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 the fruit
Pick off the stalks from the damsons and place them in wide‑mouthed glass bottles, ensuring they are whole and blemish‑free.
Shake the bottles well to ensure they are packed tightly.
Stop the bottles with new soft corks, but do not seal them too tightly.
Bake and store
Place the bottles in a very slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for four to five hours.
Remove the bottles when the fruit begins to shrink, indicating they are thoroughly warm.
Before the bottles cool, drive the corks in tightly.
Store the bottles upside down in a bottle 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
- Fruit that is preserved whole in the bottles, providing the flavour of the finished preserve.
The step that matters
Drive the corks in before the bottles cool. As the warm fruit cools, air inside the bottle contracts and creates a partial vacuum. Driving the corks in while the bottles are still warm keeps the seal airtight so the fruit is protected from spoilage.
“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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