 200°F oven. Simmer the lids in a saucepan of hot water. Place the jars on the baking sheet.

Ladle the jam into the jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean and set the lids on the mouths of the jars. Twist on the rings.