Honey-Fermented Carrot Jam
This recipe, with its raisins and spices, is a play on carrot cake. I love it spread on buttered toast but you can serve it with yoghurt, or use it to cap a cream-cheese- frosted carrot cake. You can even add it to a salad based on a grain such as toasted spelt and top with crumbled feta to make a lovely vegetarian dish. Recipe taken from River Cottage Fermentation Handbook by Rachel de Thample
Method
In a bowl, mix the grated carrots with the raisins, fresh ginger, mixed spice and cardamom. Add as much orange zest as you like (add a little, mix, taste and then add more until your palate leaps for joy). Pack the mix into the jar.
Pour the honey over the carrot mix, so it trickles right down to the bottom of the jar and fully covers the carrots. Stir everything together to mix well. Top up with more honey, if necessary, to ensure there’s a layer of honey covering the carroty mix – but you need to leave a little headspace at the top because this ferment thrives with a bit of air.
Cover with a lid but don’t make it airtight. Set the jar on a small plate to catch any bubbling juices and leave to ferment at room temperature for 1 week.
Transfer the jam to the fridge and store for up to 6 weeks or until ready to eat. Ensure the carrot is always submerged under the honey, which will become runnier over time as the carrot releases its juices.
Ingredients
Makes 200g
75g carrots, coarsely grated
1 tsp raisins
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1⁄2 tsp ground mixed spice
2 cardamom pods, seeds extracted and ground
A good grating of orange zest, plus 1 tbsp freshly squeezed juice
75g raw, runny honey (see pp.90–1)
You will also need :
A 200g jar with an airtight lid
Fermentation time: 1 week
This recipe is taken from...
If you like this recipe, you might like the following course...
Next Level Fermentation
Join our expert Rachel de Thample for hands-on day where you’ll take your fermenting skills to the next level.
Full details