The Joys of Jewish Preserving, Recipe and Giveaway

Emily Paster is the voice behind the blog, West of the Loop, and co-founder of the Chicago Food Swap, one of the most active and dynamic food swap groups in the country. Her first book Food Swap shared her advice for starting up swaps, recipes that work well in the swap environment and happens to share the best salted caramel sauce recipe ever (I have made it several times). In The Joys of Jewish Preserving: Modern Recipes with Traditional Roots, for Jams, Pickles, Fruit Butters, and More-for Holidays and Every Day, Emily is back with 75 recipes that range from fruit jams and preserves, to pickles and other savory preserves, and recipes to use the preserves you make in other dishes (love that!) Chocolate Babka with Jam, Dulce De Manzana (apple paste) and Lemon Walnut Eingemacht are a few examples of the types of recipes you will find in this book and of course you can browse the entire index here. Be prepared to pull out the canning jars once you look these recipes over. Emily has a number of events promoting this book. Thanks to Harvard Common Press for sharing Emily’s Apple, Honey, and Rose Jam with our members today as well as offering three copies of this book to our members in the US and Canada (see giveaway below). Apple, Honey, and Rose Water Jam Add this recipe to your Bookshelf  (click the blue +Bookshelf button). This is a special preserve that combines traditional foods and flavors for Rosh Hashanah in both Ashkenazi and Sephardic cuisine. Apples, of course, are a fall crop and thus plentiful at Rosh Hashanah. Beginning Rosh Hashanah dinner by dipping apples into honey, to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year, is nearly universal among Eastern European Jews. The Sephardim often end their new year’s celebrations with sweet jams and preserves made from quince, figs, dates, and apples. Rose water, which is made by distilling fresh rose petals in water, is featured in many Sephardic desserts and pastries. It can be purchased at Middle Eastern grocers and specialty food stores. Rose water has a very strong flavor and should be used sparingly or it can overwhelm your palate. Here it adds a haunting floral note to this unusual, pale yellow jam. Makes four 8-ounce (235-ml) jars
  • 3 lb (1.4 kg) apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-in (1-cm) dice (6 to 7 cups prepped)
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice
  • 1½ cups (300 g) sugar
  • 1 cup (340 g) honey
  • 1 teaspoon rose water
Prepare a boiling water bath and heat four 8-ounce (235-ml) jars. Place the apples, ½ cup (120 ml) of water, and lemon juice in a wide, deep saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stir, and cover the pot. Lower the heat to medium, and cook until the apples are soft, about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent sticking or burning. Mash the apples coarsely with a fork or potato masher. Add the sugar and honey to the pot, stirring to dissolve. Return to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick and mounds up on a spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes. It will splatter, so use caution. Remove the jam from the heat and stir in the rose water. Ladle jam into clean, warm jars, leaving ¼ inch (.6 cm) of headspace at the top. Bubble the jars and wipe the rims with a damp cloth. Place the lids on the jars and screw on the rings just until you feel resistance. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Allow to cool in the water for 5 minutes before removing. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

The publisher is offering three copies of this title to our EYB Members in the US. and Canada. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. Please be sure to check your spam filters to make sure you receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on September 21, 2017.

Excerpted from The Joys of Jewish Preserving by Emily Paster, © 2017 Quarto Publishing Group. Used by permission from the publisher, Harvard Common Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group. QuartoKnows.com. All photographs by: Leigh Olson.

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61 Comments

  • sgump  on  August 14, 2017

    Wow–where to start? Perhaps with rosy quince jelly?

  • Kristjudy  on  August 14, 2017

    Apricot orange blossom

  • sipa  on  August 14, 2017

    Russian-style sour cherry preserves

  • kmn4  on  August 14, 2017

    The rose petal syrup…

  • Elena Rose  on  August 14, 2017

    apricot-walnut eingemacht

  • joellenp  on  August 14, 2017

    It would definitely be the slow cooker peach butter – out peach tree had a huge harvest this year and this looks perfect for our family!

  • Siegal  on  August 14, 2017

    Chocolate babka with jam sounds great

  • matag  on  August 14, 2017

    Sweet and sour pickled red cabbage

  • stef  on  August 14, 2017

    I would make the sour cherry almond conserve

  • Rosesrpink50  on  August 14, 2017

    I love apricots and there are several good ones, it is hard to pick. Probably, Queen Esther's Apricot-Poppy Seed Jam.

  • DarcyVaughn  on  August 14, 2017

    Tunisian harissa

  • trmarvin  on  August 15, 2017

    I would finally try sauerkraut (the small-batch sauerkraut recipe) – it's been on my to-try list forever – and then maybe stuff it into some kind of dough?

  • JMelnick  on  August 15, 2017

    The pickled red cabbage!

  • trudys_person  on  August 15, 2017

    I always start with desserts, so I'd try Egyptian semolina cake (Basbousa). Thank you!

  • bakeswithlove2369  on  August 15, 2017

    Since I live in GA and am Jewish…this appeals to me. Sweet and sour peach ketchup..love anything sweet and sour…this could be a great marinade for grilled chicken..second i want to bake the semolina cake…a friend at work is from Morocco and she made a semolina cake to die for.

  • lgroom  on  August 15, 2017

    The title intrigues me — Queen Esther's apricot poppyseed jam.

  • verorenee  on  August 15, 2017

    Apricot-orange blossom jam! I love baking with jam.

  • FrenchCreekBaker  on  August 15, 2017

    Greengage jam because I have a tree in my yard filled with fruit!

  • vinochic  on  August 15, 2017

    Charoset conserve!

  • RSW  on  August 16, 2017

    Russian-style sour cherry preserves

  • lhudson  on  August 16, 2017

    would love to learn more about perserving

  • sarahawker  on  August 16, 2017

    Alsatian brandied sour cherries

  • AGENT99  on  August 16, 2017

    I'd try the Dried fig, apple, and raisin jam

  • Karla123  on  August 17, 2017

    Date jam sounds divine!

  • bonnywithawhy  on  August 17, 2017

    Apple, Honey, and Rosewater Jam—perfect for our Rosh Hashanah dinner table.

  • skipeterson  on  August 18, 2017

    Rabbi Max's pickled eggs

  • Amandaspamanda  on  August 18, 2017

    Slow cooker peach butter (Peach lekvar) – I'm always on the lookout for fruit butter recipes!

  • LaurenE  on  August 18, 2017

    Apple, Honey, and Rose Water Jam

  • Scotsman61  on  August 18, 2017

    Rabbi Max's pickled eggs

  • t.t  on  August 19, 2017

    Date jam (Halek)

  • nadiam1000  on  August 19, 2017

    Queen Esther's apricot-poppy seed jam – apricots, poppy seeds and lemons, oh my!

  • percussion03  on  August 19, 2017

    Apricot-orange blossom jam

  • Maaseelulu  on  August 23, 2017

    North African preserved lemons.

  • Signe  on  August 23, 2017

    Tunisian harissa

  • Shelley.b  on  August 23, 2017

    Sour cherry almond conserve

  • lauriesk  on  August 23, 2017

    I would try the American-style cream cheese rugelach.

  • thewoobdog  on  August 24, 2017

    I'd like to try the Sweet & Sour Peach Ketchup.

  • LeePicard  on  August 25, 2017

    With the holidays coming it needs to be apple. The recipe provided for apple, honey and rosewater jam sounds perfect for Rosh Hashanah!

  • Kayevee  on  August 25, 2017

    I can't wait to taste the Apple, honey and rosewater jam!

  • carylee  on  August 25, 2017

    Hmmm, bread to use up the bananas, which don't eaten before they get soft.

  • dna  on  August 27, 2017

    apple, honey, and rose water jam

  • RickPearson54  on  August 27, 2017

    Rugelach

  • stephanieyee  on  August 27, 2017

    Deli-style kosher dills

  • Katiefayhutson  on  August 28, 2017

    Sweet and sour peach ketchup

  • rosalee  on  August 31, 2017

    The sour cherry and almond conserve sounds soooo good

  • AnnaZed  on  September 3, 2017

    Rose petal syrup (page 35)

  • JenJoLa  on  September 6, 2017

    Sweet and sour peach ketchup

  • bstewart  on  September 8, 2017

    Apple mint jelly!

  • choppergirl  on  September 8, 2017

    apple butter

  • rstuart  on  September 12, 2017

    Raspberry red currant!

  • kitchenclimbers  on  September 14, 2017

    apple butter

  • milgwimper  on  September 14, 2017

    Brandied sour cherries

  • ladybrooke  on  September 16, 2017

    Peaches in honey syrup

  • SnarkyLarane  on  September 16, 2017

    I'd love to try Rabbi Max's pickled eggs!

  • lindaeatsherbooks  on  September 19, 2017

    I would like to make Apricots in heavy syrup (apricot spoon sweet).

  • morello  on  March 26, 2020

    Black Currant Syrup. I’d love to have a good sub for Ribena.

  • elizamatt  on  July 25, 2020

    Great-Grandma Bessie’s cheese blintzes – farmers’ cheese filling sounds delicious 🙂

  • Joselita  on  September 10, 2021

    Charoset conserve

  • DPowell  on  July 13, 2022

    This looks like an amazing book !! I would start with an “easy” one Rose petal syrup

  • YumYum21  on  October 22, 2022

    sour cherry and almond conserve

  • cljones  on  May 27, 2023

    I’d try Gooseberry Jam. The recipe I tried from the BBC wasn’t my fav.

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