Jam!

Due to a recent work schedule change, I can no longer post while at work, which may unfortunately mean fewer posts, just because I'm so tired after getting back, and usually I'm not up early enough to post before leaving. I'm going to try to not let it affect the blog, but you know how things go.

On to the food!

Today's post will be a fairly short one, as it is a mostly hands off project, and when it comes down to ingredients, they can almost be anything. We'll start with a simple example though, Onion Jam. This jam is a very sweet savory jam, which is great on just about anything really. It's also not exactly a jam consistency (much chunkier).

So, here's our list of ingredients.
2 White Onions
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Short, right? Well, step 1 is to cut down the white onions into small pieces (julienne, small dice, it doesn't really matter, go for whatever kind of pieces you like), and toss them into a pan over very low heat. Very low heat. Caramelizing onions can take a very long time, but fear not, your patience will be rewarded. Leave the onions sitting in the pan. If you poke at them more than once every 10 minutes, that's too often. You don't want them to move, just sit there in the pan, barely sizzling. If you can hear it from another room, the temp is too high.

Once your onions are caramelized (you're looking for a golden brown, maybe a little lighter or darker depending on how you like it), toss all of the sugar and vinegar into the pan with the onions, give it a stir so the sugar can dissolve, then let it reduce until there's only a few tablespoons of liquid left in the pan.

Pull it off the heat and let it cool down on a sheet pan, cookie sheet, anything flat and metal you have lying around that fits inside your fridge. Voila! Onion jam.

This method can be applied to almost any ingredient. Some jams I've been thinking about trying are ones like Raspberry Habanero, Pomegranate Basil Habanero, Lemon Cilantro Jalapeno, and dozens of other habanero/jalapeno concoctions. Can you tell I like spicy food? I'm also kicking around Bacon jam, but I'm not sure how to tackle that one just yet.

Questions? Requests? Leave em in the comments! (I'm getting around to eggs and kosher stuff, I swear!!!)