HONEY-FERMENTED CARROT JAM
This recipe, with its raisins and spices, is a play on carrot cake. I love it spread on buttered toast but you can serve it with yogurt, or use it to cap a cream cheese-frosted carrot cake. You can even add it to a salad based on a grain such as toasted spelt and top with crumbled feta to make a lovely vegetarian dish.
Preparation Makes Fermentation
75G CARROTS, COARSELY GRATED
1 TSP RAISINS
1 TSP FRESHLY GRATED GINGER
¼ TSP GROUND MIXED SPICE
2 CARDAMOM PODS, SEEDS EXTRACTED AND GROUND A GOOD GRATING OF ORANGE ZEST, PLUS 1 TBSP FRESHLY SQUEEZED JUICE
75G RAW, RUNNY HONEY
A 200G JAR WITH AN AIRTIGHT LID
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In a bowl, mix the grated carrot with the raisins, ginger, mixed spice and cardamom. Add as much orange zest as you like (add a little, mix, taste and then add more until your palate leaps for joy). Pack the mix into the jar.
Pour the honey over the mix, so it trickles right down to the bottom of the jar and fully covers the carrots. Stir everything together to mix well. Top up with more honey, if necessary, to ensure there’s a layer covering the carroty mix – but you need to leave a little headspace at the top because this ferment thrives with a bit of air.
Cover with a lid but don’t make it airtight. Set the jar on a small plate to catch any bubbling juices and leave to ferment at room temperature for a week.
Transfer the jam to the fridge and store for up to six weeks or until ready to eat. Ensure the carrot is always submerged under the honey, as it will become runnier over time as it releases its juices.
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