This recipe first appeared in New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
Fruit jars
The trick to bottling any fruit is to do it in small batches so that it remains a manageable and fun job! Try Nici Wickes' tasty combinations
- 20 mins preparation
- 5 mins cooking
- Makes 3 medium-sized jars
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Ingredients
Plum and vanilla
- 3 kilogram plums, halved and destoned
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon vanilla extract, or 2-3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
- water to just cover plums
Peaches, honey and rosemary
- 3 kilogram peaches, peeled, destoned and quartered
- 2 heaped tbsp honey
- 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
- water to cover peaches
Apricots and gingered sweet wine
- 3 kilogram apricots, halved and destoned
- 1/2 cup sweet dessert wine
- 4 - 6 pieces crystallised ginger
- enough water to bring the liquid level to the fruit
Method
Method for all
- 1In a large saucepan, bring all the ingredients to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- 2Use a slotted spoon to scoop the fruit (and other flavourings like vanilla pods, rosemary or ginger) into hot, sterilised jars. Top each with syrup until just overflowing. Using a sterilised knife, slide it down the inside of the jar to release any air bubbles.
- 3Screw the lids tightly. Wipe jars clean and leave to cool.
Notes
Use soft, ripe fruit for preserving if you want a full flavour. Heat clean jars at 150°C for 10-15 minutes before using to both sterilise and prime them for the scalding hot fruit. Firm, slightly under-ripe fruit is recommended for preserving as it holds its shape better, but I'm all about the flavour so I use fruit in its prime and cook it for less time. If it means putting up with a bit of cloudiness in the syrup, so be it – the rewards are in the lusciously full flavour, I promise.
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