Baking| Caramelised Onion & Garlic Jam … and ‘Snackuits’ {a product review} Recipe
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.”
Etty Hillesum
The other day I got a package from Britannia Foods with samples of their recently launched snacks, ‘Snackuits‘, which offered the promise of a break from baking; something that looked like the kids would enjoy. I must be a glutton for punishment because even though I was absolutely exhausted, I decided to make some Caramelised Onion & Garlic Jam to go with it!The morning saw a tiring pizza session, absolutely delicious, but gosh, so much work!! Preheating the oven to make a batch of balsamic roasted strawberries for these Hot Cross Buns I was annoyed with myself. It was bugging that the oven was on, had some extra room and I hadn’t got my act together in time to bake something alongside. It’s a happy feeling to know you can kill two birds with one stone … catch my drift? Does that happen to you sometimes?Pouring in the balsamic vinegar I remembered earlier references to an onion jam that used balsamic vinegar but the recipes I recall were all stove top. Figured I could roast onions in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar alongside the strawberries. Something sweet and something ‘savoury sweet‘ …nice!
Garlic had to be in there because roasting garlic brings out the sweeter side of it. We are a garlic loving family. It’s something that just seems to make life better, even on tiring old days! Being in the kitchen, creating, baking, stirring is all pretty unwinding and relaxing on most days! Summer is here so I’m up pretty early much to the dogs excitement. She takes a chunk out of my earlier free mornings, but she is so CUTE that I don’t mind it!I had those Snackuits in my head. Light, crisp cracker like biscuits would go well with a smoky oniony garlicky jam! If the crackers were a little bigger, they would make a nice base for canapes, great cocktail snacks. They do look pretty versatile, and taste rather good!!
Tired of being bogged down with family chores and responsibilities? Now take some time off for yourself! Your ultimate happy snack is here to help you break life’s monotony and have some girl fun. Let your hair down and show people the witty-whacky side of you. Chilling out and gossiping with your girl gang, Snackuits gives you the license to show your fun side and break free!
Britannia Industries is one of India’s leading Food companies and a leader in the Bakery and Dairy segments in the Indian marketplace. It’s latest launch is 50-50 Snackuits giving every modern day homemaker the option of guilt-free snacking. It’s baked, has cut back on cholesterol, MSG, Trans Fat and oil. With flavours from gourmet food cuisines across the world & the goodness of biscuits, 50-50 Snackuits has a unique combination of stimulating flavours that bring alive the gourmet taste of authentic Swiss Cheese, Chinese cuisine & Italian pizzas.
I was quite surprised at these tasty little bites. The balance of flavours, the spices and the crispiness are certainly addictive. The kids gave them high fives and I have to agree! The market has recently seen baked chips making a foray, but IMHO, these have stolen a few points from those! My little bag of samples had 2 of the flavours Chinese Hot & Sweet and Pizza Italiano, both quite nice! I believe there is a 3rd flavour too, but that was missing from my sample bag … The portions are small, snack sized, enough for a single little bowlful. The blend of spices is good and both flavours were really well received by the kids, which I find really shouts the verdict out loud. I found them very slightly on the saltier side but I guess that’s just the mother in me taking note. I’d give them a 9/10 … wonderful tasty bites, handy to have on hand!I served them with the Caramelised Onion & Garlic Jam and the ‘now beginning to get pretty tiresome‘ pre-teen lapped it up asking for more. Did I say the portions are small, though good for the price {Rs10 for small bag}? A small bag of chips costs the same, and these were much much better. I would love to keep a couple of bags on hand … I really liked them!
Ran them past the ‘not so tiring any more’ teen and she loved them. Offered her onion jam, and she went “EWWWW. Nevah!!” After much cajoling and convincing, a little blackmailing, I finally got her to taste some. She enjoyed it, though hesitatingly said, “Would you mind not calling it jam please? I don’t like the idea of onions in jam!!” Hmmm …So go on, if you live here in India grab a bag of these Snackuits next time you are at the grocery store and tell me if you like them. And if you aren’t in India, grab some onions and make some Caramelised Onion & Garlic Jam. Make more than what I made because its pretty darned addictive and hits all the good spots in the most delightful way. I LOVED it. Sweet and savoury is right up my street, add garlic and I sing out LOUD! This did not disappoint!
{Disclaimer: I have not received any remuneration from Britannia or any agency for this post. This is my personal opinion on the product which I have reviewed.}
Recipe: Caramelised Onion & Garlic Jam
Summary: A different take on what we traditionally think of as jam. This is pretty darned addictive and hits all the good spots in the most delightful way. A ‘smoky oniony garlicky’ jam that pairs well with crackers, rolls, canapes, bread, pizza etc!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 onions, sliced fine
- 6 cloves of garlic, whole with peel
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Dash of sea salt
Method:
Toss the onions in 2 tbsp olive oil, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Place the whole garlic cloves in a piece of foil and drizzle the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over it.
Turn the onions into an oven proof casserole, make a small nest in the centre and place the foil in the middle.
Roast at 190C for about an hour until the edges begin to brown. {I like to do this as I bake something else alongside, or then bake a large portion as this keeps for long}
Remove from oven. When the garlic cloves are cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic out. Discard the peels and place the roasted onions, garlic and sea salt in a heavy bottom pan.
Taste and adjust the brown sugar or/and balsamic vinegar as required. Simmer on low with little water added if it is too dry for about 10 minutes for the flavours to mature. Cool and store in a glass jar in the fridge.
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