6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY

It is already six months Lola's Garden Jam appeared in Bacolod.It's a very young age for a Lola! But in six months, she learnt a lot from your remarks and observations and tried to adjust her old techniques to your wishes. There are differences of culture between her country, France, and the Philippines. But she also tried to keep her "French touch" and mixed it with more "exotic" taste (exotic for her!). From classic jams, and to answer to your desires, Lola's Garden now regularly produces spicy jams, the different "saw sawan" for meat and fish, and the no sugar added line for diabetics and "hunters" of calories. We have to thanks you to push us to these innovations.

The weekly recipe:

Do you know cheeses and jams marry very well? In France, country of cheeses, we have so much choice that you can eat every day of the year a new cheese. The General de Gaulle who was sometimes joking said: " How can you govern a country which has more than 300 cheeses?" And Brillat-Savarin, the most French gastronome known  also said:"A meal without cheese is a nice girl with one eye missing". 

So, it is very clear we treat cheeses with a great respect and France was reluctant a few years ago to this type of mixing, cheese and jam.

But taste changes and this heresy in the past is now admitted and, I must agree, the taste buds enjoy.

Here, in Bacalod, we have the chance to find easily many real imported cheeses (but not 365!)  and our jam in the Deli Shop of Bob's at Lacson Street. If you want to surprise your guests or your family you can try audacious combinations like:

- Blue cheese with Kalumpit (Sarali) or pomelo orange jam,

- Camembert and tomato apple jam,

- Goat cheese and Guyabano jam,

- Gruyere or Emmental and Watermelon jam,

- And, in general, cheeses and spicy jams.

from www.ideemag.com

The question of the week:

I made pineapple jam a few weeks ago and I found some bottles this week with jam overflowing from the closed jars. What happened?

It is a problem of contamination. Probably yeast started to grow in non acidic conditions and probably nor enough sugar. You have to adjust the acidity as close as possible to a pH 3.5, respect the quantity of sugar and take care during the transfer of the hot jam to the bottle to avoid contaminations with micro-organisms.

 Available this week (bottles 300g, 8oz):

CLASSICAL JAMS

Guyabano-calamansi              130P

Jackfruit                                   130P

Pomelo-orange                        130P

Papaya-Buko                           130P
Breadfruit                                130P (available in few stores)

Tomato-apple                          150P

Watermelon                             140P

ACCOMPANIMENT NOT SPICY
Batwan                                     140P
Kalumpit, (Sarali)                   150P

SPICY JAMS

Chili                                          180P

Ginger                                      150P

Green mango (Chutney)        180P

Sweet pepper                          180P

NO ADDED SUGAR FRUIT A TARTINER

Banana cloves                        170P

Guyabano calamansi             160P

Jackfruit cinnamon                 160P

Mango Nutmeg                        180P

     Minimum order for home delivery: 6 bottles mixed,

     Free delivery in Bacolod (payment at the delivery)

NOTE: this prices are not applied in local selling places

Send your remarks and orders to:

lolasgardenjam@gmail.com
or Text: 0919 3555 424

JAM AND PSYCHOLOGY

There is a relation between time and jam. I told you why we choose the name of Lola's Garden" en souvenir of the days my grandmother was making jams in the old kitchen full of the perfumes of the fruits cooking slowly in the big copper pot. There was also the ceremony of tasting the hot jam just ready and before filling the jars. I had the honor to write the labels when I became able to. With this good moments anchored in the memory, it is difficult to not like jam. The jam send back to the good but disappeared moments.

No, it's not a picture of Lola with me, but an ad!

The psychologist explains also jam is a way to stop the time or to keep what disappear too rapidly, the fruits full of sun and juice. Making jam is almost an alchemic process to keep alive perishable things. We harvest the fruits end of spring and during summer, the nicest seasons of the year. We also preserve in the small jar these precious moments. At the instant we open the bottle and taste the jam, especially in winter, our memory recreates the lost happy moments of the past seasons. Jam, it is nostalgia in bottles.

The weekly recipe:
Today, a recipe you can find at http://couzinadielnadia.canalblog.com

I only translate:

Jam doughnut (beignet in french)

For around 36 beignets middle size:

• Mix 500g flour, 42g fresh yeast, 70g sugar, 150 ml lukewarm milk, 60g of butter, 3 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
• Let the past enough time to double the volume.
• Separate in 36 small balls and let time to double again.
• Hot oil to fry the beignets at medium fire.
• fill inside the beignets with your favorite jam.

The question of the week:

No sugar added jams are good but for people who wants sweet jams but no sugar from sugar cane or beet, is there a solution?

Again a question about sugar! There are natural sources to replace sugar from sugarcane or beet.

Good sources I know are honey, maple syrup and other plant syrups (agave, cereals,...), coconut sugar, grape sugar. There are probably others. Limits are the availability and the cost. I have no experience to share about these sugars for jam and trials are necessary to adjust the sweetness and solve the problem of conservation.

Honey and maple syrup are used in different jams alone or with "normal" sugar. Heating honey is not recommended because it inactivates the enzymes.

Coconut sugar now available in some stores is probably an interesting healthy option because of its low glycemic index. The price is around 250 P per kilo in Manila. I found one coconut jam made with coconut sugar.

A French company produces jams made with grape sugar.

One more time the jam world is in evolution and there are many ways to explore.

 Available this week (bottles 300g, 8oz):

CLASSICAL JAMS

Guyabano-calamansi              130P

Jackfruit                                   130P

Pomelo-orange                        130P

Papaya-Buko                           130P
Breadfruit                                130P (available in few stores)

Tomato-apple                          150P

Watermelon                             140P

ACCOMPANIMENT NOT SPICY
Batwan                                     140P
Kalumpit, (Sarali)                   150P

SPICY JAMS

Chili                                          180P

Ginger                                      150P

Green mango (Chutney)        180P

Sweet pepper                          180P

NO ADDED SUGAR FRUIT A TARTINER

Banana cloves                        170P

Guyabano calamansi             160P

Jackfruit cinnamon                 160P

Mango Nutmeg                        180P

     Minimum order for home delivery: 6 bottles mixed,

     Free delivery in Bacolod (payment at the delivery)

NOTE: this prices are not applied in local selling places

Send your remarks and orders to:

lolasgardenjam@gmail.com
or Text: 0919 3555 424