Carrot Jam Recipe

Carrot jam

I had plenty of carrots in the refrigerator and I thought why not make carrot jam. I had never heard of carrot jam but why not, you have jam made from pretty much any fruit, some vegetables and even meat like bacon. An internet search revealed that carrot jam does exist. 

I noticed that there are two methods for making carrot jam. The first method is much simpler, carrots and sugar are cooked together until the jam is set. The second method requires the carrots to be first cooked in water until soft, passed through a sieve and cooked with sugar. 

I started making jam using the first easier method but it wasn’t a success. Instead of jam I ended up with ‘carrot candy’ – bits of dried carrot coated with candy. It was really delicious to eat, though it was not what I was looking for. I don’t know what I did wrong. Perhaps I chopped the carrots too finely and cooked them in syrup for too long and they dried out. I tried to rescue the failed carrot jam by separately boiling and pureeing carrots, adding to the ‘carrot candy’ and cookiing for about 5 minutes. This worked perfectly. In case you end up with carrot candy instead of carrot jam, now you know what to do.

I have presented below two versions of the recipe. I have not tried each one separately so I cannot comment on how good they are but they do come from reputable sources. If you are going to attempt the first easier method, puree the carrots as soon as they turn soft. If you don’t the carrots may turn hard and not combine well with the syrup.

Recipe 1 (Source: World Carrot Museum)

Ingredients

4 cups chopped carrots (chop them nice and small)

3 cups sugar (I used less sugar)

Three sliced lemons

One teaspoon cinnamon

A half teaspoon cloves

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients into a saucepan, and simmer slowly at a gentle heat. Stir constantly, especially at the earlier stages of the cooking.

2. After about 20 minutes the carrots will begin to soften, and the jam will become thick. At this point you can blend the mixture if you prefer a smooth jam

3. Cook for a further 10 minutes or until the jam has set

Recipe 2 ( Source: BBC Food Recipes)

Ingredients

450g/1lb carrot pulp

450g/1lb sugar

1 lemon, the grated rind of

2 lemons, the strained juice of

6 chopped bitter almonds

2 tbsp brandy

Directions

1. Cut carrots into round pieces, put them into a saucepan with sufficient water to cover them, and let them simmer until perfectly soft

2. Pass the carrot through sieve

3. Weigh the pulp, and to every 450g/1lb, allow the above ingredients

4. Put the pulp into a preserving-pan with the sugar, and let this boil for 5 minutes, stirring and skimming all the time.

5. When cold, add the lemon-rind and juice, almonds and brandy; mix these well with the jam; then put it into pots which must be well covered and kept in a dry place. The brandy may be omitted, but the preserve will then not keep; with the brandy it will keep for months

Carrot Jam

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