The pleasures of preserving
Frances Bissell describes how to preserve some of the abundance of this Maltese winter.
The smell of fruit and sugar cooking together was a delicious part of my childhood, even though I would complain about being scratched by brambles when we were sent off to pick wild blackberries in a late Yorkshire summer. And I am ashamed to remember being scornful of the translucent coral jelly my mother made from crab apples. Why could we not have shop-bought jam, like my school friends? But when I had a kitchen of my own, and someone beloved to cook for, I soon realised the joys of making my own preserves, and the pleasure they give to friends and family.
The Maltese islands provide me with rich pickings. Last year I made a fabulous strawberry jam with Gozo strawberries, a little rosé wine, and a dash of rosewater. Fig jam is an especial favourite. But jams and jellies are not the only preserves. In the autumn, I use pomegranates to make syrup for fabulous cocktails and desserts, and to glaze duck and pork. In the winter, friends give me lemons and oranges; Gozo lemons make the best lemon curd, marmalade and limunċell, all of which are very easy to make at home. And with these lemons and Gozo sea salt you have the ingredients to make pickled lemons, an indispensable ingredient in Moroccan tagines, but also a good addition, in small quantities, to any chicken or lamb casserole.
Preserving foodstuffs in times of plenty, to provide nourishment during lean times, has always been a part of the human experience. Making strawberry jam after a summer visit to a roadside farm stand is an atavistic memory of those times when our ancestors would preserve the summer glut of fruit and vegetables for use in the winter. Of course we can buy strawberries from every part of the globe in winter, but who would buy expensive, and often tasteless, out-of-season strawberries to use in jam? No, the pleasure and the whole point of making jam and other preserves, with by far the best results, is that they are made when the produce is in season in our locality, when the fruit is at its sweetest, ripest peak and prices are at their lowest. That way we can stash away a thrifty hoard of gleaming jars on our shelves, to give to family and friends as presents, or to brighten up our cooking.
My latest book, Preserving Nature’s Bounty, is not about filling many shelves with jars. Few have that kind of space in the kitchen, and not many are keen to spend hours chopping heaps of fruit. No, this is about using what you might find on your local hawker’s van one Saturday morning, or what friends might bring you from their garden.
More recipes for jams, jellies and pickles can be found in Frances’ latest book, Preserving Nature’s Bounty, published in the US by Sterling Publishing, and available on line through Amazon.com.