Spiced Greengage Jam
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.Makes 2 x 340g Jars (approx 34 servings of 20g)
Servings: 34 20g servings
Calories: 59kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g/ 17 ½ oz Greengages
- 450 g/ 16 oz Granulated sugar
- 125 ml/ ½ cup Water
- 1 Cinnamon stick 10cm
- 1 Star anise
- ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 5 g Ginger Approx 3 x 1mm thick slices
- 2 Green cardamom pods
- 1 Vanilla pod
Instructions
- 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 sgharpknife. 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 1second pulses of the jam. This breaks some of the fruit pieces down and helps create lovely greengage flavour in each spoonful, 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, stirrringfrequently to avoid burning, until it reaches 105C/ 221F on a digital food thermometer
- Once this temperture 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
Nutrition
Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 24mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 51IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg