Summer in a Jar: Mango-Raspberry Jam Giveaway!

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that a Cafe in Hamburg had struck my fancy with a certain unidentifiable flavor in their gorgeous jewel-toned jam.  It was sweet, tangy, almost creamy tasting, but in no way heavy.  The color was somewhere between red and orange, but still pinkish and I simply could NOT tell what fruit went into it!

I asked the proprietress what it was and where I could get some and she coyly told me that it can’t be bought because it’s homemade, but since I was interested, she would tell me that it was raspberry and mango.

Raspberry AND mango?

And all this time I’ve been making single-fruit jams.  Where was my creativity?  Since when do I exhibit a  tendency to simplicity and obviousness?  Whither my subtlety and taste for complexity?

Well. I decided to remedy the situation and spent Saturday night whipping up my own version of this perplexing, but delicious jam.  Next time I’ll use more mango relative to the raspberry, but the flavors are there – the sweet mango balancing the tangy raspberry.  Also, give this jam a stir and it has precisely the semi-soft set that made that German jam spread so beautifully over slightly soft butter on crusty rolls.   Delicious.

The thing that’s beautiful about this jam is that it tastes like summer, even in February, which is the dourest, most bitter, cruel month of the year.  I’m convinced that’s why they made it the shortest.  No one wants a longer February.  Anyway, this jam will perk you up regardless of how crap the weather is.  I promise.

And the good news is that yes, I’ll be telling you how I made it, but also that we don’t eat THAT much jam in our house.  This is good news because it means that I want to get rid of some of this jam.  Do you want some? Because I’m giving some away.

Hello, loverrrrr. You know you want me.

• First place wins a jar of Mango-Raspberry jam AND a choice of apple butter, plum jam, peach jam, or grape jelly.  
• Second place just gets their choice of the above, but no Mango-Raspberry.  I’m not that desperate to get rid of it.

There are three ways you can enter to win your own jar of this sunny, sweet goodness, delivered to your door.

• Follow me on Twitter (my new handle is @darbyoshea) and leave a comment telling me you have done so.
• Like me on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you have done so (or that you already like me!).
• Leave a comment here and tell me how you most like to eat jam or jelly.

Go on! You have until 8 PM (Eastern time) on Wednesday to do it!

Mango-Raspberry Jam

• 6 c sugar
• 1 packet Certo Sure-Jell liquid pectin
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 12 oz raspberries
• 2 mangoes

*or other proportions of raspberries to mangoes, to your taste, as long as they equal 4 cups

1. I pureed the raspberries in the blender, then strained half of them through a fine sieve to reduce the number of seeds.
2. To the raspberry puree I added the mango (peeled, pit removed, cut into smallish chunks) and used a low setting (stir, I believe) on the blender to just roughly chop the mango.
3. Pour half of this mixture into your pot and puree the rest until pretty smooth.  Add that half to the pot as well.
4. Add sugar and vanilla to the pot and stir well to incorporate.  Heat to a full rolling boil (can’t be stirred down).
5. While at a full rolling boil, add pectin and stir, then boil for exactly one minute.
6. Fill jam into sterilized jars, cap and ring and then process according to whatever method you prefer (invert – since this is a high-acid recipe or hot water bath).

*When canning, obviously be careful to follow sterilization and safety protocol.  Read up at Ball’s website or in any reputable canning book for thorough information.  We don’t want any of those nasty neurotoxins around here, no sir.