The Joys of Jewish Preserving by Emily Paster

Author:Emily Paster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harvard Common Press
Published: 2017-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

Using Dried Fruits

When making jam with dried fruit, chop the fruit into small dice (about 1/4-inch [6 mm] pieces) because it will plump considerably when reconstituted with the cooking liquid. To prevent the fruit from making your knife sticky, carefully wipe the blade with a few drops of oil.

HALEK (DATE JAM)

Dates are an ancient food that have become trendy again as a natural alternative to refined sugars. Because they could be dried or cooked down to a thick, long-lasting syrup, dates were one of the first preserved foods and thus important to the diet of Biblical people. In fact, many scholars believe that the word ”honey” in the phrase ”the land of milk and honey” refers not to honey made by bees, but rather date syrup. The date palm tree also plays a prominent role in Jewish folklore and history, especially in the celebration of the festival of Succot.

Unlike date syrup, which is very labor-intensive to make, this date jam comes together quite quickly and the flavor is bright and sunny. Dates are low in acid and therefore are not safe to can in a boiling water bath except in combination with higher-acid fruits or with other acidic ingredients, such as vinegar, in the case of date chutney. Thus, this is a refrigerator jam. It will last for several weeks. Try it as a filling for cakes and bar cookies or as sweetener in smoothies and baked goods. Or, use it as a basis for a Sephardic-style charoset (see below).

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