Bonnies Jams

I grew up surrounded by pomegranates, persimmons, saucer peaches, macadamia nuts, kumquats and loquats, avacados, tangerines, mission and kadota figs and the requisite oranges and lemons. My mother was a great cook and served all the various fruits in many forms, including the canned version.

I find great solace in skulking around markets, farmers fields (my favorite, if I can find a farmer that loves his or her production as much as I love the fruit), backyards—any place where fruit can be had, then hauling it back to my kitchen and preparing it to last longer than its designated season.

I love the sensuousness of fruits—their color, texture, fragrance, feel and taste. And I love the process of washing, cutting, peeling and pitting that goes on in the preparation of the final product. And what a waste of time—I always think—when a concoction is eaten immediately—hoarding the stuff in handsome glass jars is much more satisfying.

I make the jams/preserves in old-fashioned copper jamming pans on Sundays in the lively kitchen abandoned by the regular bakers and cooks of Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The kitchen provides a friendly and inspiring atmosphere to come up with the various recipes which, by the way, are always inspired by the fruits themselves.

I like matching fruits that belong together in a season—blueberries with blackberries, figs with almonds, peaches with blackberries. And because I make jams in Formaggio's kitchen, I think a lot about pairing them with cheese.