Jam sessions

CHENNAI: Strawberry and apricot jams neatly packed in tiny glass jars are displayed on a table. We notice a cheerful mother-daughter duo drawing the crowd to their stall for a jam-tasting session, which is paired with a delicious spread of puddings, custards and cheesecakes. Their month-old brand Famberry Jamz made its debut at a pop-up in the city recently. We catch up with Saba, an interior designer, and her mother Mohsina, a homemaker, who share their story. 

“You can call us a family of fruits. We have a five-generation fruit business with a few stalls at Koyambedu selling seasonal fruits. All our strawberries are handpicked from our markets and apricots are sourced from Hyderabad. The response to the jams has been amazing and based on the feedback, we’re working on sugar -free alternatives. The thought of starting a business was in the pipeline for almost a year. It is definitely a team effort,” says Saba, a resident of Kilpauk. 

The Instagram-based brand currently sells two flavours of jam — strawberry and apricot — which have a shelf life of six months. They’re freshly made in their home kitchen without preservatives, but use natural essence. Mixed fruit jam made of pineapple, apple, papaya, tomato and carrot, is the latest one on their menu. The duo shares the family’s love for sweets. “Not a single meal goes without fruits. For the amount of desserts we consume on a daily basis, we’re surprised that nobody is diabetic at home. My mother specialises in traditional recipes. One of her highlight dishes is a baked egg sweet,” shares Saba. 
Reminiscing her early days, Mohsina says, “I learned the recipe from my mother-in-law. We used to have grape vineyards in Hyderbad.

The seasonal fruit was available for two to three months. In fact, grape jam is an iconic recipe of our family. All the ripened grapes used to be picked. The ladies of the house used to gather to clean the grapes, dry them and mash them in huge vessels. The cooking process was done on charcoal stoves for hours together, sometimes extending to even a day, where the ladies took turn to stir the jam. The mix used to be left to cook for a day and then transferred to glass bottles and jars. My mother-in-law used to distribute it to all our family members and friends..” 

The duo is tight-lipped about the recipes, but they want people to taste their natural jams, which can be eaten with ice creams, cheesecakes, custards, waffles, pieces of bread and as toppings for cake and trifles. It can best be used as a spread on rotis for lunch or breakfast. “We’re trying out mixed fruit and grape jams. They will soon be available. The bottles are couriered within a day,” says Saba.

A 200-gram bottle costs `230. 
For details, visit their Instagram page: Famberry Jamz. 

Strawberry pannacotta (Serves 4 to 5 bowls)

Ingredients: Whipping cream:  2.5 cups, Sugar: 1/3 cup , Gelatin: 1 tbsp, Milk: 1/3 cup,. Vanilla extract: 1 tsp, Famberry strawberry jam: for topping 

Method

•  Add the cream and sugar in a saucepan and allow it to boil once.
•  Mix gelatin and milk in a bowl and set it aside
•  Take the saucepan out of the stove and allow it to cool down, then add vanilla extract to it.
•  When gelatin absorbs the milk and forms mushy consistency, then add it to the saucepan. Mix it well.
•  Pour the cream mixture in ramekin bowls and bring it to room temperature. After that, keep the bowls in the refrigerator for six hours or even overnight is better.
•  After the Panna Cotta is ready, you can add a dollop of strawberry jam on top