Name: Winter Jam
Yield: makes about six 400 g/½ lb jars
Ingredients: 200 g/7 oz dried figs; 100 g/4 oz dates; 1.5 kg/3 lb Bramleys or quinces; 200 g/7 oz dried apricots; 200 g/7 oz dried pears; 100 g/4 oz dried mango; 1.5 litres/2½ pints water; 50 g/2 oz angelica; 50 g/2 oz candied orange peel; 50 g/2 oz candied lemon peel; juice and finely pared zest of 1 orange; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground cardamom; 4–6 tablespoons orange flower water; juice and finely pared zest of 1 lemon; 150 g/5 oz walnut pieces; 150 g/5 oz flaked almonds; ½ teaspoon ground anis; 1 kg/2 lb preserving sugar

Preparation info

makes about
six
400 g ½ lb jars

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Scented Kitchen

By Frances Bissell

Published 2012

About

Instead of the traditional mincemeat for Christmas, I sometimes use some of the same ingredients to make a Christmas jam. Rather than being bound with suet, the dried fruit is suspended in apple, or – if you can get it – quince jelly. The jam is even more versatile than mincemeat, in that it is delicious on toast, muffins or scones, and you can also use it in tarts and pies. It is especially good when combined with almond paste. Quinces are imported from Turkey in the early autumn and are a