vegan MoFo 04: apple ginger darjeeling jam

Apple Ginger Darjeeling Jam

I'm still blogging (and I still will be for a few more days) about "i like coffee, i like tea," the theme for this past Thursday's BAKE MY DAY. BMD is a weekly event I started this semester where I bake several vegan desserts and/or breads based on a theme, and invite lots of people over to help eat them. I wanted to try to incorporate the tea into the jam for the scones I was making, so I decided to use darjeeling tea which goes well with apples, ginger and cloves. I used granny smith apples to give a little tartness, but feel free to use a another variety if you prefer. Since I couldn't find a tea jam recipe, I improvised. I used the tea bags at two separate times; I'm not sure if that is necessary but the result was delicious with the perfect amount of darjeeling flavor. Feel free to experiment!


Apple Ginger Darjeeling Jam

2 lbs granny smith apples
8-10 bags darjeeling tea
2 inch piece fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 & 1/3 cups sugar (approximate; see below*)

1. Quarter apples and place into a 4 to 5 quart saucepan (leave the cores and skins on apples, as these parts contain a lot of pectin). Add water just enough to not quite cover the apple quarters on the very top and cover the pan with a lid.

2. Bring the water to a boil and add 6 of the tea bags and ginger root. After 5 minutes, remove tea bags and discard. Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour until apples are very soft and have turned to mush.

3. Pour into a colander lined with three layers of cheesecoth. Hang over bowl for several hours or overnight, until no more juice drips from bag.

4. Measure juice. If you have two cups, use 1 & 1/3 cups sugar. Otherwise, adjust sugar amount accordingly.

5. Put juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the remaining tea bags and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and squeeze out liquid. Add cloves and sugar to the saucepan and continue to simmer until desired thickness is reached.**

NOTES:
*This recipe is based on 2/3 cup sugar to 1 cup prepared apple juice. If you get more than 2 cups juice from the apples, make more jelly based on this proportion.

**The mixture will thicken as it cools. One method to test thickness of jelly is to drop a little onto a very cold surface. If the jelly does not run, then it is thick enough).