Spanish Cuisine
Ingredients:
- 1 kg (2 lb 3.3 oz) greengages, stones removed.
- 400 g (14 oz) caster sugar.
- 400 g (14 oz) caster sugar.
- 1 vanilla pod.
- ¼ cup water.
- Juice of 1 lemon.
Directions:
- Wash the greengages, halve and pit them.
- Put them in a high pan and cook them together with water and the vanilla pod for about 30 minutes, or until the fruits blend and get extremely soft.
- Remove from heat. Add lemon juice and sugar and stir well until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Return pan to the heat and bring back to the boil, skimming off scum from surface if needed.
- Cook for about 20 minutes or until jam is set.
- To know if the setting point is reached, try the wrinkle test: drop a little jam onto a cold (better if previously refrigerated) saucer, wait for the jam to cool, then tilt the saucer on its side.
- If the jam doesn’t slide off, but wrinkles on its surface, it is set. Otherwise, a little more cooking is necessary.
- Finally remove the vanilla pod.
- Mash the fruits with a blender after removing the pan from heat and before stirring in sugar and lemon to have a creamier texture.
- Pour the jam into airtight jars. Cover with lid.
- To sterilize and vacuum-seal the jars, put them in a pan, cover them with cold water and bring to the boil.
- Let boil for about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and let them cool upside-down, so that the lid is sterilized, too.
- When they get cool, you should hear the vacuum-sealing “click”.