Iconic California chef delivers master class on making jam

Read this cookbook: “Jam Session: A Fruit-Preserving Handbook” by Joyce Goldstein
Cover of "Jam Session"

Cover of "Jam Session"

 One of the richest and most beautiful books on preserving to come along in some time, Joyce Goldstein's "Jam Session" arrives at the precise moment when peaches, cherries, and tomatoes are in wild, luxurious summertime abundance.

Suitable for both novices and those who are old hands at stirring the jam pot, the book is tightly focused on fruit. Thus in its pages you’ll find inspiring ideas for preserving peaches, plums, mangoes, berries, apples, pears and citrus. You may also encounter a few surprises along the way.

“If we can love carrot cake, surely we can embrace carrot jam,” writes Goldstein, the legendary California chef who has won James Beard Awards for both her cooking (at San Francisco’s late great Square One) and her writing (“Back to Square One: Old-World Food in a New-World Kitchen,” published by William Morrow & Co. in 1992). She then proceeds to provide recipes for Basic Carrot Jam, Carrot-Ginger Jam, Carrot Rhubarb Jam, and Persian Carrot Jam. Sold!

I was also intrigued by her eggplant recipes.

As she explains, “treating eggplants as a fruit and preserving them in rich sugar syrup has a long tradition in the Mediterranean and Sephardic kitchen. The preserved eggplants were served at the end of the meal as an accompaniment to tea, sort of like a Greek spoon sweet.” Behold her Moroccan Candied Eggplant; Eggplant Conserve; and Lebanese Eggplant and Walnut Conserve, along with suggestions on using the condiments -- in tagines, as part of a cheese course or for spreading on bread.

Some other recipes that catch my eye here are Whole Strawberry Preserves with Black Pepper and Pomegranate (this author has a thing for black pepper); Cherry-Orange Marmalade and Cherry Preserves with Cardamom; Peach-Lime Salsa-Jam; Moroccan-Spiced Sweet and Hot Cherry Tomato Preserves; and Blood Orange-Rose Marmalade.

I have a friend in California with a Meyer Lemon tree that bears fruit all year long. I can’t wait tell her about Goldstein’s Apricot-Meyer Lemon Preserves (sad that we don’t get decent apricots in Georgia) and Bing Cherry and Meyer Lemon Preserves.

The book provides plenty of information on the basics of preserving (equipment, safety, process), and as the octogenarian cook points out, “If you have any fears about food safety or spoilage, put them aside. I’m still standing after eating my preserves all these years.”

Same here, kiddo.

She also imparts wise words about personal style. If you are knew to jam making, it is not likely you’ll want to start by throwing in herbs, spices, chilis and liquors willy-nilly. Master the basics; then if you are so inclined, play around with flavors.

I’m crazy about this book and will place it on my shelf alongside Kevin West’s “Saving the Season” and Cathy Barrow’s “Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry,” two of the best. It makes me want to do wild and wonderful things with carrots, figs and nectarines.

"Jam Session: A Fruit-Preserving Handbook" by Joyce Goldstein (Lorena Jones Books, $24.99)

Wendell Brock is an Atlanta-based food and culture writer, frequent AJC contributor and winner of a 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for journalism. Follow him on Twitter (@MrBrock) and Instagram (@WendellDavidBrock).

RELATED: More cookbooks you should be reading

Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.