Skillet Jam

"Skillet jams are inherently laid-back, made to enjoy right away. Without the need for preserving, you can scale back the sugar and let the fruit's natural flavor really pop. This is a version from a special new cookbook, Eating at Home by Trinity Mouzon Wofford."

"One of the things I love most about skillet jams is that, because they're meant to be eaten fresh - say, within a week, refrigerated - they don't need to be shelf stable. As a result, they use just a fraction of the sugar required to preserve conventional jams."

"Fruit: You can use fresh or frozen fruit here. I've found that using frozen berries is a great way to use up any fruit accumulated in my freezer. Lemon: I like to use a Y-peeler to remove the lemon rind, then slice it thinly with a sharp knife rather than using a microplane. The zest ends up with more structure,"

"Sugar: granulated. You rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingertips. Salt: To balance out the sweetness a bit. This easy-breezy approach to jam-making delivers intensely bright, not overly sweetened spreads - beautiful swiped across thick slabs of sourdough."

Skillet jam is designed for immediate enjoyment rather than long-term preservation. Because it is meant to be refrigerated and eaten within about a week, it does not need to be shelf stable, so it uses far less sugar than traditional jams. Fruit can be fresh or frozen, with frozen berries offering a way to use freezer fruit. Lemon adds brightness: the rind is removed, sliced thinly, and rubbed into granulated sugar with fingertips to distribute flavor. A small amount of salt balances sweetness. The result is an intensely bright, flavorful spread that works well on thick sourdough slices.

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