Slather your homemade bread in a wonderful, savory spread with this easy carrot jam recipe.
This is the kind of homemade jam that you serve alongside cream cheese or sharp cheese not with peanut butter.
Often carrots are canned in a type of carrot cake jam recipe – the following is not that. This carrot jam is one of spice and heat, of sweet and sour all in one glass jar and it is amazing!
The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables
The original recipe came from the book The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables by Angi Schneider. This amazing book has so many tasty recipes for you to serve with and alongside many meals and, of course, with homemade bread.
There are pickles and jams, ferments and soups, and so much more. The jams are inspired and unusual because they feature vegetables and are mostly savory applications.
The relishes, pickles, and slaws are perfect for featuring on sandwiches made from your homemade bread creations.
If you like to preserve vegetables and bake homemade bread, this is the perfect book to add to your cookbook collection.
Sweet and Tart
There is a fair amount of sugar in this recipe meaning that it is indeed sweet and yet the vinegar and lemon juice balance it all with a delightful sour note making it ideal for savory uses.
The vinegar is noticeable but again sweet so that it has so many varied uses in meal planning and snacking.
Simple Ingredients
Like most of the tastiest food there’s nothing super fancy here. It’s simple, flavorful ingredients combined in a great way.
Do grate the carrots well for best texture. Use a food processor or old-fashioned box grater.
Young, fresh carrots that are juicy and flavorful will provide the best final result here.
However, carrots that are a bit older will still work and the sugar, spice, and other flavors will help keep the final jam quite tasty.
The other great thing about this recipe is that all of the ingredients can likely be found easily any time of year. One could just as easily make this in December as in June no matter what the growing season is like. Admittedly, I prefer homegrown or local first but if you need a quick gift you can pick the produce up in most well stocked grocery stores all year round.
Jalapeno for Heat
There’s just enough jalapenos in the recipe to give the jam a hint of heat. It’s not overbearing nor is likely to send anyone running for a glass of milk.
Adjust the heat level by removing some or all of the seeds and veins of the peppers for a very low heat. However, there’s enough sweetness here that leaving the seeds in still results in a mild medium heat level.
Don’t have jalapenos on hand? Use another hot pepper of your choice. Again vary the heat by leaving or removing seeds. One could even mix hot peppers.
For safety sake, do not add more a total of 1/2 cup chopped peppers, otherwise acidity might get lower and make the jam no longer safe for canning.
A Hint of Spice
When I first made this recipe, I considered leaving out the ground, dried spices. For my personal palate I felt like it wouldn’t be quite right. I decided to follow the recipe exactly and leave them in. I’m glad I did.
The spices are barely there in the overall flavor and yet a quite wonderful addition for making this a more well rounded flavor.
You could switch up the spices a bit, skip the nutmeg and add more cinnamon for example.
Next time I make it, I might add some ground ginger just because ginger and carrots are so delicious together.
How to Serve
Serve this sweet jam alongside sharp cheese and bits of leftover roasted meats for a delicious and different sandwich.
Do slather it on top of biscuits, especially these savory chive biscuits.
Carrot jam is a natural choice for serving with crackers and cream cheese. The bright orange color will definitely pop in the otherwise bland backdrop of cheese and crackers on a buffet.
It is quite delicious on top of a rice cake slathered in cream cheese for breakfast.
Consider spreading some on a halved savory muffin, like these cheddar rye muffins.
I haven’t tried it yet but I do believe the jam could be whipped together cream cheese and sour cream for a different kind of vegetable dip or sandwich spread.
The Most Amazing Edible Gift
This delicious recipe is made for sharing and giving. The recipe should make about 6 half-pints likely giving you more than enough for yourself and loved ones.
Otherwise make 2 batches, one to keep, the other to share.
Use small jars for this recipe, half-pint jars or even the four ounce jars and have plenty to give away as gifts.
They can easily be well wrapped in packing material and shipped to loved ones far away and they tuck so very nicely into gift baskets and bags for neighbors and friends.
Package the jars with homemade bread or other sweet treats for a gift most anyone would love.
Tie a few cinnamon sticks to the jars with a pretty ribbon to give away as a hostess or thank you gift.
Need more easy recipes for small batch jam? Be sure to check out my Guide to Making Jams.
Carrot Jam
Sweet and tart, lightly spiced and mildly hot carrot jam is the ideal savory spread for crackers, biscuits, and more.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 Cups Grated Carrots
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Jalapeno
- 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 1/2 Cups Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Allspice
- 5 Tablespoons Powdered Pectin
- 4 Cups Sugar
Instructions
- Get boiling water canner ready by filling half full and start boiling.
- Prepare jars, lids, and rings.
- In a heavy saucepan, combine carrots, jalapeno, vinegar, lemon juice, spices, and pectin. Stir well.
- Get all the sugar measured and have it ready to add.
- Bring the saucepan to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasional.
- Keep cooking until a full rolling boil is reached and the boil cannot be stirred down.
- Add the sugar, all at once and stir well.
- Bring the mixture back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat.
- Ladle the hot mixture into prepared canning jar, leaving 1/4" inch headspace.
- Wipe rims, place lids, and tighten rings.
- Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting time for elevation.
- Remove from canner, let the hot jam cool to room temperature. Check seals - if sealed, remove rings and store in the pantry. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.
- Prepare jars, lids, and rings.
- In a heavy saucepan, combine carrots, jalapeno, vinegar, lemon juice, spices, and pectin. Stir well.
- Get all the sugar measured and have it ready to add.
- Bring the saucepan to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasional.
- Keep cooking until a full rolling boil is reached and the boil cannot be stirred down.
- Add the sugar, all at once and stir well.
- Bring the mixture back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat.
- Ladle the hot mixture into prepared jars, leaving 1/4" inch headspace.
- Wipe rims, place lids, and tighten rings.
- Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting time for elevation.
- Remove from canner, let cool. Check seals - if sealed, remove rings and store in the pantry. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 96 Serving Size: 1 TablespoonAmount Per Serving: Calories: 35Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 4mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 0g
I try but cannot guarantee this nutritional information is 100% accurate.
I didn’t have enough jalapenos to make up a half cup, so I used some Anaheim peppers too. It set up very nicely and it tastes so yummy! A great way to use up carrots that are past their prime.