Open any refrigerator and you’d probably find jams made of strawberry or blueberry, maybe even a jar of orange marmalade. On rare occasions, in a Filipino pantry, you might find coconut jam and, especially after a spate of holiday gatherings, ube halaya. Chef Arnold Bernardo of Lick the Spoon, known for his gourmet savory spreads, veers away from these usual jam concoctions with his Lickerish Jam Cocktails. Instead, he uses produce like watermelon, banana, pineapple, mango, and even chia seeds—then adds liquor. “I close my eyes, smell the ingredients, and imagine the combination,” Bernardo says of how he determines which fruit and liquor to combine. “As long as I see a beautiful symphony of flavors in my head, we’re good.”
The result is day and night in one jar. Spread it on hot pan de sal in the morning with a cup of tea on the side, as Maria and the von Trapp children sang in The Sound of Music. Maybe even use it as jelly for your peanut butter jelly sandwich. Or sneak into the kitchen at midnight to lick a spoonful whenever a sweet hint of liquor is much needed.
Get Lickerish Jam Cocktails here.
This article was originally published in Northern Living, January 2017.
Writer: OLIVER EMOCLING
PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK SEGOVIA
