Orange and date jam…

Quincemeat – ok it’s not really a jam but it is sweet stuff made with fruit and stored in a jar. Use it to make quincemeat pies – yum. Also good for stuffing baked apples (although it’s better if you stuff the apples first and then bake them).

Start with some medlar jelly (medlars boiled in water and strained, add sugar, usual stuff, boil for three weeks until not quite set). Then chop in some quince, cooking apple, sultanas, other dried fruits of your choice and hazelnuts (if you can find where the squirrels have stored them). Add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to taste. Finish cooking until properly set and jar, jar, jar. Best kept for a year before using. This is a true recipe that I make each year, except this year, of course, as there are no quinces or cooking apples.

Damson, cranberry & orange? So pretty!
Pear with ginger & vanilla? Or plums or apricots with ginger & vanilla…
Pinapple with cardamom? Or chilli or black pepper, all work really well with the sweetness!
How about a curd style spread? Such as spiced orange curd? Lemon & ginger curd?

My Grandmother was famous for her Pineapple and Melon jam and I’ve never seen anyone make it. She used fresh champagne melons grown on the family farm and they had a rich gold colour. Delicious!

How about “Wild Bilberry with Sloe Gin” Jam
Bilberries can be picked late summer on moorland areas such as Exmoor and then frozen to be used later in the year as a reminder of the summer months. In Devon I heard them called Whortleberries and remember making a whortleberry pie one year when we were little as we picked so many on Dartmoor.

Cinnamon spice plums with orange, apple and ginger.

Carrot, Parsnip and Cranberry…perhaps with a hint of orange. Yum!

Spiced figs, honey and brandy… Mmmmmm!

We would love to try a delicious pumpkin and apple jam. Equal amounts of pumpkin and apples, sugar and a touch of lemon juice.

I would love to try Pumpkin Pie Jam : Pumpkin (+/- apples),nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves. Classic american thanksgiving flavours (as a half brit,half american) that would be lovely at christmas time.

Diva damson, crab apple and sloe jam redolent with ruby port.

Cranberry and apple with a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon and a twist of sloe gin.

Jam made from many plums, a few kiwis, 1 apple, 1 orange (juice and zest), a bit of grand marnier, vanilla extract and cinnamon! Works well as compote with ice cream as well!

I’d like to suggest a jam based on a pumpkin pie.

So perhaps, pumpkin spiced with vanilla, ginger and nutmeg. Perhaps to make it more jam like, a little bit of apple for pectin and a small squeeze of lemon juice & lemon zest aswell.

I’ve been jamming… and feel fennel and rose could be Christmassed up with some flecks of gold leaf. Cut through with lemom zest and sugar. Maybe in a limited special edition way? Hope you like jamming too!

I love pink grapefruit and ginger marmalade at Christmas with a dash of white port and slices of kumquat make it very pretty. For a proper festive jam I like damson and bramble ( blackberry and raspberry when I have them). If you like it spicy cloves in orange peel and cinnamon sticks add a nice flavour and a little rosehip jelly helps too.

Elderberry with Amaretto and marzipan. Yum

A combination of apple, pear, cranberry, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger would make a lovely red-coloured, warming, spicy, fruity and healthy jam.

What about: Orange,peach and cinnamon jam with a touch of sweet sherry and orange liqueur. Or Clementine,apricot,cherry jam with mixed spice and a hint of brandy.

Prosecco pear jam with candied ginger
or Blood orange mimosa marmalade (with prosecco)…divine for Christmas morning or New Year’s day.

Damson jam with sloe gin. Please.
At a push, I’d settle for plum jam with sloe gin.
If all else fails, I’ll just drink the sloe gin.

I’d like Fig, Honey & Walnut jam.

Figgy Pudding Jam: Figs, orange & lemon juice and rind, dash of orange liquor, Christmas spices (nutmeg and ginger)

Apple, blackberry,star anise and rosehips after the first frost in Birmingham last night, delicious! It’s been a good year for roses plenty of rosehips about to use.

One last effort…
Apple for body
Rose for its special perfume, and
Cranberry for Christmas. *

I’ve suggested quince, cranberry and vanilla on your facebook page, but my i-pad’s a tad tempremental, so not sure it took. Anyway, I think the three ingredients would balance well and it’d be a bit special – bright, rich and festive for Christmas.

Thank you all !!! I am allergic to spices so find Christmas food treats very tricky, but some of these recipes have given me fabulous ideas. Now, can anyone find a Christmas cake/pudding recipe that doesn’t include spices, seeds or nuts that doesn’t taste bland? Would ground ginger work, I can eat that as it comes from a root.