Homemade jams, concentrates, preserves made with fresh produce, capture essence of Kerala’s seasonal fruits

Homemade with fresh produce, these jams, concentrates and preserves are not the run-of-the-mill sweet spreads that pass off as fruit treats in the market. These fruity treats capture the warmth and sweetness of the sun and the rain in glass jars.

Made without preservatives, artificial colours or flavours, these homemade delicacies celebrate the fruit in myriad forms. And in Kerala, there is some fruit or the other that is in season.  In addition to native fruits such as banana and jackfruit, several new ones such as dragon fruit, mangosteen and rambutan have found takers here. Many of the fruits are preserved as jams, marmalades, pickles, fruit concentrates and more.

Concerns about artificial additives have pushed many customers to buy local, from enterprising home cooks who have turned their passion for cooking into micro-enterprises.

Here are four home-cooks who have a steady clientele for their homemade brands.

Fruits to drink

Homemade fruit concentrates made by Preethi Abraham 
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Sip on freshness with Preethi Abraham’s orange-lime or ginger-lime, two of her top-sellers. Preethi’s homemade food had always won her compliments from her children’s friends thanks to the treats she packed for their school lunch. When Preethi’s daughter became pregnant, she began making fruit concentrates that did not use artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. Friends and family fell in love with the orange lime and ginger lime squash that she made. Motivated by her mother and aunt and people requesting her for her preservative-free fruit concentrates, she decided to start selling them on a small scale. That was four years ago.

“My brand Homemade Treats blends my passion for cooking and my commitment to healthy food. What began in my mother’s and aunt’s kitchen has a loyal customer base now,” says Preethi.

Orange lime, ginger lime, passion fruit juice and grape are much in demand. She makes all the juice concentrates at home with the help of her domestic help. Since last year, Preethi has added sugar-free gooseberry with kanthari (bird’s eye chilli) and sugar-free ginger-lime with kanthari to her product menu. “Many who are trying to control their sugar levels wanted me to make something they could have without feeling guilty. That is how I made this healthy drink that can be mixed with water or soda. Or used to make a smoothie or a cocktail!”

Preethi also has a wide range of ready-to-fry vegetarian and non-vegetarian short eats such as samosa, chicken pockets, cutlets, parathas, rolls and so on.

Her fruit concentrates are available in a few select outlets in Thiruvananthapuram. Her fruit concentrates are couriered all over Kerala and outside the State. The fruit concentrates and read-to-cook food have to be kept refrigerated.

Contact: 9495921525/9074749720

House with the jack tree

Chakka chips from Molly Thomas’ Marothottam in Thiruvananthapuram. 
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The two jackfruit trees in her new house came as a bonanza for former banker Molly Thomas. “The two trees are of the chembarathi varikka kind (a prime variety of jackfruit) and are full of fruit in season,” says Molly.

Although she made the most of the fruit, many of it went to waste. That was when she decided to process it and make it available to hungry fans of jackfruit. She trained four women to make vattal (fries), unniyappam, ada, varatiyathu, puffs, cutlets, puzhukku and more, all with chakka, ripe and unripe. Her crisp and flaky chakka puff is a mix of flavours and ingenuity.

Chakka puffs from Molly Thomas’ Marothottam in Thiruvananthapuram. 
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Branding her products under the name Marathottam, Molly began an instagram page for her products and announced the menu for the day on the page. Golden chakka upperi, soft unniappams and gooey chakka varatti get sold the minute they are announced on her page.

“The season of raw fruits is over. But we still have chakka varatti that is much in demand, specially by those going abroad. I am giving it a few outlets in the city,” says Molly.

Chakka appam from Molly Thomas’ Marothottam in Thiruvananthapuram. 
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To keep her business afloat during the off season, Molly has diversified into ethnic snacks like aval vilyayichathu, kuzhalappam, cheeda and so on.

“I was trained to make value added products from jackfruits at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra. I found them resourceful and even the snacks that we make now are doing well.”

Contact: 9446356252

Flavoured fizzy tea

Shobhana Vijayan and Vijayan with Sree Vaishakh garden’s dragonfruit kombucha and passion fruit concentrate. 
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Vaisakh Gardens at Thannichal, 40 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, is an Eden laden with fruits such as dragonfruit, mangosteen, rambutan, abiu and so on. From one acre in 2013, they now farm on 25 acres. It was a dream-come-true for J Vijayan, a former naval engineer, and his wife, Shobhana. Their three daughters, Jinu Vijayan, Anu Vijayan and Alka Vijayan, help them in marketing the fruits and looking after the farm.

Vijayan was introduced to dragon fruit on a trip to Malaysia. Sine Kerala enjoys a tropical climate, he knew the fruit would do well here.

A corporate employee, Anu left her job to concentrate on the farm. She runs the farm’s outlet at Kurvankonam. Says Anu, “In 2018, when we started to get a good yield of dragonfruit, we wanted to come out with a product which was new. Value-added products such as jams, concentrates, jelly etc were already there. Moreover, when dragon fruit is cooked at temperatures above 60 degrees it tends to lose its colour.”

Kombucha
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That is when Anu happened to read about kombucha with infused fruits and herbs. When they tried to make kombucha with dragonfruit, they got a deep, fushia coloured drink that also tasted good.

“The market really picked up after 2021 and now we have preservative-free kombucha with dragon fruit, blue pea flower with Ashwagandha and abiu. Except for dragon fruit, the other two are seasonal.”

Recently, dried slices of dragonfruit without sugar or additives have been added to their range.

Anu Vijayan’s Sree Vaishakh garden’s dragonfruit kombucha and passion fruit concentrate 
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“In addition, there is passion fruit concentrate made of pulp from our farm, sweet potato flour made from an orange variety of sweet potato, blue pea dried flower and honey that has been harvested from flowers of red flesh dragonfruit and rambutan.”

Anu says they will soon be making their range available in select markets and malls.

The cost of the products ranges between ₹110 and ₹650

Contact: 8848610442

Naturally flavoured

Homegrown pappaya jam made by Elizabeth Jan.
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Elizabeth Jan’s marmalade is bathed in a golden glow that shines on pieces of orange and peel in the gooey spread. Her purple-coloured plum jam has hints of ginger that teases the palate.

“It’s nothing special. I make all kinds of spreads and preserves with the fruit that is in season,” says Elizabeth who spent her childhood in Gwalior.

Orange marmalade
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“As children, I remember mom making the best of fruits in season, such as guava jam, papaya jam, apple- raisin chutney. I do the same. Whatever fruits were there in the market were turned into jams and preserves to be used later My jams are seasonal.”

After her marriage, she lived in townships of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation for 34 years until her husband retired and settled in Thiruvananthapuram. “We have papaya in our garden and to use the excess fruits, I began making jam. I used to gift to my friends and relatives.” It was the flavour of her jams that won her customers who wanted more.

Murabba made with Karonda (Carissa carandas).  
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So she she began selling them on a small scale under the brand Flavurs. For Elizabeth, processing the fruits and baking evoke memories of her childhood and her days as a young mother.

“Whenever I make tomato jam, I think of my boys who used to have it with almost everything. These are the memories. So, when I make the jam, it reminds me of those days. Although my sons live far away, these memories make me happy.”

Apricot in cognac.
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She insists that she does not use any kind of exotic fruits. but depends on what is local and available. When she visited her son in Dehradun, she made apricot marmalade with the fruit and chutney with ber (jujube fruit), which were aplenty then.

“I also make good North Indian pickles like murabba. Recently, I came across a post in social media where a gentleman wanted to know if anyone wanted karonoda berries. It is not used much in Kerala. I remember my mother making pickles with it. So I got it from him and made pickles. “

Elizabeth is also a keen baker. She honed her skills by attending workshops in various places. “My cooking and baking are linked to memories, memories of my mother, grandmother and my godmother. My godmother used to make a sweet and sour shatavari pickle. I have planted one in my garden. When I make the pickle, that is another memory that I plan to revive.”

Elizabeth’s products are sold by word of mouth publicity. The costs range from ₹90 to ₹200, depending on the season and the fruit used. She adds that since no chemical additives are used, all the spreads must be kept in the refriegerator.

Contact: 90748681 24