Fruits Preserved with Sugar
Ingredients
Directions
Make the preserves
Add water and sugar to a pot with the fruit.
Boil the mixture, adding one third of the sugar at each boiling.
Ensure the syrup is thin and the fruit is soft for better absorption.
Once boiled sufficiently, transfer the preserves to clean, dry jars.
Seal and store
Cover jars with tissue paper smeared with egg white or dipped in brandy.
Seal jars with bladder or paper to exclude air.
Store in a cool, dry place and check occasionally for fermentation.
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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the preserves and, at high concentration, helps preserve the fruit by drawing out water.
- Fruit
- Provides the main flavour and body of the preserves once softened in the syrup.
The step that matters
Adding the sugar in portions while boiling. Adding sugar in stages, rather than all at once, lets the fruit soften and absorb syrup gradually. Sugar concentration is what keeps the preserves from spoiling, so the mixture must reach a thick, well-boiled state.
“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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