You'll Need A Lot Of Patience To Make Onion Jam, But It's Worth It

Making jam is not a process that can usually be rushed, and onion jam is no exception. Unlike fruit jam, though, you may not be able to find it right next to the peanut butter in your supermarket sandwich spread aisle. While you can purchase jars such as Jammy Yummy's caramelized onion spread, you'll save a lot of money and achieve quite a sense of accomplishment if you're willing to devote an hour or so to taking the DIY slow road. Okay, so an hour's not a lot of time if you're talking about a hands-off recipe. For onion jam, you need to stand there right in front of the stove the whole time. It's worth the effort, though.

Start your onion jam by sautéing sweet or red onions in butter — a couple of pounds of thinly sliced onions should produce a cup of jam. Season them with salt, and add any herbs or spices you'd like, as well. Cook and stir, stir and cook, for half an hour, then add white sugar, and cook for another 20 minutes or so until most of the onion liquid has evaporated. Add some vinegar (red wine, cider, balsamic, or even a combination of these) and continue cooking for a few more minutes. Once this liquid evaporates, you'll be left with something resembling jam. Cool the jam, then you're good to go.

As this condiment is not a shelf-stable one, you'll need to store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Even then, you should use it up in about two weeks. It might not be your first choice for a PBJ, although who knows, the combination might actually be good. After all, Ernest Hemingway was a fan of peanut butter and onion sandwiches. There's no doubt whatsoever, though, that it would make for a top-notch grilled cheese. It would also be perfect for a burger (we recommend adding the condiment to both top and bottom burger buns), and it could also be used as a rich glaze for chicken or roast pork.

One especially intriguing way to use onion jam would be to incorporate it into a savory baking project. Molly Yeh thinks onion jam would be great in a savory cookie like boursin-tomato rugelach, and she's also experimented with using it as a filling in some of her more creative modern sufganiyot reimaginings. If you're not quite ready for that level of experimentation, though, you can always use it as the sauce on a white pizza, or on your next charcuterie board.