JAM, STRAWBERRY JALAPENO

If you’re lucky enough to be friends with a redhead, you know that there is a certain amount of sauciness, a dash of sassiness, a scoonch of piquant to their personality. The same can be said for our strawberry-jalapeño preserves. Sure, the ruby-red fruit fills your mouth with summer sweetness but it is the after-tremble of the jalapeños that have you going back for more.

Uses: This ain’t your Nana’s strawberry jam so you’re going to have to think big. Of course, it is great with a soft creamy cheese on toasted baguette slices. And it pairs perfectly with roasted meats straight from the grill (fashion a basting brush out of fresh herbs and apply preserves liberally to bone-in chicken leg quarters.) But these flavors demand you stretch your epicurean self. Craft your own house cocktail by swirling a tablespoon into a cocktail with a jigger of vodka and a healthy splash of fizzy mineral water. What you name this new drink is up to you.