The Best Damn Bacon Jam Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does homemade bacon jam last? ›

For safety, we strongly recommend that bacon jam be refrigerated for times suggested by the recipe (2-4 weeks) or that it be frozen for longer storage.

Why is my bacon jam not thickening? This recipe is all about patience. To achieve a thick texture, all of the liquids need time to reduce. Make sure you're cooking your bacon jam without a lid over your Dutch oven, so your bacon jam can evaporate.

Our list of things we want to use this jam in is ever-growing. Here are just a few to get you started: warm potato salad, grilled asparagus, fresh tomatoes, panzanella, grilled cheese, crackers and goat cheese, spinach salad, a spoon, fresh garden peas, scrambled eggs, bagels and cream cheese...

Once your jam is done, you can simply store it in the refrigerator for a long time and not worry about it spoiling. I pour it into small jars, cover them with lids and let them cool to room temperature. Once the jam cools, you'll be able to see its final texture.

Q: How long can I keep my homemade jams and jellies on the shelf? A: For best quality, it is recommended that all home-canned foods be used within a year.

Lack of acidity: Acids like lemon juice help lower the jam mixture's pH, which reacts with the natural or added pectin to help thicken the jam. If a jam recipe doesn't call for lemon juice or lime juice, it could rely on another ingredient, like added pectin, to set the jam.

Since pectin is activated by sugar, it requires using a considerable amount of sugar to activate the pectin and set (i.e. thicken) your jam. If you try to cut back on the sugar, it won't set properly.

If you really want to thicken it to a more spreadable consistency, the easiest way is to heat it up with some thickeners such as cornstarch. Arrowroot flour is more delicate and taste-neutral, but most cooks won't have it. Unflavored gelatin may also be used.

Bacon jam is a bacon-based relish, similar to the Austrian starter Verhackertes. It is made through a process of slow cooking the bacon, along with onions, vinegar, brown sugar and spices, before mixing it in a food processor. In 2015, Martin and Suzie Cowley of Wales claimed to have invented Bacon Jam.

Is jam better with or without pectin? ›

Cooking any mixture of fruit and sugar long enough will result in a jam that will set up in your canning jars. But longer cooking times can mean over-processed flavor, darkened color and a lower yield. Adding pectin allows you to cook jam for a much shorter time, which may result in the jam of your dreams.

While cured bacon has been treated with synthetically derived ingredients, particularly nitrates, uncured bacon is treated only with the natural nitrates found in vegetables like celery and beets. Not only is the “uncured” curing method healthier, it results in more flavorful bacon.

With the help of some extra ingredients and spices for your bacon, you can take its original savory, salty, and smoky flavor and enhance it with things like chili powder and coffee, Sriracha, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey.

Try wrapping a Medjool date, fig or prune with bacon and experience the flavour explosion. It's sweet meets salty meets fatty meets smoky.

But when you make your own jam, there's no limit to what you can do to make each batch flavorful and unique. Combine two different fruits for more depth of flavor, like peaches and apricots, or strawberries and rhubarb. Add a dash of vanilla or a pinch of spices, like ginger, cloves and cardamom.

For homemade jams made using sugar and processed by canning in a hot water bath, you can expect to get about two years of shelf life when stored in a cool, dry place. Once opened, keep your homemade jam in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Can homemade bacon bits be stored at room temperature? Homemade bacon bits should always be stored in the refrigerator or frozen for longer storage. Bacon bits will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container or up to 6 months in the freezer.

If you've cooked up more bacon than you can eat, you can store it in a well-sealed container for five to seven days in the refrigerator before it goes bad. If you don't think you'll be able to eat it in that time, you can freeze cooked bacon for about a month.

Put the jam into containers and freeze: Pour the jam into clean freezer containers or canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. (Plastic freezer containers with tight-fitting lids work well for storing freezer jams and jellies.)