Sweet Onion Jam

This is an easy-to-make but luxurious condiment with a myriad of uses.  I made it specifically to accompany a roasted pork tenderloin, but used again with baked chicken.  Unlike several other recipes of this ilk that I've run across, mine contains no added sugar.  Start with naturally sweet Vidalia, Walla-Walla or Texas 1015 onions when they are available and you have all the natural sugar you need.  But frankly, a standard yellow onion works just as well, and perhaps better, as the balsamic vinegar will carry the sweetness through to complete the jam without added sugar.  But if you have a sweet tooth and feel the need to add 1/4 cup of brown sugar to this recipe, be my guest.

Jam, you say?  What's the difference between a jam, a jelly and a marmalade?  Jam is made with whole fruit (or in this case, a root vegetable).  Jelly is made with the juice only, straining out all other particulate matter.  Marmalade is specific to citrus fruit, made like a jam but also with the skin of the fruit and usually, this applies to oranges.

Onion jam is not really something meant for breakfast toast, but rather meant to accompany savory food flavors as a sweet balance.  If goes very well with roasted pork or chicken, but would also be good on a burger or a crostini with melted goat cheese.  My recipe adds sage and thyme to give the jam an earthy, herbal background as a further offset to the rich sweetness of the onions and balsamic vinegar.

Speaking of balsamic, go for something mid-priced.  Don't use cheap, commercial balsamic but don't go high-end, either.  As with wine, balsamic vinegar has a wide range of quality profiles and hence, price.  And generally, you'll get what you pay for.

While deceptively simple in it's ingredients and preparation, I cannot over-emphasize the time element.  Many recipes will have you sauteing and simmering the onions for a relatively short period of time.  I recommend a full hour of slow stewing the onions with their vinegar and seasoning counterparts to reap the full benefit and end-result of this versatile accompaniment.

Ingredients
4 large yellow or sweet onions, such as Vidalia, Walla-Walla or Texas 1015
1/2 - 3/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
pinch of salt
3-4 grinds freshly cracked black pepper

The Recipe
Peel the onions, cut off the root and the top, and then slice horizontally to make onion rings about 1/8 inch thick.  Take the time to separate all the rings from each slice.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan that has a lid and is large enough to accommodate all of the onions over medium high heat.  Place all the onion rings in the pan, cover, and allow them to cook and collapse, stirring frequently to keep the onions circulating through to the bottom of the pan.  This should take perhaps ten minutes.

Once the onions have collapsed, keep stirring and sauteing uncovered until they continue to soften and begin to caramelize, another ten minutes or so.

Flatten the onions in a level layer at the bottom of your pan.  Turn down the heat to medium low, and stir in the balsamic vinegar until it is just even with the top of the layer of cooked onions.  Add the herbs, salt and pepper, and stir well to combine.

Cap the pan with its lid and allow the mixture to gently simmer, but not so much that you lose a lot of liquid.  Stir occasionally, maybe once every 5-10 minutes or so.

Once the onion mixture has cooked for a total time of about an hour, remove the cover and continue to simmer until all of any remaining liquid has evaporated.  Your onion mixture should be dark brown, glistening and moist, but not runny. You can test this by putting a spoonful of the onion jam on a plate.  If liquid oozes beyond the dollop of jam, it is too wet.

Once cooked thoroughly, allow it to cool completely.  The taste is best when served at room temperature.  The jam can be refrigerated in a container with a tight fitting lid for a couple of weeks.