Greengage Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Remove the stalks and stones from the greengages, and crack a few stones to set the kernels aside.
Cover the bottom of a preserving pan with ½ inch of cold water, add the fruit and kernels, and bring to a boil slowly.
Boil gently for 15 minutes.
Add the sugar and set
Meanwhile, heat the sugar in the oven until thoroughly hot.
Gradually add the hot sugar to the fruit, continuing to boil until the jam sets quickly when tested on a cold plate.
Pot and store
Pour the jam into pots, cover with paper brushed with egg white, and store in a cool, dry place.
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 (in the method)
- Provide the fruit, pectin and acidity that give the jam its flavour and body.
- Preserving sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, at high concentration, helps it set and keep.
The step that matters
Adding the hot sugar and boiling until it sets. Adding cold sugar can cool the fruit and slow boiling, and the jam must reach a high enough sugar and pectin concentration to set. Testing on a cold plate shows whether it has reached setting point, so boiling should continue until the test gives a firm wrinkle.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.