Passionfruit Jam

Passionfruit Jam

It befits the week of dia dos Namorados, Brazil's version of Valentines day, that I have fallen in love.  


Not with the lifeguard from the kids' swimming-class, nor their cute Capoeira teacher, but head over heals with the jam I finished making this evening from passionfruit.


This is only the third jam I've ever made, and by far the simplest and most scrumptious.  The amber jelly is a wonderful balance of tart and sweet, and the seeds, which I thought would annoy me, are little toasty nutty nuggets.


The passionfruit commonly found here in Rio is a large, yellow globe.  You want to choose heavy fruits with skins that have begun to crinkle.  I bought ten of them as yesterday's feira was coming winding down, when the vendors discount their wares.  Scrum.


PASSIONFRUIT JAM RECIPE

• You will need a load of passionfruit, their equivalent weight in sugar, a lime, and a collection of sterilised (boiled for 10 minutes) glass jars and lids. 

• Cut your passionfruit in half and scoop the gorgeous yellowy orange clots of fruit and seeds into a bowl.  

• Dispose of half of the skins, and soak the rest in water for 24 hours.

• After 24 hours, boil the skins for about 15 minutes.  Then fork them out of the water and use a knife to scrape the now-transluscent, water-logged, pectin-rich flesh from the harder yellow skin.

• Whizz the flesh in the blender with a little water until it's a rather bland, wall-paper-pastey pulp and put it, with the seeds, lime juice and the equal weight of sugar, in a big pan.  

• Let the jam boil briskly for 15 minutes by which time you can check to see if it's ready by doing the wrinkle test. (Put a spoonful of jam on a saucer and put it in the freezer to cool for a minute.  When  you push the blob with your finger, if it's ready you should see little wrinkles on the surface of the jam.)

• Ladle into your jars and marvel at your beautiful, delicious creation.