Mayo, ketchup, mustard, salsa. There is so much more you can do to give your food some extra zing. The taste buds come alive with pleasure when the right flavors collide on your tongue, and we’ve gathered some truly exotic jams, jellies and chutneys to make your eating
more adventurous and enjoyable. First, get an 11 ounce jar of Branston Pickle ($3.75 each; case of 12 for $36), a favorite condiment in the United Kingdom, where more than 28 million jars are sold each year. The sweet and tangy stuff is made from “vegetables in variable proportions” (carrots, rutabaga, onions, cauliflower, marrows, gherkins), sugar, vinegar, chopped dates, apples, tomato paste and more. It absolutely enhances a fish and rice or meat and potatoes meal. Just put a spoonful on your plate and take a little with each bite. Another UK delight is Piccalilli ($4.25 for 10 oz.), a yellow relish of chopped pickled cucumbers, green peppers and onion with tumeric and mustard. In the jams and jellies department, we wanted to know what lay beyond strawberry preserves and orange marmalade. Thus it was exciting to find Mrs. Miller’s Noodles, a Web site featuring the low-priced, beyond-the-ordinary products of a Ohio-based Amish family, the Millers. The family makes dandelion jelly, pineapple jam, mint jelly, hot pepper jelly, red pepper jam, tomato jam and sassafras jelly. All are $2.25 for 8 oz., except the hot pepper jelly, which is $3.50 for 18 ounces. At the Exotic Jam Factory, each season supplies its own selection of jams and jellies. Right now the pickings are great. Get some strawberry and cracked pepper jam ($9) to go with your cheese and crackers or cold meats. Or try the Jaboticaba jam ($9), which is made from a luscious Queensland fruit similar to the cranberry. Other offerings include nectarine and ginger jam, and a berry blend from their orchard which mixes Queensland Mulberry, Brazilian cherry, cherry guava and Jaboticaba. In the marmalade department, there’s orange and lemongrass and orange and whiskey.











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