Things I Love: Bitter Sweet

Straight from Sicily

Open a jar of great jam and step into an orchard.  Cue sun, wind, and rain. 

That's what I thought when a friend brought me this jar of blood orange jam.  I took one bite and found myself in Sicily, sun beating down.  The jam, made by Fabrizia Lanza (she runs her mother Anna Tasca Lanza's wonderful cooking school in Palermo), has a peculiar sweetness that edges into bitter.  The flavor took me right back to the first time I tasted magenta oranges.  It was in Sicily,and I was stunned and surprised by the taste.

This jam isn't cheap. On the other hand, I don't know an easier way to travel halfway round the world.