In a Jam For BBQ

I walked in the kitchen, groggy from reading late into the night.  Greeted by peaches and mangos, they end up in a bowl together.  A squeeze of lime juice, sprinkling of granola, and spoonful of vanilla yogurt.  I have a taste.  Wow!  The combo’s a sensation of flavors.  My now un-clogged brain is thinking jam.

I love a nice piece of bread lightly toasted, slathered with soft, creamy goat cheese and jam, jam, jam.  Because I like it so much, I started making it three or so years ago.  The only downside is all that sugar- four, five sometimes six cups in four pints. So, I started making low-sugar jams.

Because mangos are higher in sugar- probably why I like them so much- I use even less here.  They’re a wonderful companion to the peach too.  And lime completes the picture; it tames the sugar and brightens the result.

The best part about this jam is it’s great on summer BBQ.  I  like to spread a little on BBQ’d fish or chicken.  It’s a sweet contrast on spicy (give it some heat!) crab or fish cakes.  I’ve even enjoyed it on a BBQ grilled cheese sandwich with gruyere.  And, you can cut these grilled cheese sandwiches into smaller pieces for a party appetizer to pop into your mouth.

I canned this jam but you don’t have to.  It’ll keep in your fridge for about 3 weeks, but I’ll bet it won’t last that long.

 

Low Sugar Peach Mango Lime Jam

Yield: 4-5 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups mangos, mashed

2 cups peaches, mashed

¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 cup sugar or ½ cup honey

2 teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder *see note below

2 teaspoons calcium water (included in the Pomona box)

Method:

Measure fruit into a stockpot.  Add lime juice and calcium water.  Bring fruit mixture to a boil.

While fruit is getting to a boil, measure sugar or honey into a bowl.  Thoroughly mix the pectin into the sugar and set aside.

Once fruit starts to boil, add pectin-sugar or pectin-honey.  Stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes while cooking to dissolve pectin.  Return the mixture to a boil then take off the heat.

If you aren’t canning, let jam cool for 10 minutes.  Divide into mason or other jars/containers.  Refrigerate for up to one month.

If you are canning, have your water-bath, jars and other equipment ready.  Fill jars leaving ¼-inch headspace.  Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 feet above sea level).

If new to canning, go here for an overview of the process.

Note on pectin- I get good results with Pomona’s pectin, which is 100% citrus pectin.  This recipe is based on using Pomona’s.