Mango Chai Ginger Jam

Remember the Peach Chai Jam I made?

I just had to try it with mangoes and while I was at it, I decided to add some extra ginger to it. 

Oh. Baby.

It. Was. SOO. Good.

Really.  Really good.


I'll get right to the point.

Mango Chai Ginger Jam

• 4 cups mangoes, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cup Robin's Caffeine Free Chai Juice
• 4 T Dutch Jell All Natural Lite Pectin
• 1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
• 2 cups sugar

Combine the mango and chai juice in a pot with the pectin.   Stir well to dissolve pectin.   Bring to hard boil.  Boil hard for one minute.   Add ginger and sugar.  Stir well and bring to hard boil.   Boil hard for one minute.   Ladle into jars.  Process for canning.

Spiced Peaches, Part 2: Peach Chai Jam

Welcome to the second installment of Not Your Grandma's Spiced Peaches.

I've been wanting to use my Chai brew in jam for a while, and peaches were first on my list to use it with.  I figured it would be a nice variation of the traditional spiced peaches.    I was so right. 

It was so good, that now I'm thinking I might try it with plums. 

Also, I might try it with blueberries.

In fact, I might try it with everything.  

Peach Chai Jam has a mellower and more complicated flavor than the typical clove and cinnamon spiced peaches that I'm used to.  This jam is definitely one we're going to put on the 'Must Have in the Pantry' list.


Peach Chai Jam

• 4 cups peaches
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup Robin's Caffeine Free Chai Brew
• 3 Tablespoons Ball Low Sugar Pectin
• 2 cups sugar

Mix the peaches lemon juice, chai brew and pectin in a large pot.   Bring to hard rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil hard for 1 minute.    Add sugar.  Stir well and bring back to hard rolling boil, stirring constantly.   Boil hard for 1 minute.   Ladle into jars and process 10 minutes for canning.  Yield 3 pints

Note:  The Chai Brew is just the spicy base that I use to make chai.  Follow the link above to the recipe.   Don't add the milk to the jam, just the concentrated spicy brew.   And yes, you can leave the sugar out.

Not Your Grandma's Spiced Peaches, Part 1: Ginger Peach Jam

It's peach season here.

For the past couple of years we've had access to the peaches on a friend's tree.  This means that we spend days and days peeling and pitting peaches.

And then we spend months and months enjoying peaches in smoothies, pies, jams, etc.

God bless generous friends with peach trees!  Thank you!!

With all those peaches, I decided to do some experimenting with spices in my peach jams this year and I came up with some really great recipes.

Really.  Great.

As in - the finished products are likely to cause you to break out in the singing of spontaneous Halleluias.  I'm totally not kidding.   

These are not your grandma's spiced peaches.

This is what I made:

• Ginger Peach Jam
• Peach Chai Jam
• Peach Maple Cardamom Jam

So, over the next few days, I'll give you the details.

The delicious, mouth-watering, halleluia inspiring details.  

I'll start here with the simplest of the spiced jams.  Ginger Peach Jam is made with chopped candied ginger.  If you make the candied ginger yourself, then you can use your ginger sugar for this jam.    It's really good!   So good, that you just might consider trying to make some.

Ginger Peach Jam

• 4 cups peaches
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup Dutch Jell All Natural Lite Pectin OR 3 Tablespoons Ball Low Sugar Pectin
• 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 cup ginger sugar
• 1 cup white sugar

Mix the peaches lemon juice and pectin in a large pot.   Bring to hard rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil hard for 1 minute.    Add sugars and ginger.  Stir well and bring back to hard rolling boil, stirring constantly.   Boil hard for 1 minute.   Ladle into jars and process 10 minutes for canning.  Yield ~3 pints

Note:  If you don't make your own crystallized ginger, try to get it from a bulk store and then make sure you collect about a cup's worth of the sugar that falls off the ginger and collects in the bottom of the bin.   If you don't have access to ginger sugar, don't worry about it.   Use 2 cups of plain white sugar.  It'll still be great.

Robin's Caffeine Free Chai

I  love chai.   I once had a huge cup of really good chai from a Starbucks at a rest stop somewhere in Pennsylvania on the way back from Philly to Indiana.   It was delicious.   It also had so much caffeine that I could have run beside the car all the way across Ohio.  

Oh. My.   I had the shakes for days. 

I generally don't need artificial stimulants to keep me going.  Ever.   I tend to be a bit like the energizer bunny by nature.   Also, I'm hyper-thyroid.    Caffeine is something I avoid. 

Unfortunately, real chai is made with black tea.   Black tea is full of caffeine.  

A dilemma!  I love chai.  I hate caffeine.   So I made it my mission to brew a terrific chai without the tea.

And I did.  It's fabulous.  If I do say so myself. 

Here's the recipe.   You make it as mild or strong as you like and as sweet [or not] as you like.   I designed it so you can keep it for a while and make it a mug full at a time as you need to.  Brew some for yourself and sit back for the rest of the weekend and soak up some calm to get you through the next few weeks. 

This will make two quarts of chai.  

Robin's Caffeine Free Chai

• 1 star anise
• 20-24 whole cloves
• 12-14 whole alspice
• 2 heaping teaspoons of broken cinnamon bark [or thereabouts]
• 12-14 whole white peppercorns
• 6 green cardamom pods, opened so the seeds can come out
• 2 inches ginger root, sliced
• 1 quart of water
• 1/4 cup sugar [or more to taste]

Put all the spices in a pot with the water and simmer for 20 minutes or so.  

If you like it mild, then strain the spices out.   Add the sugar and add enough water to make a full quart.  To serve, add equal parts chai and milk to a mug. If you're not using it all right away, then keep the extras in the fridge in a jar.

If you like it stronger, then leave the spices in the brew.   Pour it into a jar and add the sugar.   Add enough water to fill up the quart.  Keep the jar in the fridge.  It'll get stronger as it sits.   When it's good and strong, I put 1/4 cup of the brew in a mug, add a 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk, then nuke it all until it's good and hot.