Papaya jam

Papaya jam is brightly colored, with a lovely sweetness and gently aromatic, fruity flavor. It's great to enjoy spread on toast etc, but also pairs perfectly with goat cheese to make sweet-savory appetizers. A tasty tropical spread.

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If you're a regular here, you might have seen that we've grown into being a pretty big jam-loving family. I grew up making jams with my mum as a child, but then stopped really having jam much at all, let alone making them for years. Then I made the odd one slightly randomly and the rest is history, as they say.

These days we always have at least one type of homemade jam in the fridge, with strawberry raspberry jam being an all-season favorite, as well as strawberry rhubarb jam in spring, pear jam in fall and others as we have ingredients.

I made this papaya version partly since I was managing to find some great ripe papaya for papaya boats. It seemed worth making the most of them in some other ways, and a jam was a natural choice.

Where are papayas from?

Papayas originate from Mexico and Central America but you'll now find them in pretty much all tropical and warmer sub-tropical areas. They're one of the world's most popular fruit and grown in places as far and wide as Australia, Thailand, Brazil, India and Hawaii.

Papayas can be used both as an un-ripe fruit and fully ripe. When under-ripe, or green, you can use it more like a vegetable, especially in salads like Lao green papaya salad.

When ripe, the color is a deeper orange and the fruit is softer and sweeter. Ripe fruit is great for snacking on and added to tropical fruit salads and more. For this jam, you want the ripe fruit and you really want it to be fully ripe - not just close - to have the best flavor. 

Do you need to add pectin?

Pectin is a soluble fiber that can be added to jams to help them thicken and set. It's a combination of pectin level, acidity and sugar that makes the thickening and setting happen. But you don't always need to add pectin as it's naturally occurring in most fruits, just at different levels.

Apples, plums and citrus have relatively high levels of pectin, particularly in the skins. Citrus also increases acidity, so it's common to add some lemon or other citrus juice to both help flavor and setting in many jams. Papaya has a relatively high level of natural pectin. Combined with some citrus juice and sugar, you don't need to add pectin to help this jam set.

I often make lower sugar jams, but this one is on the higher side in part to help it set more. That's partly because, like my Concord grape jam, papaya gives a more jelly-like jam. To me, it feels like it needs to set more than some others.

It's still definitely a jam rather than a jelly - it has chunks of fruit - but unlike some berry jams, I don't feel like it can get away with being that slightly bit runny. So a more traditional higher sugar content fits better.

Tips for making this jam

If you've ever made jam before then this follows pretty much the same process as most others. It's easy to make and really only needs a little bit of patience. That said, a couple tips that will help it turn out it's best:

• Use really ripe fruit - it does make a difference to the end flavor.
• Remove all of the seeds and peel - the seeds are edible but you don't want them or the peel in here. The peel can become tough or be more sour, so peel the fruit well.
• Use a wide, heavy based pan/pot - the heavy base helps the heat distribute more evenly and being wide means there is a larger surface area. This helps speed up the evaporating and in turn thickening.
• Scrape down the sides - sometimes you get some jam or syrup mixture splash up the sides. If you leave it, it will crystalize and so is effectively wasted (and makes cleaning more annoying), so scrape down regularly as you go.
• Mash the fruit - some chunks are good, but only small rather than big pieces of fruit so break it up as it softens and cooks. If you prefer it to be smoother, you could pulse a few times in the food processor before you cook the jam.
• Test towards the end - while you can tell as the jam is getting close to being done as it's thicker and darker in color, it can sometimes be trickier to judge when it's ready, so it's worth testing. 

Testing to see if it's set

There are a few ways to test if a jam is ready. First, the jam should coat the back of a spatula or spoon more. Also, when you draw a spatula through the jam, it will take a little time to close in behind. These are easy ways that you can use with all jams.

But since this one is a jam I prefer to set more, I recommend using the cold plate test. Place a small plate (or a couple, in case you need to test more than once) in the freezer as you are making the jam. Then as it seems close, spoon a small amount of jam onto the cold plate. Leave it a minute to cool them push with the spoon or your finger.

The jam should wrinkle up or form a skin as you push it and hold onto the plate rather than sliding right off. It may still be a little soft - remember it firms more as it cools - but should act more like it it setting. If it's not ready, cook a few minutes more and test again.

Storing and using papaya jam

The upside of having more sugar is that it both sets more easily and lasts really well. If canned properly and unopened, it will store at cool room temperature for a good few months. Once opened, I recommend that you store in the fridge but it will last there for many weeks.

As always, make sure you use proper canning methods if you intend to store longer-term. I'd suggest you look at the various guides on the National Center for Home Food Preservation site for in depth guidance, particularly if you are new to preserving.

As mentioned above, this jam is great used both on toast and other ways you would use a jam as well as paired with goat cheese. In many Latin American countries, you might make appetizers or snacks using crackers, a spread of goat cheese then some papaya jam on top. It's a really tasty sweet-savory mix.

This jam would also make a delicious glaze for meats, either as it is or mixed with a few other ingredients like ginger, oil or even soy sauce. You could also use it as a filling for empanadas, whether on it's own or with cheese.

Papaya jam is a wonderfully bright, tropical color and flavor. It's vibrant, gently aromatic and sweet and great used in so many ways. A tasty way to enjoy this tropical favorite.

Try these other tasty jams and spreads:

• Passion fruit curd
• Plum jam
• Raspberry rhubarb jam
• Mango jam
• Plus get more jam and other condiment recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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