Apple jalapeño jam—what could be better in the fall? Though I have to admit that this jar of spreadable apples made warm and lively with cinnamon and jalapeños only came about due to a bout of laziness. Allow me to explain.
On cool fall mornings, I wake up craving warm slices of crunchy toast, slathered in soft butter and sweet jam. Usually I have plenty of jam on hand, as making it is one of favorite summertime activities. Plus, the jars are fun to give to people at Christmas. Who doesn’t like a jar of something sweet and homemade?
For some reason, however, I didn’t make any jam this summer. I was overwhelmed with work and at the end of the day, the last thing I wanted to do was stand in front of the stove stirring a pot. Though by the time I realized the folly in my thinking, the cherries and berries were long gone. It was now time for fall fruits, such as apples, to shine.
One of my favorite memories is putting up apples with my grandmother. She has a tree that in some years is quite abundant, and she’ll pack jar after jar with fresh sliced fruit. While these apples are delicious, they are not spreadable. But what if I made an apple jam instead?
Now, for some reason, apples are usually transformed into jellies not jams. The difference between the two is that jellies are made from strained juice, whereas jams still contain the fruit. I prefer the chunkier nature of jams, though when I set about making an apple jam as opposed to an apple jelly, it appeared to be not as common.
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