Jam is an underrated cooking ingredient for both sweet and savoury dishes

At this time of year, those of us addicted to jam-making have shelves laden with neatly labelled jars containing a variety of jams, jellies and chutneys. For those of you not smitten with this annual jam-making bonanza, there are any number of ranges of jams to be bought which are very good indeed. We tend to ignore jam in our cooking, yet it can be so very useful.

For instance, I always include a couple of teaspoons of bramble or red or blackcurrant jelly in any meat or game casserole. Similarly, a teaspoon of jelly stirred into gravy - whether beef or lamb, or game gravy - gives the flavour a subtle and necessary extra flavour.

And, as you will see from the following recipes, a pot of jam, and I suggest rhubarb and ginger, can form the basis for a delicious sauce to accompany roast game, lamb or ham or pork.

A jar of blackcurrant jam, with a few additions, can transform a cheese into a course - and for this I use a creamy cheese such as the superb Connage brie, or a goats cheese, or a strong cheddar, such as the Isle of Mull. And the Italians make crostata, a simple but excellent pastry and jam torte which can be eaten as a pud or as a breakfast substitute for toast - it knocks spots off croissants.

When I make crostata I include lemon rind in the pastry, which enhances the flavour of the jam. I use our 4 berry jam from my own jam range, but any strawberry or raspberry jam would do just as well. And on a final note about jam and cooking, the combination of jam and vanilla buttercream as a filling for a sponge cake is impossible to better.

• This article was first published in The Scotsman on October 09, 2010