Tasos II

695 High St, Thornbury; 03 9480 6222

My waking thought had been of spreading something sweet onto toast. It was closely followed by the happy realisation that that waking dream could come true by popping into Tasos en route to the grocery shop at Psarakos.

$4.50 at this Thornbury cafe buys two pieces of white toast, a tub of marscarpone and a tub of jam. The jam is not of the chunky nor pithy type; it's a smoothly blended strawberry variety. Being currently overrun with the chunkier-style jam, thanks to our Tasmanian trip and an unmissable bargain from St Dalfour at the Good Food and Wine Show (four, I repeat four, jars for $10!) I would have considered this a less 'artisanal' jam variety. However, while wikiing the distinctions between jams, conserves and the like, I came across this (American) description of the jam-making process:

Jams are usually made from pulp and juice of one fruit, rather than a combination of several fruits. Berries and other small fruits are most frequently used, though larger fruits such as apricots, peaches, or plums cut into small pieces or crushed are also used for jams. Good jam has a soft even consistency without distinct pieces of fruit, a bright color, a good fruit flavor and a semi-jellied texture that is easy to spread but has no free liquid.

And that sounds exactly like what I was eating.

It's a low-tech breakfast, but a satisfying one. You can control the sweetness by loading up on jam, or moderate by favouring the more subtle marscarpone. You can keep it light with a smattering of each, or heap on the creamy cheese.