Monday, January 21, 2008

Guava-Calamondin Jam

To market, to market. Yesterday I went to Alemany with my friend Maria, and ran into our friend, Marco, who showed us how to make pizza later in the weekend. We bought excellent produce, chatted with our favorite vendors, and got to catch the action at the truck where they sell live chickens and rabbits. Sometimes kids walk through like its a petting zoo.

Winter is fairly short in northern California, but the cool weather is apparent in the offerings at the market: I picked up lovely kale, carrots and sweet potatoes. Other than citrus for marmalades, there are not many winter fruits that lend themselves to jammish endeavors.I bought guava from an Asian fruit stand, where they were hung up on string to lure shoppers. At the DeSantis stand, I bought lovely calamondin, an Asian citrus with a thin, sweet skin and exceptionally tart interior. Pop the whole thing into your mouth and enjoy.
Confession: I've never had a guava. Like, ever. So when I sliced this guy open and saw the white interior, I was a bit nonplussed. I thought the flesh was red-orange, like on the guava juice labels at my local Mexican super-ette. A little internet research confirmed that there are various types and colors. Who knew?
I used this basic recipe linked above, but substituted about 15 calamondin for the lemon juice. This is the first jam recipe I've seen with brown sugar, so I'm curious about the outcome.

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