Spaghetti squash jam (Shoushiyeh)
August 8, 2010 • Category: Pantry
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
24 Comments • Comments Feed
Amber @Almost Vegan says:
Wow…who ever knew you could make jam from squash. I’m always learning something new from you!
On August 8, 2010 at 1:22 pm
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.
On August 8, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Rosa says:
Until now I’ve only eaten spaghetti squash the savory way… That jam looks very interesting!
Cheers,
Rosa
On August 8, 2010 at 2:20 pm
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.
On August 8, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Sushma Mallya says:
so yum,heard of this for the first time…
On August 8, 2010 at 9:01 pm
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?
On August 8, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Joumana says:
@Amanda: actually they are rather bland!
On August 9, 2010 at 11:17 am
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! 🙂
On August 8, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Sridevi says:
I like the texture of this jam..
On August 9, 2010 at 2:08 am
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!
On August 9, 2010 at 3:16 am
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!
On August 9, 2010 at 6:18 am
Heavenly Housewife says:
I’ve had my share of jams, but I have certainly not come across this one before. How exotic 🙂
*kisses* HH
On August 9, 2010 at 7:00 am
elra says:
Oh …. yummy! I wonder if I can use this for that Majorcan ensaimada’s filling.
On August 9, 2010 at 9:05 am
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.
On August 12, 2010 at 11:24 am
Joumana says:
@Joan: actually Joan in Lebanon jam is made out of eggplants and pumpkin too!
On August 12, 2010 at 11:41 am
A Canadian Foodie says:
How is it eaten? It looks lovely, but the flavour must be incredibly delicate… what is the traditional accompaniment?
On August 12, 2010 at 3:44 pm
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
On August 13, 2010 at 5:06 am
OysterCulture says:
I am so intrigued by this jam, I cannot wait to give it a try.
On August 28, 2010 at 8:04 pm
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!!!
On November 25, 2010 at 1:36 pm
domi says:
Totalement inconnu pour moi cette confiture….
On May 12, 2011 at 8:20 pm
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..
On February 20, 2013 at 4:37 pm
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.
On December 26, 2020 at 4:54 pm
Lea says:
Hi,
Where can I find Spaghetti Squash in Lebanon? What is it called in Arabic?
Thanks!
On September 25, 2017 at 9:59 am
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.
On September 25, 2017 at 10:58 am