Apricot & orange blossom jam

The beauty of homemade jam is that you can make it with a lot less sugar than you’d find in shop-bought versions. This does mean that it won’t last as long, but the extra fruity flavour more than makes up for the shorter shelf life. You can leave out the orange blossom water, if you like.

Q Makes 4 jars Q Prep 45 mins plus overnight standing Q Cook 20 mins

1kg apricots, stoned and halved

(quarter larger ones)

750g preserving sugar

1 lemon, juiced

1 tbsp orange blossom water (optional) few knobs of butter (optional)

1 Mix the apricots and sugar together in a large bowl, then cover and leave to stand overnight.

2 Put a saucer in the freezer. Tip the syrupy apricots into a preserving pan or a large, wide-based one (the wider and more open the pan, the faster the jam will be ready, so a preserving pan is ideal). Add the lemon juice and put over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. When the sugar has completely melted, bring to the boil and cook for 15 mins. Remove from the heat and spoon a little of the hot syrupy jam onto the cold saucer. Once cool, push the jam with your finger – if it wrinkles a little, it’s ready. If it’s too runny to wrinkle, return the pan to the heat and boil in stages of

2-3 mins, removing the pan from the heat each time you do the saucer check, until the jam wrinkles. 3 Skim the surface, then stir in the orange blossom water, if using, and knobs of butter, if you like – this will help to dissolve any remaining scum. Leave the jam for 15 mins before ladling into sterilised jars (see tip, below) – this allows the fruit to settle so it doesn’t sink to the bottom. Will keep in the fridge for six weeks.

PER TBSP 27 kcals, fat none, saturates none,

carbs 6g, sugars 6g, fibre none, protein none, salt none

Tip Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water, rinse, remove seals, then warm in a low oven for 10 mins.