Pumpkin jam

Every year, while sowing corn in the fields, my parents plant the pumpkins seeds they had put aside the year before. I don't usually participate in this process. My part in this play comes along around October when I make pumpkin jam!

Secret recipe:

1 kg of pumpkin chopped into small squares

700g of sugar

1 sliced orange

2 cinnamon sticks

A bunch of chopped nuts (I used my grandma’s walnuts)

Mix the pumpkin, sugar and oranges in a large bowl, cover it up to let it settle until the next day. By this time the sugar will have melted and became a sweet sap. Squeeze some of the oranges slices into the sap and then throw the oranges away. Drain the liquid into a large pot, toss in the cinnamon sticks and bring it to a boil for around 30 minutes. Next throw in the chopped bits of pumpkin and let that boil. Now this is the part you have to stir every once in a while so it doesn’t stick to the pot. You should remove it from the heat when the jam is at a point where it’s not too liquid but also not too solid because it tends to harden up as it cools down.

Throw in the nuts and fill up jam jars.

Now the secret to conserving the jam is to boil the jars in a pot half filled with water so it creates an air tight condition and the lid slightly rises, then it goes “pop” when you open it!

Enjoy!