Preserved Fruit, Without Sugar
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Pick off the stalks from the Damsons and place them in wide‑mouthed glass bottles, ensuring they are whole and without blemish.
Shake the bottles to settle the fruit, then stop them with the corks, ensuring they are not too tight.
Bake and store
Place the bottles in a very slow oven at 300 °F (150 °C) for four to five hours until the fruit begins to shrink.
Remove the bottles from the oven and drive the corks in tightly before they cool.
Store the bottles upside down in a rack or basket; they will keep for several years.
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
- Damsons
- Provide the fruit itself, which is preserved whole in the bottles without added sugar.
The step that matters
Driving the corks in before the bottles cool. As the air inside the bottle cools, it contracts and creates a partial vacuum. Corks must be sealed while the air is still warm so the seal holds and outside air cannot spoil the fruit.
“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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