Do you want to have a different taste for breakfast? Should it be homemade and easy? Then this carrot jam with citrus is probably what you are looking for! A delicious taste that you can combine endlessly. It combines perfectly with feta or goat cheese on your morning cracker. Alternatively you can mix it with yogurt or fresh cheese. It goes also perfectly with your afternoon tea on a scone with a dot of cream.
carrot jam with citrus
Ingredients
- 350 gram carrots grated
- 350 gram jam sugar
- 100 ml lemon juice 1 lemon
- 200 ml orange juice 2 oranges
- zest of one lemon
- 2 teaspoons cardamom powder
Instructions
- Peel and grate the carrots.
- Press the lemon and the oranges until you have 300 ml of juice.
- Grate the lemon zest.
- Dissolve the sugar while heating the juice of the lemon and the oranges.
- When the juice starts cooking, add the grated carrots, the lemon zest and the cardamom
- Put the lid on it and let it simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.
- Then remove the lid and let the jam reduce for 5 to 10 minutes until it becomes viscous.
- Transfer the carrot jam into jars and let it cool down.
Nutrition
The origin of carrot jam
By the resemblance to marmalade, you would spontaneously suppose this must be an English recipe. They also combine perfectly on a typical English scone with a dot of cream. But as you might suppose already this carrot jam with citrus has a completely different origin.
It is indeed a typical Persian dish. If you travel in Iran you might see carrot jam quite often on your breakfast table. In Iran they will typically use cardamom seeds instead of cardamom powder. And they will also add rose water. A typical Persian version can be found on the Youtube channel of Eva's international kitchen.
My version of carrot jam
In my version I didn't use water, but went fully into citrus fruits. I used the juice of one lemon and two oranges. They create the unique taste of this jam. Especially the lemon taste is indispensable as a counterweight to the sweetness of the carrots, the oranges and of course the jam sugar. Of course you are free to vary with the quantities of lemon and orange up to your own taste.
Optionally you can also add some freshly grated ginger. It creates also a good counterweight against the sweetness of the jam. A bittersweet symphony so to say!
Other resources for carrot jam inspiration can be found here:
- Persian carrot jam from Eva's international kitchen
- a carrot marmelade recipe on veggiedesserts.com. Adapted from a cookbook from 1861: Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
- Carrot jam history and recipes on the carrotmuseum.
I must admit, this was the first time I made jam since I was a child. Or to be really exact: the second attempt of the first time. In my first attempt I had mashed carrots and carrot syrup. So I do not have a lot of surprising.recipes I can refer to as an alternative or substitute. the closest alternatives are:
- champignons à la Grecque as a breakfast spread.
- red fruit compote for mascarpone pancakes.
Jam, jelly or marmalade?
Are you also confused with the difference between jam, jelly and marmalade? Isn't it three different words for the same breakfast spread? As you can imagine, there is a difference and you will read about it here.
Jam
Jam is made of whole fruits, or the pulp of fruits. they are cooked with sugar and then thicken to a breakfast spread. Mostly you will have to use a special type of sugar to make it thicken: jam sugar.
Jelly
For jelly, you will not use the fruits, but only the juice of the fruits. You have to make it in two steps: first you cook the fruit and extract a clear fruit juice. In a second step you cook this fruit juice with sugar to create a transparent jelly. Jelly dissolves faster than jam. You can also use it as a breakfast spread, but not in for example tarts. However it is perfect for sauces and gravy.
Marmalade
Marmalade is in fact a special type of jam. Oranges are the basic ingredient for marmalade. And the name stems from the Portuguese word marmelas. Typically you will also find some pieces of orange peel in them. They add pectin, which helps in thickening and give it the typical bittersweet taste.
Thespruceeats.com hast a great and very comprehensive overview to explain the difference between jam, jelly and marmalade.
But carrots are not fruits?
Carrots are not fruits, but vegetables. So if you are strict, none of the above descriptions fit for this recipe. There is just no word for a jam-kind of recipe made of vegetables. Maybe we should invent that! Feel free to send your proposals to surprising.recipes.
And lemon curd?
Well, lemon curd is again something completely different. The three main ingredients for lemon curd are lemons, eggs and butter. So the method for this breakfast spread is completely different. I want to use the opportunity to refer to my delicious fluffy lemon curd mousse. On of my favorite desserts, ready in less than 10 minutes.
If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.
Lucinoor
You don't mention putting in the zest, or the cardamom? And you don't say to put a lid on when you're simmering. You only mentioned taking off the lid.
toondebacker
Thank you for your feedback! You are totally right and I updated the recipe instructions accordingly. Thanks a lot!