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Dessert

To Preserve Greengages

Preserves made from greengages, sugar, and their kernels, simmered in syrup.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Preserve Greengages

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Split the greengages without peeling them and sprinkle with half of the sugar.

  2. Blanch the kernels using a small sharp knife.

Make the preserves

  1. The next day, pour the syrup from the fruit into a pot and boil it with the remaining sugar for 6 to 8 minutes over low heat.

  2. Skim off any foam that forms, then add the greengages and kernels.

  3. Simmer until the mixture is clear, removing any scum that rises.

Jar

  1. Place the fruit into small jars and pour the syrup and kernels over them.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Greengages
Provide the fruit that softens and turns tender in the sugar syrup.
Sugar
Sweetens the fruit and, at this quantity, helps preserve it by drawing out water.

The step that matters

Skimming and removing scum. Foam and scum rise as the syrup boils and simmers with the fruit. Removing them keeps the syrup clear and prevents off flavours and cloudiness in the finished preserves.

“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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