Tropical Summer Jam Recipe

A couple weeks ago I had helped my friend, Kristina, make a Fruit Pizza for a Barbeque and since we had made it at my place, she let me keep the leftover fruit she didn't use on the Pizza.  I don't really use Jelly or Jam on a regular basis as I'm happy with buttered toast but every once in a while, a piece of toast with Jelly just hits the spot.  So with the leftover fruit I decided to make a Summer Jam!

This is all you need for this recipe :)

Tropical Summer Jam

1 & 3/4 Cups Strawberries

1 & 1/4 Cups Blueberries

1/3 Cup Mandarin Oranges

1 Kiwi

1 Lemon (juiced)

1/2 Cup Sugar
Optional: 1/2 Tsp Ginger (powder or fresh)

After rinsing the blueberries and strawberries I quartered the strawberries and peeled the kiwi, cutting it into half moons.  Then I threw all the fruit into a pot, added in my sugar, and used the juice of one lemon to combat the sweetness and bring everything together.  I decided to add the extra 1/4 cup of blueberries to make the consistency just a little bit thicker as well as a 1/2 Tsp Ginger (powder) since I'm a Ginger fantatic.  I let it cook on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes until everything cooked down.  You could let this mixture cool and use it as is if you like your Jam more chunky but I like mine smooth, more like thick Jelly, so I put it into the blender and blended until it was smooth.  I then transferred it into a jar and put it in the refrigerator to get chilled.

All the fruit and their beautiful colors!

Cooking down and once cooled ready to be blended...

Blended till smooth and ready to eat!

Using nearly three cups of fruit yielded just about 10 ounces of Jam which means it's going to go fast but I will probably double the recipe next time considering it would still only require one cup of sugar!  The Jam will also thicken as it sits and cools and will also sweeten up after about 24 hours.

This was my first attempt at Jam and it turned out delicious!  You can taste all the fruits in it, it's not overly sweet, and the color is this gorgeous burgundy.  I definitely want to try different fruits like peaches, mango, adding grapes, or even tomatoes.  This was really easy to make and filled my apartment with this beautiful fruity aroma!  Lucky for me, I'm still enjoying my Tropical Summer Jam :)

*Last week I used my Tropical Jam for a yummy take on a Grilled Cheese by using two pieces of Havarti Cheese with the Jam for a sweet treat.  You could even do Honey Goat Cheese or Brie depending on what you like.  It really elevates a simple snack and makes it fun!  Or serve it over ice cream for a blast of flavor as a berry compote...can't wait to try that next!