World famous jams from Bali

People with a sweet tooth who visit Bali shouldn’t miss the chance to enjoy the remarkable jams produced in Ubud. The quality of the jams made from tropical fruits and local goods are outstanding – to the point that they’re almost as well-known as Ubud’s traffic jams.

You might wonder how a jam, which is commonly associated with bread, can have a big market in a place where locals are better known as rice consumers. If you think that it’s all due to the big community of expats in Ubud, then two of the village’s leading jam stores can present amazing facts that contradict the presumption.

Kou Cuisine

Despite the small size and rather minimalistic design of the store, located on Jl. Monkey Forest in Ubud, Kou Cuisine has enjoyed brisk business selling jams since the store opened in 2008.

“To be honest, I had my doubts when we first opened the store,” said the director of the store, Nyoman Pasek, relating the story of Kou Cuisine’s early days to The Jakarta Post Travel on Saturday, “But, as it turns out, enthusiasm for our product has been amazing.”

Nyoman claimed that the biggest share of customers came from Jakarta – around 50 percent – more than those from Korea and Taiwan, which come next. Such a result surprises Nyoman, as he originally presumed that the main market would be Westerners and Japanese.

It seems that a fondness for sweet foods is universal, and Kou Cuisine’s delicious jams managed to overcome the barrier of taste and eating preferences. It took time for Kou Cuisine’s first-time customers to be convinced about the yummy jam, as happened with one of the store’s customers that day.

Singaporean tourist Wong ended up buying two jars of jam after trying some of the samples available. “I like sweet things,” he said after acknowledging that he had a fondness for the jam.

Kou Cuisine currently sells six flavors of jam: milk caramel; apple cinnamon; strawberry and banana; pineapple and guava; mango; and passion fruit and tangerine, as well as the seasonal grape and buni (bignay berry). All of the ingredients are acquired from local farms throughout Indonesia.

The store currently sells an average of 1,000 jars of each flavor every month. One 110 ml jar costs Rp 40,000 (US$3.53), with packaging options available for those interested in purchasing it as a gift. A jar of jam can last a year, and stays fresh for two weeks after being opened.

Nyoman said that Kou Cuisine preferred to focus on maintaining its product’s quality rather than expanding its range of flavors. It also offers delivery across the country for a minimum order of Rp 200,000 –packing and shipping costs excluded.

Kou Cuisine
Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud
kou-cuisine@balimore.com
0361-972319

Confiture Michele

On the small Jl. Gootama in Ubud lies an even smaller store called Confiture Michele, which sells a wide range of jam. It first opened its doors for business two years ago.

“It all started as a hobby [of the founder, Michele]. But eventually it got plenty of positive feedback as she loves to take her jams to events as gifts,” said Wayan, a lovely woman who smiles nonstop as she manages the store.

Before opening its own store, the jam was sold through other shops, like the Bali Buda. Wayan, who has worked with Michele for years, recalled how the store was established when Michele made an impulsive decision after she saw the premises on Jl. Gootama. Since then, Confiture Michele has been selling jams at an average 50 jars a day.

Aside from selling jam in jars, the store also serves crepes and desserts topped with jam. People can order the crepes, served with a jam flavor of their choice, to eat at the store. The crepes don’t always have to be sweet; customers can also choose savory flavors, such as tomato sauce, cheese and egg.

Confiture Michele sells at least 13 variants of jam, all of them fruit-based like apple, mango, banana, bignay berry, coconut, dragon fruit, grape, guava, jackfruit, kaliasem (gowok plum), kepundung, lemon and mulberry. Some of the fruits are also combined with other ingredients to create new flavors, such as spicy mango.

There are four jar sizes available for sale at the store, from the smallest, which cost Rp 10,000, to the largest for Rp 48,000. Like Kou Cuisine’s jam, it lasts for a year and stays fresh for a couple of weeks after opening.

“Most of our customers come from Japan. They really like the sweet taste,” said Wayan.