I don’t think I reveal something shocking or unexpected when I tell you I love to make jam! And of course I also love to eat my homemade fruit spreads! Therefore my mother and I have established a new tradition which we honour at least once a year: Jam-making Saturdays! On a jam-making Saturday we come together to process all of the fruit harvest up until then and to make a whole year supply of delicious jams and jellies. Needless to say I also love jam-making Saturdays and this Saturday we had a blast with red and black currants bubbling in large stockpots and dozen spotless jars on the kitchen counter. This time I wanted to try my arrowroot powder instead of the usual jelly sugar. I made 2 L of arrowroot jam and the thickness was perfect! Only the shelf life is a lot shorter than jam made with jelly sugar: 2 months (in the fridge) instead of at least one whole year with jelly sugar. But as I just said: I love eating it so the next two months I will eat red and black currant jam with arrowroot.
2,5 hours of making jam resulted in 27 jars filled with goodness. The arrowroot had a special colour effect: the jam with jelly sugar turned out dark purple while the jam with arrowroot turned out dark pink. After all the hard work we took a brake and wandered around in the vegetable garden. There I discovered all sorts of edible flowers: marigolds, cornflowers, roses, and phloxes. So later that day when we tried our fresh homemade jam on a slice of bread we decorated it with edible flower petals.
So this jam is made with arrowroot. Arrowroot powder is made of the roots of the Maranta arundinacea plant. These roots are full of easy digestible starch. This starch is a perfect plant-based binding agent for all sorts of sauces, jellies and jams. Because I chose to use arrowroot instead of jelly sugar I decided to not add any sugar at all. The result is a fresh, slightly pickled jam. Eat it on a slice of bread on top of a thin layer of honey or serve with meat or alongside a cheeseboard. So you’ll have multifunctional jam, yay! If you’re not intending to multi-use yours (it’s a missed opportunity I’m telling you!) you can easily add honey, agave or maple syrup to the jam before adding the arrowroot.
Recipe Red & Black Currant Jam with Arrowroot
Makes 2 L
Keep (un)opened jars in the fridge for at least 2 months
Ingredients:
750 gr red currants
750 gr black currants
200 ml water
6 tbsp arrowroot powder
6 tbsp water
1. In a small bowl mix the arrowroot powder with the 6 tbsp of water. Set aside.
2. In a large stockpot mix the currants and 200 ml of water and bring to a boil on high fire then take the pan off the heat.
3. Stir in the arrowroot powder mixture. You will immediately feel the binding power of the arrowroot! Pour the jam into spotless jars. Let cool completely and keep in the fridge for at least two months.
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