Easy Carrot Jam: A Sweet Persian Condiment
Yes, carrot jam is a thing. It’s been made in the Middle East since at least the 12th century. In Iran, carrot jam is flavoured with cardamom, rose and sometimes saffron. In this Persian inspired easy carrot jam recipe, I’ve used all three. It’s wonderful eaten just as it is on toast, but it also makes a delicious accompaniment to salty cheese.
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Easy Carrot Jam (Moraba-ye Havij)
It’s jam, but not as you know it. It’s more like soft candied carrot. You can still use it in exactly the same way as jam, though it doesn’t spread as you’d expect. The texture is more like a coarse marmalade. Indeed, carrot marmalade was quite a popular recipe in WW2.
It’s this quality that makes Persian carrot jam (moraba-ye havij) so easy to make. Unlike traditional British jam, you don’t need to worry about a setting point. You just keep cooking until most of the liquid has disappeared.
The recipe requires citrus to temper any sweetness and add additional flavour. In traditional Persian jam, either limes or oranges are used. I’ve made mine with the zest and juice of two limes and a lemon.
Saffron is entirely optional, but if you have some to hand, it does add a depth of colour and some extra floral notes. The flavours of cardamom and rose shine through and transform this rather mundane vegetable into something decidedly exotic. Some sort of alchemy occurs during the cooking process, turning a base of carrot into gold.
When it comes to the all important rose flavour, you can use rosewater, rose extract* or my rose syrup. I used the latter, of course. Use whole cardamom pods for this recipe, but just crush them lightly so that the seeds can properly infuse the jam. I leave the pods in when potting the jam up and just warn everyone in advance, but you could fish them out beforehand if you prefer.
The quantity in the recipe below makes five small jars.
Carrot Jam’s Potted History
Mrs Beeton, way back in 1861, wrote a recipe for carrot jam which looks and behaves more like you’d expect a jam to do. But this Persian inspired easy carrot jam appeals to me more. An Arab in Andalusia recorded the first known recipe. It used honey rather than sugar and was flavoured with ginger and cloves.
The Shakers brought carrot jam to the US in the 1770s and they used sugar. I have a recipe from Mrs M Grieve in A Modern Herbal published in 1931, so it looks like carrot jam was a ‘thing’ in the UK until relatively recently. I’ll forgo Maude’s inclusion of margarine, however.
Carrots for Breakfast?
In Iran, carrot jam is often eaten for breakfast along with bread and fresh cheese. I tried some of my easy carrot jam with salty feta cheese in a warm pitta bread and it was delicious. I’ve been having it for lunch rather than breakfast, but I feel I’ve got a glimpse of the real deal.
Easy Carrot Preparation
The only conceivable part of this recipe that might not be easy is grating this number of carrots. Hopefully, you have a food processor* to do this for you. You can find out more about my Von Shef 1000 on my Granny’s apple pie post. It’s what I use for anything more than one carrot. Grating them all by hand is just one step too far.
Other Unusual Carrot Recipes You Might Like
- Air-fryer carrot falafel
- Carrot, cabbage & cheddar mini muffins
- Carrot cake flapjacks
- Carrot top pesto
- Creamy carrot pasta sauce
- Moroccan carrot dip
- Carrot pickles
For more carrot inspiration take a look at my carrot category. Whether you’re looking for soups, salads, sides, bakes or something else, you’ll be sure to find something you like.
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this easy Persian carrot jam, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on your preferred social media site and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more jam recipes and other preserves, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Easy Carrot Jam – PIN IT
Easy Persian Carrot Jam (Moraba-ye Havij)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 800 g carrots coarsely grated
- 8 cardamom pods lightly crushed to open the pods a little
- 500 ml water
- 500 g golden caster sugar
- pinch saffron threads (optional)
- 2 limes organic or at least unwaxed
- 1 lemon organic or at least unwaxed
- 1 tbsp rose water or 2 tbsp rose syrup or 4-6 drops rose extract
Instructions
- Place the carrots, cardamom pods and water in a large pan. A preserving pan is ideal but any large saucepan is fine.800 g carrots, 8 cardamom pods, 500 ml water
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on.
- Add the sugar and saffron if using and stir until the sugar has dissolved.500 g golden caster sugar, pinch saffron threads
- Finely grate the lime zest and stir in.
- Bring to the boil again and boil without a lid for 15 to 20 minutes when most of the liquid should have evaporated and the carrots soft.
- Add the juice of the limes and lemon about ten minutes after adding the sugar.2 limes, 1 lemon
- Add the rosewater, rose syrup or rose extract* a couple of minutes before turning off the heat.1 tbsp rose water
- Spoon into sterilised jars whilst hot and cover.
- Will keep in the fridge for several weeks.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this exotic easy carrot jam recipe with Recipes Made Easy for #CookBlogShare.
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I made this for the 2nd time today, I very loosely followed this recipe unlike the first time where i followed it to the T (it was fabulous). This time I used dark brown sugar as I prefer it and I’m so excited to use it with my avocado toast in the morning. My favourite combination for avocado toast with carrot jam includes crispy bacon bits, slices of delicious sourdough, Persian fetta, a dash of lemon juice, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze to finish it off. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
So glad you like it. Your breakfast sounds fabulous. I like the idea of using brown sugar, but I’m guessing the colour is a bit muddy?
I have some lovely raw honey I would like to use instead of sugar. How much should I use? We don’t have a strong sweettooth. As not to destroy the goodness of the honey I would use it at the end.
Raw honey is a treasure indeed. Honey has different properties to sugar, so I’m not sure quite how it would work, especially if you want to use less of it. If you want the jam to last a while, I’d use exactly the same amount as I would sugar, but if you’re going to eat it within a week or two, just add as much as your tastebuds dictate. But adding it at the end probably won’t work that well as the carrot needs to cook in the liquid given from the sugar / honey. I’d be inclined to keep your honey for other things.
Used garden carrots and because of their water content I had to boil it a lot longer. BUT this is going to be an amazing Holiday Gift for my friends Charcuterie Boards. I did process it in a hot water bath. Added some Citric Acid Power to ensure safety. THANK YOU!
Ooh, homegrown carrots sound delicious and makes it extra special. Caution is always a good idea if you’re gifting to others. Thanks for letting us know how you got on.
made this jam today as I had so many extra carrots from the garden.
it was delicious and easy to make. I can’t believe carrots can taste like this
I’m quite envious of your garden carrots Amanda. We’ve never been particularly successful at growing them. Glad you like the jam and thanks for your feedback. The flavours aren’t the most obvious ones to go with carrots, but it works really nicely.
Can you hot water bath this and make it shelf stable?
Hi Emily. I haven’t tried extending its shelf life with a water bath, but in theory it should work.
Hi
How much ground cardamom should I use in place of the pods?
Hi Marie. Cardamom is quite a strong spice, so it’s better to err on the side of caution. I’d go with ¼ tsp of ground cardamom. Hope that helps.
How long does this store for as there is not the usual amount of sugar for a jam recipe?
Hi Emma. You’re absolutely right. Carrot jam won’t keep as long as traditional British jam. Unopened jars will keep in the fridge for a couple of months though.
Bad proportions
I have made carrot jam that was delicious, this waS not. Very disappointed
Oh no! Sorry to hear you didn’t like it. It’s always disappointing when a recipe doesn’t turn out as expected. What proportions do you think I should have used?
Love this jam, made it twice, first time I added too much lemon juice and zest by mistake, then added sugar and cooked it more, still was lemony so I put it as a topping for cheesecake, it was fabulous.
Second time made it as your recipe, just cooked it an hour longer, it came yummy and soft, I top my pancakes with almond butter and carrot jam, great start to my day.
Thanks for letting me know Najla, so glad you liked it. Love the idea of it as a cheesecake topping and as a pancake topping too.
Can I ask if the carrot jam will keep out of the fridge? I’m thinking of making some for gifts. Thanks!
Hi Catherine, it will keep for a week or even two out of the fridge, depending on where you store it. The cooler and darker the place the better. Make sure your jars and lids are properly sterilised and you seal your jars well. I stored mine in a cupboard for a month and they were fine, but I wouldn’t be happy about giving those ones to anyone else – just in case.
Thank you for your kind guidance. I enjoy the jam variety. This one seems excellent. My mother used to put red chillie powder and it is dantastic. Of course an acquires taste
Thanks Sally. Chilli powder sounds like a lovely addition. Your mother was clearly a woman of taste.
Fantastic recipe! I made this for a girl’s luncheon prior to lockdown here in California. It was a hit! I served it on crackers with fresh ricotta and goat cheese. Each gal was gifted a small jar to take home….one of them served it alongside grilled sausages and said it was a delicious condiment.
Sounds like a most delicious way to use the carrot jam and a lovely thing to gift too. I know it goes well with cheese, but now I need to try it with sausages.
I made this for VE Day (socially distanced) celebrations, as carrot jam felt like an appropriate nod to wartime recipes. Absolutely delicious! The Middle Eastern flavours work so wonderfully. I’ve taken to eating it with Greek yogurt, although my favourite combination has been spreading it on sourdough toast, topped with clotted cream!
Ooh how wicked. I totally want to try this with clotted cream on toast now. Glad you liked it. And yes a clever idea for VE day, though I suspect Middle Eastern flavours might have seemed rather odd then.
The sound of your carrot jam as well as your lovely lunch of warm pitta with feta and said condiment is making me really hungry. What a great and unusual recipe! I love a good chutney and would love to try your jam with all its wonderful flavours.
I thought it might last us quite some time, but it’s so good we’re going through it more rapidly than I’d anticipated.
I’ve never heard of carrot jam before – I’d love to try it!
This is one of the reasons I love blogging so much. There’s always something new to learn or try.
Really like the sound of this. Our little one is mad about carrots so might need to try this out and see what he thinks. Also I had no idea carrot jam was a thing 🙂
Yay, glad to have enlightened you 😀 Let me know if your little one gives it the thumbs up or down if you do make it.
This looks like one of those simple but slightly unusual recipes that I love to try. I also love that you don’t have to look for a setting point – I always start making jam way too late and am up at midnight still waiting for the darn stuff to set!
Oh I hear you Anna. I have spent many an impatient hour waiting for jam to set. This isn’t really what I’d call ‘jam’, but it is really delicious.
Gosh its years since I made carrot Jam but seeing your picture I Can just remember the taste again and it is rather good. I shall have to think about making it again now. Thank you for the reminder and sharing on #CookBlogShare
Oh, you’ve made carrot jam Jacqui. I’m so impressed. Was yours more of a jammy jam?
Love the sound of this. I remember my grandmother telling me she used to make carrot jam. The cardamom sounds delicious. I can imagine using this with cheese as you suggest
My grandmother was a brilliant cook, but I don’t remember her making jams of any kind. I’d definitely have been up for some carrot jam. It’s really delicious stuff. It’s really good to hear your grandmother used to make it.
That carrot jam sounds so tasty! I’d love to try it. I imagine it’s wonderful with cheese and crackers.
I’ve only had it with bread and cheese so far, but yes I’m pretty sure it would be good with crackers too.
What a lovely way to preserve carrots and so unusual.
It’s really good Janice. CT is going through it really fast.
I absolutely love your deliciously exotic touch to something so healthy. Love the look and sound of this, Choclette!
I’m not sure it’s desperately healthy as it has a ton of sugar in it, but it is desperately delicious 😀
what a stunning recipe and I love the look of your fragrant carrot jam. My OH would love this served alongside a slab of cheese. Thank you for mentioning my recipe x
Love the sound of your carrot balls Jenny. CT is quite enamoured with the carrot jam – alongside a slab of cheese, naturally.
I love the sound of this Choclette. I have made pumpkin jam before which was amazing and would love to give this one a go.
I’ve made pumpkin butter, but not jam. I bet it tastes really good too.
Oh what a fascinating recipe! I’ve never had carrot jam but I love carrot halwa, a sweet Indian dessert that my mum makes now and then. Lovely!
Oh, I remember trying to make carrot halwa when I was a teen. I can no longer remember what I thought about it or even how successful it was, so I reckon I ought to try making some.
Candied carrots sound even better than a real jam…wonder if it would be also nice to add some ginger in it? Love that pocket sandwich!
I’m not so sure rose and ginger would go together very well, but ginger and cardamom would and I expect that would be very nice too.