Mango Jam from Taiwan

Irwin mangoes are the most popular mango in Taiwan, renowned for being sweet and fragrant with a soft, creamy texture. For this jam, mangoes grown in coastal southern Taiwan travel to Taipei where jam makers Dolly and Chin hand-peel the fruit and stew them whole or in large pieces. This is small, artisan production of stockpot-sized amounts, cooked on a butane burner rather than in large, industrial vats. The only additions are sugar and lemon juice. With no added pectin, they rely on cooking the mangoes slowly to coax out the natural pectin to gently thicken the jam. But since mango is naturally low in pectin, the resulting jam doesn’t have a gelled texture. Instead, it becomes a spoonable, pulpy, vibrantly floral fruit sauce astonishingly close to eating a fresh mango.

A truly indulgent taste of tropical fruit captured in a jar.