Greengage Jam with Sweet Spices

Make the most of the greengage season by making a batch of spiced greengage jam. Dipping into a jar of this sweetly spiced conserve will be a wonderful treat as the cooler days of autumn set it.

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I unexpectedly found myself making this spiced greengage jam recently after a lovely friend delivered a large stash of greengages that she had harvested from her garden. I’ve rarely come across this fruit in the supermarket or even in local farmshops, so I was really quite delighted with my gift.

My friend warned me that they had started falling early this year for some reason, and they were still quite tart. One bite confirmed my suspicions – they would make some fabulous greengage jam.

Adding a gentle buzz of sweet spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, star anise, cardamom and some sweet, floral vanilla seemed like a great way to take the base recipe. So I went with the meanderings of my mind and created this spiced greengage jam.

What are Greengages?

Greengages are sweet dessert plums that are green in colour.

They first appeared in Britain in 1724, and although not as common as other plum varieties, they are without a doubt regarded as one of our national culinary treasures.

They typically start to ripen around mid-August, but picking just ahead of this time is a good move if you intend to make jam with your greengage harvest. Under-ripe greengages are tart in flavour, just like gooseberries, and they contain higher levels of pectin, which is essential for helping achieve a good jam set.

If you enjoy jam with a little tartness about it, try my damson jam too.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this greengage jam recipe are simple:

Greengages – use slightly under-ripe fruit if possible, as this contains more natural pectin than ripe fruit

Sugar – regular granulated white sugar works a treat here – there’s no need for jam or preserving sugar

Spices – a mix of spices you are likely to have in your pantry if you enjoy cooking and baking

Butter – just a small knob of butter stirred in can help disperse any scum that may arise during cooking

You will notice that I do not list either pectin, specialist jam making sugars or lemon juice in this recipe. That’s because slightly under-ripe greengages have sufficient pectin in them naturally to achieve a good set when making jam.

During my testing for this recipe, I made a batch using a little lemon juice (evident in the images) to see if including a small amount would help retain the vibrant green of the raw fruit. As it made no difference whatsoever, I have not included it in the final recipe for this spiced greengage jam.

Step by Step Instructions

Jam making is a relatively simple process. It’s really a series of steps and if you follow them to the letter, very little can go wrong.

My top tip for you is to ensure you cook the jam to setting point, which is 105C/ 112F. Under-cooked jam will be too runny and overcooked jam can be incredibly firm.

• Halve the greengages, remove the stones and chop roughly – I chopped each half into 4 or 6 pieces, but you can leave chunkier if you would like larger pieces in your jam
• Put the fruit into a large saucepan along with the sugar and water. Remember that jam will bubble and boil as it cooks, so it is better to choose a pan where the contents leave plenty of room for this to occur without the risk of it boiling over
• Press down firmly on the cardamom pods using the back of a blunt knife until they crack open. Scoop the pods and seeds into the pan
• Slit the vanilla pod lengthways with a sharp knife. Scrape the seeds into the saucepan then drop in the pod
• Add the cinnamon, star anise, ginger and nutmeg to the pan
• Stir everything together, then cook over a gentle heat for around 20 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit is soft

• Take off the heat and leave the jam to infuse for 30 minutes
• Remove all of the spices – count them out to ensure none are left behind
• Optional step: use a stick blender to perform 3 x 1 second pulses of the jam. This breaks some of the fruit pieces down whilst still leaving plenty of fruity chunks behind
• Prepare 2 sterilised jam jars: wash in soapy water, rinse and then put into an oven heated to 140C/ 284F for 15 minutes
• While the jars are sterilising, cook the jam over a medium-high heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until it reaches 105C/ 221F on a digital food thermometer (I used my Thermapen)
• Once this temperature has been reached turn off the heat, stir the butter through the jam and leave to cool for 10 minutes

• Stir before decanting into the prepared jars. Cover each jar with a circle of wax paper and secure the lid tightly. Invert the jars then leave to cool completely before labelling

Can I Double this Recipe?

The ingredients listed produce 2 jars of approximately 340g each, so it is a small batch recipe.

However, you can easily scale up the base recipe to make 4, 6 or more jars of jam. Just increase all ingredients by the same proportions (double, triple etc) each time.

Recipe FAQs

Ways to Eat this jam

Hands down, my favourite way to eat this spiced greengage jam is on toast.

It can, however, be used to top all manor of goodies such as:

• English muffins
• Croissants
• Brioche
• Scones

Alternatively, use it to whip up an unusual cocktail (trying this ASAP) or use to fill a Gâteau Breton.

Wait, you haven’t come across Gâteau Breton before? It’s a very rich & buttery delicacy made using egg yolks and butter that has a jammy centre. It’s well worth considering as a dessert option.

More Jam, Preserve & Spread Recipes

• Small Batch Amaretto Cherry Jam
• Small Batch Vanilla Lemon Curd
• Caramel Apple Spread
• Spiced Peach Jam
• Chocolate Caramel Spread