Thursday, February 18, 2010

Carrot Cake Jam!

Tigress Can Jam Challenge #2

When hubs and I were married, we had carrot cake as our wedding cake. It’s his ultimate favorite cake in the whole-wide-world, and I happen to love it too. I had taken the Wilton cake decorating classes for a whole year before our wedding because I wanted to make our wedding cake. I couldn’t fathom spending hundreds of dollars on a cake and somehow, it seemed like the perfect wedding gift for the both of us. Homemade, made with love, imperfect, and beautiful.

So when this month’s Can Jam Challenge ventured into the world of the carrot, I mentioned out loud, “Hey, I think I’ll make that Carrot Cake Jam I’ve had my eye on.” I didn’t think there would be any objections.

Carrot cake jamThis beautiful jam tastes very much like apple butter, but there’s something else. The flecks of carrot accent every bite with a subtle earthiness. My jam set up to more of a soft-spread, which I prefer to harder set jams and jellies. Definitely a keeper recipe and this jam would make a gorgeous gift for anyone.

Carrot Cake Jam
Recipe Source: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Makes 7 - 8 half pints

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped cored peeled pears
1 3/4 cups crushed, canned pineapple, including juice
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 package powdered fruit pectin
6 1/2 cups sugar

Combine carrots, pears, pineapple and juice, lemon juice, and spices in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Lower temperature to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add powdered pecting, incorporating well, and bring carrot mixture back to a boil. Add sugar all at once and return back to a full boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 full minute.

Ladle hot jam into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

6 comments:

Kate said...

I made the carrot cake jam this month, too - it's always fun to see how different all the jams from the same recipe turned out in the end. Mine was more marmalade-ish in texture (I used crushed pineapple and really minced my pears). Still yummy, though.

And it's good to see another Floridian out there! Sometimes it seems like there aren't that many of us in the blogosphere :)

Just the Right Size said...

Thanks Kate! I liked this jam very much too.

Yes, go Fla Bloggers! Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Yep, definitely a keeper recipe. I made it this month, too, and absolutely LOVE it!

Just the Right Size said...

Thank you very much! It looks like a lot of people made this jame for the Feb challenge.

Pammy said...

Oh I have got to do this recipe asap!!! Perfect and delicious combinations! Thanks so much for sharing it!! ~ Pammy

Just the Right Size said...

Pammy,

Oh, it IS a good jam. This reminds me that I haven't made it in a long time.

Need to get jammin!

 

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