Fruit jams are sometimes referred to as “summer in a jar”, and no wonder. Jam is fruit in the extreme, providing a perfect taste bud boost when spring is still several long weeks away. Even those who didn’t share in an annual canning ritual during the summer months can take part – anyone can cook up this tasty treat in the winter as easily as they can in July. That was certainly the view of Allison Carroll Duffy when she shared her recipe for Blueberry Vanilla Jam on Maine’s 207 recently. She reminded us in no uncertain terms that frozen wild blueberries are the solution to winter jam making.
“Since it’s winter, I’ve been making this recipe with frozen berries,” said Duffy, “and you know what? I actually prefer using frozen at this time of year, as I can use locally-grown [or “wild”] berries.” Duffy’s comment serves as a perfect reminder of the advantages that frozen affords us. Convenient, loved by bakers, chefs, and home cooks, available year round in the frozen food section, and just as nutritious and delicious as fresh, frozen helps us adds important cups of fruit to our daily nutritional needs, all while providing a taste of a local summer favorite. The utter ease of availability of frozen wild blueberries means there is nothing standing in our way of making homemade jam this month – or any month – and experiencing the superior taste and nutrition of wild blueberries.
Keeping jam on hand is a must in Duffy’s household – she finds the sweet fruit taste of homemade jam irresistible. Besides its role as a foil for toast, jam lovers like theirs for lunch in classic PB & J(am), as a sweet topper for ice cream, in yogurt, or with cottage cheese. The unique sweet and tart flavor of wild blueberries are a classic for fruit jams – unsurpassed in flavor and color – especially when it’s used in small, warmed amounts whisked into salad dressings or glazes for chicken or meats, or for dolloping over goat cheese for a tasty hors d’oeuvre.
Wild blueberry jam is also a pantry staple for bakers – Blueberry Jam Sandwich Cookies come to mind. Even Medina County Life has the right idea, miles away from the wild blueberry harvest, in Ohio: they suggest frozen blueberry jam as the complement to everything from pound cake to sliced bananas. Well done!
Jam’s Jarring Health Benefits
Homemade wild blueberry jam is a sweet treat with broad appeal, but it offers big benefits when it’s made at home. Making jam helps side-step the extra sugar, calories, and preservatives that can run high in many supermarket jams. Made with whole ingredients, homemade jam helps us feel good about enjoying its many health advantages without the health hazards.
Jam’s biggest advantage is the main ingredient, wild blueberries. Wild blues have powerful antioxidant properties that support our disease prevention efforts, and since we tend to eat fewer cups of fruits and veggies this time of year, now is when we need good-for-us food the most. When we enjoy any half cup of wild blueberries, we’re giving the nod to nutrition by leaving less room for foods that satisfy our sweet tooth but offer empty calories. And just like frozen berries, jam is there to be used whenever we please: it stores well in the freezer for several months and will last in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks.
Now that you are jam savvy, what’s stopping your from cooking up a jar of summer sweetness while the snow flies? You’re bound to find it a welcome taste of summer this season!
Looking for more jam recipe ideas? Find other ways to enjoy this Summer Fruit Spin-off all winter. You can also find out more about Allison Caroll Duffy’s classes and workshops on home canning and other methods of food preservation at CanningCraft.com.
The fruit race is on! Fresh fruit is showing its color everywhere now that summer is at its apex. It makes a health-conscious eater wonder: How much fresh fruit can we actually eat?
We know frozen fruits and vegetables offer the same taste and nutrition all year round. But eating fresh when it’s available has its benefits, too. It can mean helping out local farmers and even sampling something new. It can also provide some nostalgia by reminding us of childhood fruit picking trips. Eating the fruits of the season, whether harvested locally or from away, whether purchased directly from the farmer or through a middle-man, is just part of getting the most out of healthy and delicious summer eating.
The colors range from blue to yellow, the tastes stretch from tangy to mellow: cherries with pineapple, watermelon with peaches, strawberries and rhubarb, blueberries with raspberries…what to do with it all?
Well, we love shortcake as much anyone. But these 10 unique ways to get fruit into your life promise some under-the-radar ideas that are simply way out of this world. They’ll kick start your “servings quotient” and ensure that you’re hitting the pavement as part of the fresh fruit race.
10 Way-Out Ways to Serve the Season’s Fresh Fruit
1. Granita
If you have a hard time transitioning from regular life into full-on summer, granita is your remedy. This more worldly sorbet has summer written all over it. As a recipe run-down from the Chicago Tribune said last week, it’s the grown-up equivalent of the snow cone. To make this Spanish treat, an ice-cream maker or food processor comes in handy. The result is not just delicious – it provides the perfect cool-down for when the sun is high.
Martha Stewart offers up a melon sparkler that hits the spot. But granitas don’t require the cocktail twist. This winning strawberry granita recipe from Epicurious is easy and lo-test, in the most delectable sense.
2. Fruit Pizza
Everyone loves it. And the crust that makes traditional pizza great sets the stage for this dessert pizza twist. Fruit pizzas are perfect when you are surrounded by a fruit extravaganza, since they can be highly personalized for taste and color. Usually cream combined with the fruits of your choice (go for kiwis for a splash of green, blueberries for a zing of blue) and a little creativity is all you need. Serve it on a cake stand and you’ll add a little ahem to your table.
This Grape and Pine Nut Dessert Focaccia requires regular pizza dough (they call for frozen), while some, like this Fruit Pizza recipe from Paula Deen uses cookie dough as its foundation.
3. Dessert Nachos
It may just be an excuse to pour chocolate on tortilla chips, but it’s still a killer snack idea. Food52.com uses blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and peaches to achieve fruit nirvana posing as bar food.
You can also take a lesson from the dessert nacho idea by simply “going naked”. Combine the fruit of you choice, top with a drizzle of honey and cream and a sprinkle of almonds, and let nature do the work of delighting your palate. Use a warm blueberry sauce to sprinkle over ice cream, for instance, or simply top fresh strawberries with Grand Marnier and you’ve achieved delish. Thanks to Real Simple for these effortless ideas that are so good.
4. Cubes, Cups & Cutouts
We admit it: making shapes out of fruit is irresistible for adults and kids both. Watermelon makes a likely suspect: use cookie cutters to serve watermelon shapes as side dishes or garnishes, suggests Watermelon.org, or freeze watermelon puree as cubes for a little flavor to a cocktail, kid beverage or a lemonade.
Making cubes and pops out of fresh fruit is a clear crowd-pleaser, and the traditional pop (think wooden sticks and Dixie cups) is a ubiquitous summer treat. So much so that New York Times’ Mark Bittman breaks down some intensely cool pop flavors this week (and just in time), including Strawberry Basil, Avocado Cilantro, Tomato Cucumber and Mojito.
There’s absolutely nothing better than this camp favorite, either assembled in the kitchen with a Bunsen burner or old-school, over your fire ring, chiminea, or, yes, your actual campsite fire. Just ask Tales of Fruit and Cake blogger how much fun they can be.
Really, when a warm, slightly brown marshmallow and a square of chocolate is involved, nothings is off limits, including, apples, cherries, pineapples, pears and all types of berry. This summer, think uber-s’mores: triple layers, fruit combos like strawberries (add sliced strawberries) blueberries (as a drizzle or to pile on) or raspberries (like this fabulous stack of sweet). For extra-special campouts, use high quality chocolate such as Sharffen Berger or Ghirardelli, and make your own homemade graham crackers like these from Girl Who Bakes.
8. Sangria
Sangria could be considered a punch masquerading as wine. It’s a classic Spanish drink that uses brandy, wine or even vodka, as this Watermelon Sangria Cocktail does. Sangria is a veritable reservoir of fruit opportunities and a drink that mixologists just love to embellish. (Our favorite embellishment: a hint of cognac.) Oranges, apples, peaches, and berries all work equally well.
Start with this classic sangria and go from there, or try Emeril’s experienced take on this ruby red drink, no additions necessary. There’s truly no end to easy ways to please with Sangria – take your pick from these 11 unique sangria recipes that claim to be sinfully easy.
9. Hot & Spicy
Adding the sweet of fruit to the heat of spicy creates an irresistible flavor profile. We see evidence of this most often with salsas and chutney, where mango and melon make a regular appearance.
A list of way-out fruit ideas is incomplete without reiterating the mouth-melting assets of grilled fruit. You may be an old fruit griller from way back, or you may think the grill should be reserved mostly for things that require buns and relish. (This Grilled Peach Sundaes might change your mind.) No matter your baggage, it’s the season to grill fruit.
But what to grill? The options are endless: tomatoes (that wannabe fruit) is perfect lightly charred and drizzled with olive oil, as is mango (brushed with oil and sprinkled with lime) or pineapple (in hearty rectangular chunks or ka-bobbed). Even Skinny Cook Allison Fishman is a fan of grilled pineapple with ice cream – who wouldn’t be? Here’s a comprehensive list of some other ideas (fruit and non) from last year’s New York Times for what to grill that isn’t burger shaped.
Got a favorite new way to eat the sweet this summer? Let us know at [email protected], or send us a snap, and we’ll join you in celebrating your passion for the serving!
“Since it’s winter, I’ve been making this recipe with frozen berries,” said Duffy, “and you know what? I actually prefer using frozen at this time of year, as I can use locally-grown [or “wild”] berries.” Duffy’s comment serves as a perfect reminder of the advantages that frozen affords us. Convenient, loved by bakers, chefs, and home cooks, available year round in the frozen food section, and just as nutritious and delicious as fresh, frozen helps us adds important cups of fruit to our daily nutritional needs, all while providing a taste of a local summer favorite. The utter ease of availability of frozen wild blueberries means there is nothing standing in our way of making homemade jam this month – or any month – and experiencing the superior taste and nutrition of wild blueberries.
