Mermelada de manzana -- Apple Jam, a Pinedo recipe

It is spring time and my orange tree is full of fruit.  My Pakistani mulberry is producing well this year.  Other plants in my yard are leafing out and I know they will have fruit on them in a few months.  Fruit!  I'm so excited about it!

So that is what I was looking for when I skimmed over the Pinedo recipes.  I wanted to make something with fruit in it. (In case you don't know what I mean by the Pinedo recipes, do a search on this blog for the keyword "Pinedo.")

Many of her fruit recipes involved sugar, and lots of it.  Of course -- she was putting up jellies, jams, and other preserves to last the year, and she did not have refrigeration.  But as much as I love sweet food, I really like to let the flavor of the fruit come through.  This is why I don't can my fruit preserves, but I do like to freeze them.  Last week I made a mulberry and apple spread that had just a little sugar, a splash of lime juice, and a bit of cardamom to deepen the flavor.  It was lovely, especially as a side condiment to some grilled pork chops.

What I chose to make was her apple jam because it looked more like a chutney or compote than just jam, and it didn't have as much sugar as many of her other recipes.  There are a few recipes with the same title, and this one is on pages 162 - 163.

My Translation:

Apple jam.

         Six large, sour apples, chopped; two tablespoons of very fresh butter. If the apple is too dry, add four tablespoons of fresh water.

         When the apple is soft, add two cups of sugar, half a cup of honey, a cup of citron, two teaspoons of vinegar, the juice of two oranges and part of the yellow rind, a cup of raisins and another of currant, two teaspoons of cinnamon, a teaspoon of cloves, two teaspoons of pepper and a teaspoon of nutmeg.

 

Use one lemon

Ingredients as a list

6 large green apples

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 cup citron (I used the zest of 2 lemons instead.  You might want to use less.)

2 teaspoons vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

juice from 2 medium oranges, and the zest from one

1 cup raisins

1 cup currants

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves (I suggest less)

2 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon nutmeg

My Notes

My apples were not dry, so I did not add any water.  I started the butter melting in a big Dutch oven, then started coring and chopping the apples.  They were not peeled.  As soon as I chopped 1/4 of an apple, the pieces went into the butter to start sautéing.  Every time I added more, I stirred what was in the pot.

Once all the apples were tender, I added the other ingredients.

It is the wrong time of year to get citron, so I chose to use fresh lemon zest that was finely chopped.  I also shredded and chopped the orange zest.

Once the other ingredients were mixed well, I brought them just to a boil, then lowered the heat so they simmered.

I let uncovered pot simmer with an occasional stirring until the mixture was thick and starting to look a little dry.

Then I let it cool for a taste test.

The Verdict

Whoooo!  It is spicy!  I was a little worried that 1 teaspoon of cloves would be too much, and I think my worries were justified.  I think 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon would have been better because the cloves really dominate the flavor profile.

Also, the flavors hadn't really blended much.  The lemon zest was still somewhat uncooked, and I did not like how I kept getting a chewy bite of it.  Basically, the whole mixture seemed like it needed more cooking.

So I added about 1 cup of water, stirred it in well, then got the mixture back to a simmer.  This time I put the lid on.  I let it simmer about 40 minutes more, stirring it sometimes and checking to see if the lemon zest was cooked all the way.

It was much better!  The zest was more subtle, the flavors more blended.  The cloves were still too much but they weren't off-putting.

My guest taster and I both had a small bowlful and accompanied it with a small glass of chardonnay.  Neither of us were very hungry, and this made a perfect little snack.  

It was spicy, sweet, fruity, savory (from the pepper, I think), tart, and floral from the two citrus zests.  I would love to have it as a condiment next to roast meat.  We also both agreed it would be a great topping on a scoop of quality French vanilla ice cream.  Success!

You can see that it is truly like a chutney (without the nuts) or a compote in that the individual chunks of fruit are still there.  Nothing went to a puree like in a regular jam, and the chunks were more dominant than what we typically see in a marmalade.

Miss Pinedo's recipe did not make the great quantity that is usual for when someone wants to can the results.  I think this is just the right amount to put out for a large gathering, like for a barbeque or picnic or potluck.  

This is a keeper, although I strongly recommend cutting back on the cloves and using the zest from one lemon.