Spaghetti squash jam (Shoushiyeh)

August 8, 2010  •  Category:

 

This is a jam made in the Chouf mountains from spaghetti squash. Unusual but refined and with a delicate taste; not too sweet.


I am not including a recipe, since I have not made it myself yet; if you have some leftover spaghetti squash and are dying to make it, here is what Um Elias, a Chouf mountain native and resident and a farmer, told me to do:

Cook the squash and drain it;  place it in a heavy-duty pot with its weight in sugar and cook it over the stove  letting it simmer until the consistency is jam-like; test it by placing a drop on a plate. The last few minutes of cooking, add a teaspoon of citric acid to the jam;  I would  include a vanilla stick, split in the middle, during the cooking process.

Comments

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  1. Amber @Almost Vegan says:

    Wow…who ever knew you could make jam from squash. I’m always learning something new from you!

  2. T.W. Barritt says:

    Look at that! Sometimes I wonder what to do with spaghetti squash because it is so bland, but the addition of the sugar, and other flavorings could make this very tasty.

  3. Rosa says:

    Until now I’ve only eaten spaghetti squash the savory way… That jam looks very interesting!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  4. Nadji says:

    Je ne suis pas du tout sûre d’avoir déjà vu ces courges spaghetti.
    Je vais faire plus attention.
    Ca m’aurait plu de goûter à cette confiture.
    A bientôt.

  5. Sushma Mallya says:

    so yum,heard of this for the first time…

  6. Amanda says:

    Spaghetti squash fascinate me – they are really odd.
    We don’t ever see them here in Australia and I often wonder whether they have any flavour of their own – or are they bland and take on the taste of whatever is with them?

  7. Conor @ HoldtheBeef says:

    Wow, I would never have thought to make jam with this. Mind you, we don’t get them here so I don’t have spaghetti squash on the mind very often. Am a little jealous! 🙂

  8. Sridevi says:

    I like the texture of this jam..

  9. grace says:

    i greatly enjoy spaghetti squash (we tried to grow our own this year but failed), and i would never have thought to make jam with it. excellent!

  10. TastyTrix says:

    That is the strangest consistency for jam! I mean that in a good way; it’s very intriguing as I love spaghetti squash but honestly never dreamed of it as a jam. Neat!

  11. Heavenly Housewife says:

    I’ve had my share of jams, but I have certainly not come across this one before. How exotic 🙂
    *kisses* HH

  12. elra says:

    Oh …. yummy! I wonder if I can use this for that Majorcan ensaimada’s filling.

  13. Joan Nova says:

    Very interesting. Once you open the door to making jam out of spaghetti squash, I guess you could do it with any vegetable.

  14. A Canadian Foodie says:

    How is it eaten? It looks lovely, but the flavour must be incredibly delicate… what is the traditional accompaniment?

  15. shayma says:

    beautiful. i havent been here in a while- lots of new gorgeous recipes. i have had this jam 5 years ago and your post brought back memories of Rome- where i had it w my Lebanese friend. x shayma

  16. OysterCulture says:

    I am so intrigued by this jam, I cannot wait to give it a try.

  17. s says:

    oh yay! I have to try this recipe. I like the plain squash jam…in northern Lebanon (Tripoli region), they make a similar version, but with a thicker consistency, and add nuts (pistachio, almond, hazelnut) to the mixture – which makes it more of a candy treat. I’m pretty sure they call it “jazareyeh”. Great site Joumana – I actually stumbled upon it while looking for this recipe, so I can use the spaghetti squash that’s been sitting on my counter for weeks!!!

  18. domi says:

    Totalement inconnu pour moi cette confiture….

  19. inês says:

    We make this a lot in Portugal, we even use this jam for baking other sweet things. It’s amazingly good. I didn’t even know we coud make non-sweet things with this squash..

    • Licinio M. Rodrigues says:

      The Portuguese jam (called Doce de Chila or Doce de Gila) is made from a diferente squash, the Cucurbita ficifolia, also used in Spain, to make sweets and confectionery.

  20. Lea says:

    Hi,

    Where can I find Spaghetti Squash in Lebanon? What is it called in Arabic?

    Thanks!

    • Joumana Accad says:

      Hello Lea, it is found in farmer’s markets in rural areas. I heard it was called israeli squash for some reason, a reason I did not investigate! I found some here in the Chouf, but I don’t know a specific vendor other than occasional road stands.

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