Almost a month ago now, when I made that fig challah, my friend Jahnavi came over to enjoy it with us. Her contribution to the meal (which didn’t just consist of fig challah, but also shrimp and corn/green beans/zucchini) was some hand picked tomato and basil, as well as a beautiful jar of Apricot Rose Jam.

Jahnavi’s mother and her husband, Casee and John Francis, own Amour Spreads, a jam company in Utah. The company is family owned and operated, and they make all of their jam from peak season, organic ingredients. With flavors like apricot rose, blood orange rosemary, savory heirloom tomato, and pear lavender, these jams make my mouth water. This jam packed the essence of apricot into a jar. It was perfect – bright, tangy, sweet – with a hint of rose that added a lovely complexity to it. It has been perfect smothered on toast in the morning, and I can imagine it would be perfect to use in rugelach or as a glaze for your Thanksgiving turkey.

The other day my friend Elsa was making fun of me because when I’m making baked goods I always like to find recipes with unexpected/unconventional ingredients (like chocolate chip, thyme, and sea salt cookies, for example…). But to me, that’s what makes food exciting and interesting – unexpected flavor combinations that taste completely new. I can’t wait to try some of Amour’s more unique flavors.