Persimmon jam

  Along with the caramels, I also passed out persimmon jam and chutney for Christmas.  I have not used chutney much, but I have learned some great uses for it.  I have heard that it is great with cream cheese and crackers, with brie, over scrambled eggs, over grilled or roasted meat, or atop a burger (turkey and veggie burger included).  Sounds delicious.

A stamped persimmon made regular old mason jars gift-worthy!

  Honestly, we are more of a jam family.  Besides on toast or pb&js, we put jam on pancakes, scones, crepes, and stir it into plain yogurt the most.  This year, I was experimenting.  Next year, I will probably make more jam.  I tried two ways, one was to puree the fruit before cooking and the other was to chop, cook, and then puree.  While the first way made a huge mess because it splattered jam everywhere when boiling, it cooked down better and had a richer taste.  Both jams were spiced with a bit of orange zest, nutmeg, and lemon juice and turned out very delicious.  I made brie en croute with this persimmon jam and it was amazing!