Six days ago, I had the food of my life! Fresh and flavorful balsamic jam! It didn’t look that tasty at first, but after devouring the first bite, I kept on eating more and more!

Balsamic jam tastes exactly like it sounds. A smooth substance that has a wrinkle of balsamic flavor. Don’t give the jam all the credit though because a jam usually gets spread on something! Think, think, and think, how about some marvelous French bread toasted and ready to go. If you think about it, French bread works so well with the balsamic jam because balsamic is such a strong flavor while the French bread is rather bland, but provides a sturdiness to the dish. Don’t eat too much of the jam because it can give a weird sensation in your nose from the really strong flavor. Now that you know what balsamic jam with French toast is, aren’t you ready to meet the talented chef who has made this flavorful dish.

Who is this mysterious chef? Uncle Mark Dao is the answer! Known as Uncle Mark, he kindly shared some information about this balsamic jam by answering my four interview questions!

1. Nate, “On a scale from one to ten, how complicated is your fantastic dish?” Uncle Mark,”One.”
2. Nate, “Have you made this food before at a Forty Niners game or some place else?” Uncle Mark, “I’ve made the jam before for a 49ers tailgate.  In that instance, I had put the jam with some steak (filet mignon) on a piece of toasted bread (crostini) to make … yes, you guessed it, a filet mignon, balsamic jam crostini!”
3. Nate, “Did you enjoy making your amazing food at the halloween party?” Mark Dao, “Yes, I had a lot of fun bbq’ing for the party!  I always have fun cooking, but really enjoy it when people (like you) like the food and get a chance to try something new.”
4. Nate, “What are the little pieces of food inside the balsamic jam? Lettuce? Tea leaves?” Uncle Mark, “Recipe for the jam = 2 diced onions, a little butter, some oil.  Caramelize onions by heating butter and oil and then adding onions.  Stir them around a bit until nice and brown – caramelization is the process of heating sugar until it starts to “caramelize” which gives the brown color and nutty flavor.  In the case of onions, cooking it actually makes the sugar in the onions caramelize.  Then add 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup brown sugar.  Stir it all together and then reduce on the stove (cook at a low temperature to get the water to evaporate).  This gets the whole mix to  a “jammy” consistency.”

The answer to my previous question was onions! My first time eating balsamic jam was six days ago. I love trying new and funky foods, so if you think the same way, try balsamic jam.