Your favourite thing to do with jam/preserves?

[chloe103]

I've just discovered a lovely line of fruit jams and preserves, and am dying to figure out new things to do with them. Other than the obvious (on toast, pairing some of the flavours with cheese, using as a filling in jelly cookies), what do you like to do with your jams/preserves?

[nomnomnoms]

Drop a dollop in some hot black tea. Or just hot water if you want to do a Korean tisane!
My grandma used to make ume plum jam, as well as cherry jam, in the summer. Most of it would be gone by fall because we drank it all.

[deputygeorgie]

Of course, toast! But also the yogurt someone suggested. When I was a young teen, I'd get refrigerator biscuits, stretch them out, put a little jam inside and seal them up. Then I'd fry them. Kind of like a jelly donut.

[Radha2009]

Thumbprint cookies.
Also jam bars.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/deliciou...

[mkmccp]

I made peach freezer jam this past summer and it turned out wonderfully. Like the commercial for that hot sauce... "I put that ( bleep) on everything!!". I truly did. Ice cream, a spoon, ham, chicken, with cream cheese on a bagel, cottage cheese. I like the contrast of sweet peaches on salty smoky ham and even *gasp* bacon. A 4oz jar once opened seriously lasted maybe 2days. I was the only one in the house eating it. I have 1jar left.

[Kholvaitar]

Here's a recipe from the Mayo Clinic:

Pork chops with black currant jam sauce--

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heal...

[dianne0712]

Coconut meringue jam tarts!

[thymetobake]

I lived in Norway as a teenager and they did some interesting things with jam. Not a lot of fresh fruit there at the time.

Add jam to your cereal bowl with any kind of unsweetened cold cereal. My two favorites are Muesli and Wheetabix. Takes cold cereal to a whole 'nother level. Just put a big blob to one side and dip your spoon into as needed.

Spread jam on a waffel (the Norwegian kind had cardamom, I think. Does anybody have a recipe for that one?) Spread with jam and top with norwegian gjetost. It's a brown, semi soft 'cheese'. You can do the same on good whole wheat / rye bread.

Birthday cakes were always two sponge cake layers, split in half, spread with jam and either kiwi or strawberries. Usually one layer had whipped cream. Then it was topped with a marzipan dough - rolled out and laid nicely across the cake. Yum.

Finally, Sunday breakfast was always some lovely, firm white rolls. Many toppings were there to choose from but popular ones were topped with jam and mild white cheese, jam and a soft boiled egg, or cheese - egg - jam.

I realize these things may sound strange and were to me at first. But after 25 years I still crave them from time to time. Especially the gjetost.

[arvid]

Thymetobake, you must have noticed my name was Norwegian. We used jam on everything. The cake you mention is Bløtkake, the most popular Norwegian cake. It usually has a little jam and fruit or just fruit and sugared fruit juice in the center, sometimes with nuts. It is too good to describe in words. Sometimes we had it without marsipan. With a marsipan cover it is called "Kvite Dame", White Lady. I cannot get that special texture marsipan in the U.S. Perhaps someone knows where it is available. The cake is a very light sweet cake called a sukkerbunn, not the same as angelfood.

I have eaten jam on my oat porridge (havregrøt) every morning for as long as I remember, maybe 35-40 years now. I keep an oak wine barrel of rolled oats in my kitchen and cook oats with flax seed, walnuts, and raisins or cranberries every morning. Then I add milk and jam.

It is so wonderful to go to any street vendor in Norway and buy waffles with gjetost or with raspberry jam. These are heart shaped sour cream waffles with cardamom and very little flour.
When I get the time I will translate a recipe for you.

Do you remember eating Tebrød or Waleskringle? How about wonderful fiskemat, like fishballs or fish pudding?

Gjetost we can get here. My favorite is blandet ost - Gubrandsdal ost.

[thymetobake]

Wow, what a coincidence, arvid. I didn't even notice your name and wouldn't have thought of it as Norwegian anyway, since there are so many abbreviated user names.

I would love to have your recipe for waffles when you get the time.

My Norwegian house mother always made the marzipan herself. Have you tried that yet? If I ever had tebrod or waleskringle I don't remember it. I remember skolebrod. All the Norwegian pastries and breads were so good. I used to always buy a little sweet at the bus station when I had to wait for a while. I think they called it krumkake? But when I've looked that up it's not the same thing. It was two crispy wafers about 1/4 inch thick and rectangular in shape. One on top and one on bottom with a lightly flavored, white, fluffy filling. Any clue? Yes, I had fiskeboller while there but I wasn't crazy about it. I grew up eating southern/ creole/ cajun so my taste buds had some adjusting to do! My favorite thing was pancakes with blueberry sauce. Norwegian blueberries are the best. Oh and molte !! Please forgive my spelling... it's been a while. How do you get the o with a slash through it on an American keyboard?

[arvid]

That is a coincidence. Oh my God, skoleboller are so good! Every time I go to Norway I buy Tebrød and skoleboller. All the school kids buy one on the way home if they have a few kroner. It is a big, cardamom flavored roll with coconut on top and egg creme in the middle, just like in Tebrod. On a Mac ø is option-o.

I have made the marsipan myself but it is difficult and takes several grindings of the almonds. In Norway you can buy a special roll of marsipan with just the consistency for rolling. Bløtkake has whipped creme in the middle and all over, then the marsipan. Do you remember Gullbrød chocolate covered marsipan?

That was a kind of Krumkake. My mother would always either roll the Krumkake on a conical pin or shape it on a cup. Then she would fill it with whipped cream with apricot in it. You probably had a flat version like the Dutch use, with cream in the middle. The cone shape is the original krumkake.

Moltebaer are special. They grow in high northern climates, those golden raspberry like fruits. But Norwegian pannekaker are even more special. I'll start a new thread with my Norwegian pannekaker recipe. It has a little more egg than was usual in the old days, since eggs were always expensive in Norway, but it is worth trying.

I'll translate the waffle recipe later.

[arvid]

The most scrumptious value-added use for jams is to make Jam Jellies with gelatin and citric acid. Add some walnuts and they are better than Aplets and Cotlets. They are not at all the same as Turkish delight. Sometimes we coat them with chocolate. We use home made jams and the best commercial jams. See "Sweet Confections" by Nina Wanat, Lark publisher.

Speaking of fabulous commercial jams, where can I find the fabulous Les Comtes de Provence jams? I bought a few jars at TJ Maxx but it is hit or miss. I have eaten marmalade my whole life but I have never tasted better than Les Comtes de Provence "Old Fashion [sic] Sweet and Bitter Orange." It is not really a sweet marmalade. My apologies to the British, but it is superior.

I see retailers in France, England, and Canada, but none ship to the U.S. Can anyone help?

[Radha2009]

I called a gourmet store in Montreal, which has the greatest choice of jams ever.
Even though they don't have an online store, the person who answered the phone told me that they would ship to the U.S if you give them the credit card info....
I hope that you manage to order it from them if they carry it. I am almost sure they do because they show it on the picture.
http://www.gourmetlaurier.ca/en/home....
Good luck

[bigjimbray]

I make this peach jam with crushed pineapple and mariscino cherries, that is
good on ice cream. and biscuits, and waffles/pancakes and toast. and just with
a spoon.

[sueshungry]

I love raspberry preserves melted into maple syrup with a dab of butter. On pancakes. Heaven.

[bolivianita]

Not sure if this was mentioned, I didn't see it if it was. I love to eat cheese with jam. A nice firm fresh cheese is great with jam or preserves. I usually buy some sort of "queso colombiano" and serve it with dulce de guyaba which is very firm jam and a popular combo in South America but just plain ole jam is good too!

[girlwonder88]

My favorite breakfast is toasted whole wheat bread, spread with an appropriate jam (peach jalapeno, or pinot noir jam, for instance) and topped with thin slices of extra sharp cheddar. And now I must go make that for lunch!!!

Thumbprint cookies

We love this simple recipe for boneless chicken breasts with apricot jam and cashews; will use whatever apricot/peach jam combo we have on hand (I need to make this this week!)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cashew-c...

[Cinnamon]

Rose preserves heated, over rose ice cream.

[ArikaDawn]

I am not sure if chutney counts, but I use mango chutney as an addition to turkey salad when I am making it for sandwiches. It adds a lovely flavor that is different and no one can ever peg it. It also works well in chicken salad, though I make that less often.

[venera]

Crepes, definitely. Rolled up is easy, but to make fancier, you can make a crepe torte (layer about 10-15 crepes with jam) and cut as you would a cake. How nice would that be with some fresh whipped cream? Yum.

Once I was jonesin' for something sweet and literally had nothing in the house, and it was a holiday where everything was closed. I ended up putting strawberry jam in wonton wrappers, deep-frying, and sprinkling with powdered sugar. It was goooooood. (Though we were *ahem* rather tipsy that night.)

[thursday]

Sounds odd, but especially if the jam's aren't too sweet--I had a salad once that used a bare sprinkle of balsamic and a healthy dose of raspberry chutney as the dressing. Not having chutney, I tried it at home with raspberry jam,and it was lovely! Strawberry and blackberry work well too. Take some arugula, some toasted nuts (I like walnuts), toss with a little goat cheese and a little balsamic, and then drop clumps of jam on top.MMM!

[flipkeat]

Gee wiz, am I the only one who mixes my Peach or Raspberry Preserves in with Butter like Ina ??? Although, I was doing it wayyyyyyyyy before she did it on her show..I think I saw her combine Raspberry & Butter for Muffins once..I thought, Gee she stole that from me!!! lol lol So, I like to mix it for spreading on muffins, toast, english muffins..Mmmm good.

[weezycom]

I like to split my cake layers and fill with 2 kinds of preserves plus a skim of icing. Lemon curd and seedless black raspberry with a boiled white frosting, for instance. Or orange marmelade and key lime curd in a spice cake with cream cheese frosting.

[Jimmy Buffet]

Stir a spoonful into cooked oatmeal.

[bakemeacake]

Crepes!

[ratcat]

Apricot jelly or preserves to make a flavorful glaze for chicken or pork.
Various flavors and brands used for making sauces and glazes when I BBQ.

[weezycom]

Mix with dijon mustard and cream for a great sauce for pork chops or pan-fried chicken.

[Jacey]

mix it in with cottage cheese

[HillJ]

Take some fresh baked bread, thickly sliced and spoon a heavy dollop of your fav jam
add three slices of cheese-brie, gouda, swiss and toast it until the cheese just melts, heavenly

Stir into pancake batter
Stir into cheesecake batter right before baking
Heat jam/preserves til just warm and spoon over vanilla ice cream

[zomo]

I like to mix blueberry (but any flavor would work) in hot oatmeal. On days I don't feel like chopping apples or raisins, this is a nice alternative.

Another obvious use is ice cream topping.

[jenscats5]

I LOVE jam on top of oatmeal.....especially after it melts....MMMM

[VirgoBlue]

Three things... I love a good, not too sweet jam on fresh buttermilk biscuits. I also like to brush my tarts, pies, and pastries with a slight bit of jam to give a nice glaze and sweetness to the finished product. But most of all, I love to take a big spoon and just eat it out of the jar :). Sarabeth's makes a brilliant Apricot/Peach that you can find in their stores in NYC or Williams-Sonoma.

BTW, Joey on "Friends" used to take a big graham cracker and just use it to dip into the jam. Never tried it but looks intriguing!

[Jeserf]

Sarabeth's jams are so good, you really do want to eat them with a spoon!

[VirgoBlue]

No kidding! I haven't met a flavor of their jams that I didn't like.

[zebcook]

Make pancakes, spread with jam, roll up and save for lunch or later in the day. It's an old midwestern family treat.

[bigjimbray]

I make my own jams and jellies its one of my hobbies, and I use alot to flavor my
breakfast milk shake.and of coarse on my hot bisquits.

[son of a butcher]

I like to take a large spoon and once in a while just eat it as is, when I get an urge for something sweet

[mojoeater]

Reduce preserves and add balsamic vinegar. Makes a great dip for all kinds of meats.

[Jeserf]

crostini.
make the toasts, spread with fresh goat cheese (or ricotta), and top with a bit of the preserves. I've used apricot for this most often, but i think anything without many seeds would work.

[piccola]

Sub for the sugar/cinnamon/butter filling in cinnamon rolls.

Also - and this may sound weird - berry jams taste awesome on omelettes.

[farmersdaughter]

Make a jam crostata. We have a local purveyer or james and preserves here in the Bay Area, June Taylor Jams (also available online) and I make a lovely crostata with her conserves and jams. It's basically just pate sucree with jam. Here's a recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recip...

I also stir her jams into my morning yogurt and granola when I'm out of fruit.

[Junie D]

and there is nothing like jam crostata and coffee for breakfast. I make them with different jams, but my favorite is plum (made from those small plums that grow "wild" - or at least few people pick them). The sweet-tartness of the plum sets off the richness of the crust perfectly.

[ChefGirl412]

I prepare a delicious Raspberry Vanilla Vinaigrette using seedless raspberry jam, vanilla, s&p, raspberry vinegar (or red wine), extra virgin olive oil. Use it with spinach, strawberry, pecan, & goat cheese salad.

[another_adam]

Not exactly an everyday item, but deep-fried camembert, with a dollop of good preserves and some sprigs of deep-fried parsley-- yum. (sweet or spicy fruit preserves are both good with this!)

[Jeserf]

wow that sounds awesome!

[pikawicca]

Make a traditional English Jam Roly-Poly -- a brilliant vehicle for any great jam or preserves!

[Val]

Chloe, will you share what the "lovely line" is? It's getting harder and harder to find jam/preserves without high fructose corn syrup anymore!

[chloe103]

It's a French brand, Les Comtes de Provence. They use a relatively high percentage of fruit (the jar of pear preserves I've got now is 55%), and pure cane sugar. (The other ingredients, for the record: pear liquor, fruit pectin, lemon juice. Five ingredient labels are encouraging.)

[Val]

Thanks...will look for it...and I do the same as Candy, put it in my Fage yogurt!

[dukegirl]

I make a gingered pear preserve (slices of pear in a ginger syrup) that one of my customers puts in her chicken salad. I've tried it and it's pretty yummy.

[alex8alot]

in muffins and layer cakes, on toasted puond cake

[Candy]

Mix a heaping tsp. with Fage yogurt for breakfast.