A jam sandwich
It was just after waking this morning when it dawned on me I had not enjoyed a jam sandwich for a very long time. Although I am not naturally drawn to sweet food, I was never philosophically opposed to a jam sandwich. I suppose it dates back to my childhood where in my youth, some seventy five years ago now, ( how the time flies) a jam sandwich was fairly normal and accepted all over The Netherlands. School children were always given jam sandwiches.
When my parents found out that in Australia it was normal to give schoolchildren banana sandwiches , they stayed up late over many nights to mull over this new found national lunch habit. I remember my parents in their bedroom talking about the cultural differences including banana sandwiches. Oddly enough, my mother back in 1957, it was a sunny day, came home with a jar of vegemite. Yet, they never questioned that brown smear of sandwich spread. When I saw the opened jar of vegemite for the first time I immediately thought of soiled baby nappies and cow pats in verdant meadows.
Jam sandwich
So, after a shower and getting dressed I sought out my fridge to free up some of the jars of jam. I remembered I was given a few for Christmas and I’ll just realized I have a good collection; A Home Grown Strawberry jar, an Apricot jam (not home grown), A Grandes Signature Raspberry jam from Aldi, and last of all, a Chinese 5 Spice Plum Sauce dated ( 19-12-2020). The latest I use mixed in salads.
Talk about Jams. Yesterday I bought a Tuna steak from the local Harris Farm fancy food outlet. This is a shop for those with large wallets. It has the best of everything, but you need a bit of money. Anyway, I know they sell fresh fish so on a Friday I treat myself on sliced raw tuna and a nice salad in which I infuse lots of different herbs, oils and this Plum sauce. Below is a photo including the finely sliced raw tuna.
Tuna salad with salad including Chinese 5 spice Plum sauce.
Oosterman Treats Blog 
January 10, 2021 at 7:58 am |
Your salads do look very appetising. My favourite jam is marmalade with lots of orange peels in it! 🙂
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January 10, 2021 at 10:11 pm |
Yes, a fine marmalade is the Queen of all jams. My father loved marmalade. It wasn’t cheap and back in Holland only used on special occasions sa wedding anniversaries, or on New Year’s Eve.
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January 10, 2021 at 9:43 am |
Love your dishes and it is good to see that you are eating healthy. Jam is about the only sweet that I allow myself. I buy a brand called Smuckers Simply Fruit which is sweetened only with pear concentrate. It tastes wonderful and I mix it with natural and unsweented almond butter. That is the extent of the sweets that I eat besides eating fresh or dried fruit.
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January 10, 2021 at 10:15 pm |
Yes, I try and eat well. I usually start the day with fruit. A jam sandwich is a rare treat that I allowed myself yesterday for the first time in years. Those poor jams waiting in the fridge to be taken out!
I have been infusing my yoghurt and ice cream with a real maple syrup, which has to be reasonably healthy, apart from the ice cream.
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January 10, 2021 at 10:40 am |
I still love Vegemite.
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January 10, 2021 at 10:17 pm |
Ah well, Peggy. I am not without strange dietary habits either.
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January 10, 2021 at 9:05 pm |
I co concur with the hilarious Oosterman quote “soiled baby nappies and cow pats in verdant meadows.” I hate the smell of Vegemite and insist the lid is put back on asap when in use. Jam sandwiches were not so good on the teeth, but convenient for families. Can you imagine giving that to a child these days? You would be reported to the authorities! Lol. Red flags up on the tuckshop for the high sugar content.
Your salad looks delicious. Asian fusion?
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January 10, 2021 at 10:22 pm |
Yes, I was so surprised to see for the first time that brown jar, all nude and in the open without its lid. My mother cottoned on quickly because her children who went to school must have asked for it. There was a popular song advertising vegemite. In fact, it is used today as a term of affection; ‘Oh, you are a dear little vegemite’!
Yes, I do like salads more than anything especially mixed with my own concoctions.
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January 10, 2021 at 9:25 pm |
ALL of your food choices sound wonderful to me!!! And the salads especially yummy! You are eating well, Gerard.
I liked reading your sandwich memories.
I love all jams, but my fav for years has been the Smucker’s Simply Fruit. It is SO delicious!
(((HUGS))) 🙂
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January 10, 2021 at 10:28 pm |
Yes, I do eat well. Just wondering if my resurgence for jam is related to my dearest girlfriend, the sweetest of all. We are really close and I am so happy. I feel like singing.
Funny, you are the second one to mention Smucker’s Simply Fruit. It must be very popular, perhaps a kind of National Institute?
I’ll see if I can find it.
Hugs to you and pats to Cooper,
Gerard.
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January 11, 2021 at 7:59 am
Oh, I bet she IS very sweet! 🙂 Go ahead, sing! Sing loudly! 😀
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January 10, 2021 at 10:14 pm |
When we had jam sandwiches as kids, it always was combined either with butter or peanut butter. Grape and strawberry were my preferences, but then I grew up and moved to apricot and peach. I like apple butter, too, and lemon curd on scones or English muffins.
Sometimes, I’ll even stir jam into cottage cheese, and add a bit of fruit or nuts. Very tasty!
I don’t have a clue what plum sauce is, or how to use it. Clearly, I still have a culinary horizon to sail toward!
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January 10, 2021 at 10:39 pm |
Yes, Linda. We used to make jams on the farm after we had a very good year with lots of fruit. I remember that for jam to set you had to have a setting agent which one could make from a special extract from nuts. Was it almonds?
It was tricky, because runny jam was not easy to manouvre on a slice of toast held at an angle while talking to friends in an animated manner.
The spicy plum sauce was made by a good friend and I will ask her about the five ingredients to make it the Chinese plum sauce.
I like and relish your ‘sailing to a culinary horizon’. May I use it?
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January 10, 2021 at 10:51 pm
Sure, you can use my “sailing” reference. I’m just glad you like it!
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