Peach and fig leaf jam

Ensure you use really ripe peaches for this, or any, peach jam recipe. If the fruit is too hard it won’t cook down in the sugar and you will end up with hard pieces of fruit, not a luscious glossy jam. Peaches in late spring do tend to be firmer as they won’t have seen much sun. Even if you buy firmer peaches, leave them out to ripen on a sunny window or place in a paper bag, which speeds up the process.

MAKES SEVEN 220g JARS

1.5kg of ripe peaches, halved and stoned

5 early fig leaves, torn into pieces

900g of caster sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Cut each peach half into quarters and place in a preserving pan with the fig leaves. If the peaches are not super soft, add a splash of water to help them break down. It might help to place a lid on the pan to speed up the cooking process. It’s really important that the peaches are cooked through before you add the sugar, so test them by piercing with a knife to check for softness.

2 Once the peaches are soft, add the sugar and lemon juice and cook until the jam reaches setting point. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for five minutes before pouring into warm sterilised jars and seal immediately. Store in a cool, dark place.

Tip: If you’re looking for a more caramelised flavour, try roasting the peaches sprinkled with a quarter of the sugar in the oven at 120°C/250°F for an hour. This will help the fruit to soften and the sugars to turn brown. Then cook as above, adding the sugar once the fruit has broken down.