Ginger-Guava Jam

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It all started with Bittman.

I saw his recipe for ginger jam on Bitten. He paired it with grilled pork, and so this dish became our jumping-off point for our September entry to The Royal Food Joust (hosted by the Leftover Queen).

Ever since I got 12 of these mason jars, I've been wanting to put STUFF in them. Ergo, the desire to do the ginger jam. That it can be worked into our Joust entry is a bonus.

I started peeling and chopping about a cup's worth of ginger. Per Bittman's recipe, I added 5 cloves of garlic to the ginger, which I would not do the second time around. I already dispensed with the tomatoes in his recipe.

Added some water and sugar (white and brown), and then sliced up about 12 small guavas (which I reckon would come to about 2 pounds of guavas) and put that into the mix.

For heat, I added 4 birds' eye chili and 2 jalapeños. The jalapeños add a pleasant green-ness to the jam. Salt and a fairly generous amount of black pepper, then lime zest and juice.



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The hardest part is waiting for it to cook down to a jammy consistency. All throughout the cooking process, I kept stirring it, and smelling it, and really starting to panic because I kept smelling the garlic. I feared the jam was going to be smelling like raw garlic!

Thankfully, after an hour or so, the garlic did mellow down and the guava and the ginger came through. We had to use the hand-blender to smooth out the texture a tad and you can definitely puree it a bit more if you like it smoother.

Also, a major issue for CSC were the seeds from the guava so definitely straining to get rid of the seeds can be another step towards a "better" product.

But, hey, you know me, lacking industry here, so it's good enough for me, seeds and all.

I can't wait for other applications of this guava-ginger jam. It would be good in a sandwich (BLT perhaps?) and also very good with cheese. We even thought to glaze some SPAM with it. I bet that would be fantastic! =D

But, its first task of the day is to grace the plate of our Joust dish, coming right up.


Ginger-Guava Jam
adapted from Mark Bittman's Ginger Jam on Bitten
Yield: 2 cups (500 mL)

1 cup peeled and chopped ginger
5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 fresh birds eye chili
2 jalapeño peppers
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
8-12 small ripe guavas, roughly diced
1 tsp salt
3 tsp pepper
1 lime, zested & juiced
1-1/2 (1.5) cups water

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until very thick, 45 minutes or so. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary; remove peppers if you like. You can also process in a blender up to the level of chunkiness/smoothness that you prefer.

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This complete meal:
Ginger-Guava Jam
Lime-Marinated Pork Skewers with Ginger-Guava Jam and Five-Grain Rice
Soy Pudding Parfait with Orange-Ginger Syrup and "Streusel Brittle"


[eatingclub] vancouver Royal Food Joust posts:
Dimsum Seafood Trio: Black Pearl Toast, Scallop in Nest, Jewelled Rice Cup
Cream of Fennel Soup with Parsey Oil
Ginger-Guava Jam
Lime-Marinated Pork Skewers with Ginger-Guava Jam and Five-Grain Rice
Soy Pudding Parfait with Orange-Ginger Syrup and "Streusel" Brittle
Squash Churros with Orange-Sage Hot Chocolate
Coffee Pancakes with Honey Ricotta and Black Pepper & Coffee-Crusted Bacon
Caribbean "Fish & (Banana) Chips"
Steelhead Trout and Enoki Mushrooms with Wasabi Cream Sauce