When I started blogging 15 years ago I stalked, read each and every post of Lori Baltazar. When there came an opportunity to meet her, I grabbed it. I was so giddy with kilig when I met her in person. I was face to face with the blogger behind dessertcomesfirst.
So while watching the last episode of Sini Gang on Facebook – they introduced, Small Pan Jams by Lori Baltazar. It was immediate, that right after that episode – I followed the Instagram account and placed my order. Lori Baltazar yan eh!
And here they are:
These small jams are handmade by Lori. I tried each flavor and it has their own charm to them. I will try by best to describe each of them as best I can.
FIG BALSAMIC
Fig is something that I really like. I have been looking for fig jam everywhere but to no avail. My favorite Bonne Maman Fig jam has already been wiped out and it isn’t available locally. I need to ask friends to buy it for me when they travel. So when I saw this flavor, I knew I needed to order it to try. The jam is not as sweet as Bonne Maman’s but I can really taste the fig and its seeds. The balsamic was a good combination because it gives the fig a different kick. I’ve tasted a teaspoon full and it was good! I spread it on a pizza and it was even better! But when I topped it on my classic rosemary focaccia, well – that was the best. I was so happy with the combination of my focaccia and this fig balsamic jam that I think I nearly finished with the bottle!
BLUEBERRY BERGAMOT
Blueberries are fruits that I don’t normally see locally. So when I saw this flavor, ding ding ding! I needed to try that too! My memories of blueberries are from The Sound of Music. Remember when Von Trap children went to visit Maria in the abbey and when they came back the reason they gave the captain was that they went berry picking and that it was so cold that the raspberries turned blue! Hahaha…. Anyway, I tried a teaspoonful and it was delightful! I can tasted actual blueberries and I loved it! As for the bergamot – to be honest, I don’t know what it is except for it’s a scent of an essential oil. Hahaha! But I enjoyed the this flavor because of the blueberries. It pairs well with my classic focaccia too because of the contrast of flavors – the sweet blueberries and my salty focaccia.
RASPBERRY LEMON
This was the flavor I was least interested in because of all the berry fruits, raspberries are my least favorite. Hahaha!! I also dislike the scent of raspberries because I find them too sweet smelling. This jam is tart, I was expecting it to be more tart and sour, but boy was I glad that it wasn’t. Hahaha! It was kind of pleasant to be honest and ate this with toast and butter and it was good! It’s not my favorite, but it tasted good! I think I like my jams on the sweeter side. Haha!!
PASSIONFRUIT MANGO VANILLA
This was the most unique of the four jams. I was honestly not expecting to like it, but I did. Passionfruit is a fruit that you will need to force me to try. There’s a certain flavor that just doesn’t sit well with my taste buds. But if Lori Baltazar makes it, it’s a good enough reason for me to try it! To boe honest, in my head – how will this particular flavor taste? I really wondered! So when I took a teaspoon full, I waited for the taste. I knew it was special so i took a new teaspoon and had another taste. It was amazing! Why? It was amazing because of the waves of flavors that it brought out. First the passionfruit, and then the mango and lastly the vanilla. It was wonderful journey for my tastebuds because of the flavors were individually present, I tasted it one after another – and not mixed in one. This was such a wonderful flavor.
So what is my favorite? Well the fig and the blueberry of course! But I really enjoyed the Passion Fruit Mango Vanilla because of the waves of flavors that brought out.
Amazing. That’s all I can say.
Good job Lori! Congratulations on Small Pan Jams.
