Rose petal and cacao nib jam

I urge you to make this jam, not only because it’s delicious and pretty as a picture spread on toast or spooned over thick Greek yogurt, but because your kitchen will smell ambrosial as you make it. It’s a sweet and highly perfumed jam, so the cacao nibs add a subtle but welcome bitter note that works well with rose. The quantities here are modest. I developed this with expensive organic petals that I bought online, as I don’t have enough roses in my garden, but if you have plenty, simply scale the recipe up and make more. Just ensure that if you’re using homegrown petals, they haven’t been sprayed or grown near a busy road.

MAKES 200ml 60g rose petals 160g caster sugar 2tbsp lemon juice 180ml water,

plus 1tbsp 1tbsp cacao nibs (you can find these online, in health food shops and some larger supermarkets)

1 Place the petals in a bowl, sprinkle over 40g of the sugar, half the lemon juice and the 1tbsp water. Massage the sugar into the petals until they’re crushed and releasing wafts of ambrosial scent. Cover with cling film and chill for 2hr.

2 Place the remaining sugar in a small pan with the remaining lemon juice and 180ml water, and stir over a medium heat for 2min, or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rose petals, poking them under the sugar syrup, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for

30min or until the mixture is reduced and thickened.

3 Stir in the cacao nibs, then transfer to a clean jar (see tip, opposite page) and seal with the lid. This jam will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge.