This is not an ordinary pumpkin jam.

I combine two different squashes — pumpkin for its beautiful color and unmistakable pumpkin flavor, and butternut squash for its natural sweetness, smooth texture and creamy richness. Instead of boiling the pumpkin, I roast it first. That extra step concentrates the flavor, reduces excess water and gives the jam a deeper, more caramelized taste.

Orange and lemon brighten the sweetness, while cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves add a gentle warmth. A little honey added at the end rounds everything out, while vanilla and a touch of salt make the flavors taste fuller.

The result is a smooth, glossy pumpkin jam with a beautiful fall flavor — delicious on toast, pancakes and pastries, and especially useful as a filling for cookies, cakes and desserts.

A little story behind this recipe

I wanted a pumpkin jam that tasted like pumpkin — not just sugar and spices.

Using both pumpkin and butternut squash gives me the combination I was looking for: pumpkin brings the color and recognizable flavor, while butternut squash adds natural sweetness and a silky texture. Roasting them first makes an even bigger difference.

It is a simple recipe, but roasting the squash before making the jam gives it much more character.

Ingredients

• 2 kg pumpkin and butternut squash, cleaned and cut into large pieces
• 400 g sugar
• 100 g honey
• Zest of 1 orange
• Juice of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp fine salt

Note: The 2 kg refers to the cleaned weight of the pumpkin and butternut squash, after removing the seeds and unwanted parts.

Method

1. Roast the pumpkin and butternut squash

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.

Cut the cleaned pumpkin and butternut squash into large pieces and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Roast uncovered until completely tender and beginning to caramelize around the edges.

The exact roasting time will depend on the type and size of the squash pieces. They should be soft enough to puree easily, with some lightly caramelized edges.

Do not add water.

2. Puree

Remove the roasted squash from the oven and puree until completely smooth.

Taste the puree at this point.

This is useful because every pumpkin and squash is different. Some are naturally sweeter, some contain more water, and their flavor can vary considerably.

3. Cook the jam

Transfer the puree to a wide, heavy-bottomed pot.

Add:

• sugar
• orange zest and juice
• lemon zest and juice
• cinnamon stick
• nutmeg
• ginger
• cloves

Cook gently over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture becomes thick, glossy and jam-like.

Because the pumpkin and butternut squash have already been roasted, you will not need to cook away nearly as much water as you would if you started with boiled squash.

Be careful when stirring because thick fruit and vegetable mixtures can splatter as they cook.

4. Finish the jam

Remove the cinnamon stick.

Add:

• 100 g honey
• vanilla
• salt

Cook for another few minutes, stirring well.

Taste the finished jam.

You want a balance of sweetness, warm spices and a little brightness from the orange and lemon — not simply a sweet pumpkin spread.

If the jam is still too loose, continue cooking gently until it reaches the consistency you want.

5. Store

Spoon the hot jam into clean, hot jars and close.

Allow the jars to cool safely, then refrigerate.

Important: This recipe is intended as a refrigerator jam and is not a tested shelf-stable canning recipe. Pumpkin and winter squash are low-acid foods, so do not store these jars at room temperature or treat them as pantry-stable preserves.

Keep refrigerated at 4°C / 40°F or below and use within about 3-4 weeks. For longer storage, freeze the jam in suitable freezer containers.

Why combine pumpkin and butternut squash?

They complement each other beautifully:

• Pumpkin gives the jam its recognizable pumpkin flavor and beautiful color.
• Butternut squash tends to be naturally sweeter, smoother and creamier.
• Together, they create a richer, smoother jam with more depth.

How to use pumpkin jam

This jam is versatile enough to use far beyond toast.

Try it as a filling or layer for:

• cookies
• cakes
• mousse desserts
• pastries
• pancakes
• crepes
• toast and breakfast breads
• autumn-inspired desserts

It is especially useful when you want pumpkin flavor without adding a large amount of pumpkin puree to a dessert.

Recipe Notes

Roasting instead of boiling: Roasting concentrates the squash’s natural flavor and helps remove excess moisture before the jam goes into the pot.

Don’t skip the citrus: Orange adds sweetness and aroma, while lemon keeps the jam from tasting heavy.

Honey goes in at the end: Adding the honey after the main cooking stage helps preserve its character instead of cooking it for a long time.

Taste before finishing: Pumpkin and squash vary naturally in sweetness and water content, so the final cooking time can never be completely fixed.

Džem od bundeve — pečena bundeva i butternut tikva

Ovo nije običan džem od bundeve.

Kombinujem dve vrste tikve — bundevu zbog prepoznatljivog ukusa i lepe boje, i butternut tikvu zbog prirodne slatkoće, glatke teksture i kremaste strukture. Umesto da bundevu kuvam, prvo je pečem. Taj korak koncentriše ukus, smanjuje višak vode i daje džemu dublji, blago karamelizovan ukus.

Pomorandža i limun daju svežinu, dok cimet, muskatni oraščić, đumbir i karanfilić dodaju toplu aromu. Malo meda dodajem pred kraj kuvanja, a vanila i prstohvat soli zaokružuju ukus.

Rezultat je gladak i sjajan džem prelepog jesenjeg ukusa — odličan za hleb, palačinke i peciva, ali i kao fil za kolače, keksiće i druge poslastice.

Malo priče iza ovog recepta

Želela sam džem od bundeve koji zaista ima ukus bundeve — a ne samo ukus šećera i začina.

Kombinacija bundeve i butternut tikve daje upravo ono što sam želela: bundeva daje lepu boju i prepoznatljiv ukus, dok butternut tikva dodaje prirodnu slatkoću i svilenkastu teksturu.

Pečenje pre kuvanja pravi još veću razliku.

Jednostavan je recept, ali pečena bundeva i tikva daju ovom džemu mnogo dublji i bogatiji ukus.

Sastojci

• 2 kg bundeve i butternut tikve, očišćenih i isečenih na veće komade
• 400 g šećera
• 100 g meda
• rendana korica 1 pomorandže
• sok od 1 pomorandže
• rendana korica 1 limuna
• sok od 1 limuna
• 1 štapić cimeta
• ¼ kašičice mlevenog muskatnog oraščića
• ¼ kašičice mlevenog đumbira
• ¼ kašičice mlevenog karanfilića
• 1 kašičica vanile
• ¼ kašičice sitne soli

Napomena: 2 kg odnosi se na očišćenu bundevu i butternut tikvu, nakon uklanjanja semenki i delova koji se ne koriste.

Priprema

1. Ispecite bundevu i butternut tikvu

Zagrejte rernu na 200°C / 400°F.

Očišćenu bundevu i butternut tikvu isecite na veće komade i rasporedite u jednom sloju na pleh.

Pecite nepokriveno, dok potpuno ne omekšaju i ivice ne počnu blago da se karamelizuju.

Vreme pečenja zavisiće od vrste tikve i veličine komada. Treba da budu dovoljno mekani da se lako izblendaju, sa ponekim blago karamelizovanim delom na ivicama.

Nemojte dodavati vodu.

2. Izblendajte

Pečenu bundevu i tikvu izvadite iz rerne i izblendajte dok ne dobijete potpuno glatku smesu.

U ovom trenutku je važno da probate pire.

Svaka bundeva i svaka tikva su drugačije — neke su prirodno slađe, neke sadrže više vode, a ukus može da se razlikuje od sorte do sorte.

3. Kuvajte džem

Prebacite pire u široku šerpu sa debljim dnom.

Dodajte:

• šećer
• koricu i sok od pomorandže
• koricu i sok od limuna
• štapić cimeta
• muskatni oraščić
• đumbir
• karanfilić

Kuvajte na srednje tihoj temperaturi, uz često mešanje, dok smesa ne postane gusta, sjajna i dobije teksturu džema.

Pošto su bundeva i butternut tikva prethodno pečene, neće biti potrebno da isparavate ni približno toliko vode kao kada biste ih prvo kuvali.

Budite pažljivi prilikom mešanja, jer gusta smesa može da prska tokom kuvanja.

4. Završite džem

Izvadite štapić cimeta.

Dodajte:

• 100 g meda
• vanilu
• so

Kuvajte još nekoliko minuta uz mešanje.

Probajte džem.

Treba da bude lepo izbalansiran — sladak, topao od začina i sa malo svežine od pomorandže i limuna, a ne samo sladak.

Ako je džem još uvek previše redak, nastavite lagano da ga kuvate dok ne dobijete željenu gustinu.

5. Čuvanje

Vruć džem sipajte u čiste i zagrijane teglice. Poklopite i ostavite da se ohladi prko noci.

čuvajte u frižideru.

Važno: Ovaj recept je namenjen za čuvanje u frižideru i nije testiran recept za dugotrajno konzervisanje na sobnoj temperaturi. Bundeva i zimske tikve spadaju u namirnice sa niskom kiselošću, zato teglice nemojte čuvati na sobnoj temperaturi niti tretirati ovaj džem kao zimnicu koja može da stoji u ostavi.

Čuvajte u frižideru na 4°C ili nižoj temperaturi i potrošite u roku od oko 3-4 nedelje. Za duže čuvanje, džem možete zamrznuti u odgovarajućim posudama.

Zašto kombinovati bundevu i butternut tikvu?

Odlično se dopunjuju:

• Bundeva daje prepoznatljiv ukus bundeve i lepu boju.
• Butternut tikva je obično prirodno slađa, glatka i kremasta.
• Zajedno daju bogatiji, glatkiji džem sa više dubine ukusa.

Kako možete koristiti džem od bundeve?

Ovaj džem nije samo za hleb.

Možete ga koristiti kao fil ili sloj za:

• keksiće
• kolače
• mousse deserte
• peciva
• palačinke
• krofne i druga testa
• tost i domaći hleb
• jesenje poslastice

Posebno je praktičan kada želite ukus bundeve u desertu, bez dodavanja velike količine pirea od bundeve.

Napomene

Pečenje umesto kuvanja: Pečenjem se koncentriše prirodan ukus tikve i uklanja višak vode pre kuvanja džema.

Ne preskačite citruse: Pomorandža daje aromu i prijatnu slatkoću, dok limun sprečava da džem bude težak i presladak.

Med dodajemo pred kraj: Tako njegov ukus ostaje izraženiji nego kada bi se dugo kuvao.

Probajte pre završetka: Bundeve i tikve se prirodno razlikuju po slatkoći i količini vode, zato vreme kuvanja ne može biti potpuno isto svaki put.