Almack’s Preserve
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the fruit
Stone the plums.
Slice the apples and pears.
Layer the fruit alternately in a jar.
Place the jar in the oven at 300°F (150°C) until the fruit is soft.
Make the preserve
Pass the pulp through a coarse sieve.
For every pound of fruit, add a pound of moist sugar.
Cook over low heat, stirring until very thick.
Pour the mixture into a wide shallow pot.
Serve
Cut into slices for use.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Different kinds of fruit
- Provides the bulk, flavour and natural pectin that help the preserve thicken and set.
- Moist sugar
- Sweetens the preserve and, as it cooks down, thickens it and helps preserve the fruit.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat, stirring until very thick. Low heat and constant stirring keep the sugar from scorching while water evaporates. The fruit's pectin and the high sugar concentration then set the preserve as it cools.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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