Surprising jams

Recipes with fruits, flowers and vegetables

Nature offers a range of edible plants that is much wider than the supermarkets’ limited assortment may let us think. Sometimes, bending down or stretching an arm is all it takes to be able to make delicious jam, at a price that cannot be beaten.

Inspired by his frequent travels, ethnobotanist François Couplan introduces in his book more than 80 fruits, flowers and vegetables that can be used for making jam. Some of the recipes are classics, but most of them aim to make you discover new flavours. Let yourself be tempted by onion squash and dried apricots jam, dates and pineapple jam, woodruff mandarin marmalade or spiced hawthorn jam.

The author gives lots of advice to guide even the less experienced: you will know exactly what equipment you need, which other processes you can adopt, how to make your own jelly and jams with honey, and how to correctly seal your jars in order to avoid mould.

The first edition of this richly illustrated book was out of print. A second edition was published due to popular demand.