Pam the Jam: The Book of Preserves

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Heat the remaining oil in a large heavy-based pan or preserving pan. Sprinkle in the mustard seeds and cook for a couple of minutes until they begin to pop, then stir in the pounded coriander and cumin and the turmeric, and cook for a minute or so. Add the onion paste and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from catching, before finally adding the courgettes, the vinegar and the sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and everything is well combined. Store in a cool place for up to four weeks. Once opened keep in the fridge and eat within three to four weeks. Pam will show you how to make more unusual preserves too - such as glossy fruit cheeses to serve with everything from Stilton to manchego (which calls for her classic quince membrillo). Or creamy yet zesty fruit curd: there's a recipe for classic lemon curd, and also a wonderfully light lime and coconut one.

Anyway, this week I'm plumping for plumptious plums… and next week's column will be totally peachy. Using jam sugar, which has had pectin added to it, means you get a good set without overcooking the raspberries and reducing them to a mass of woody pips," explains preserves legend, Pam Corbin. Make the sorbet at least 12 hours before you want to serve it. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Put the plums in a roasting tin. Slit the vanilla pods open lengthways, chop them into a few pieces and add to the tin, along with the sugar and 250ml water. Roast for about 30 minutes until the plums are really soft and slightly blistered around the edges. Rub the plums and juices from the tin through a sieve into a bowl. Add more sugar to taste. Leave to cool. Strain the cooked mixture through a scalded jelly bag or set over a large bowl, or double-strain in a fine sieve. Leave to drip through for several hours or overnight, as necessary. Sometimes I replace 50g of the jam sugar with coconut sugar (made from the sap of the coconut palm) to add another level of flavour to this already gorgeous panful. Or you can fortify the jam by stirring in 50ml gin as soon as it reaches setting point and has been removed from the heat.

Directions

Put the figs and dates (and the apricots, if using), ginger, mustard seeds, sugar, salt and vinegar in a non-metallic bowl, mixing well to combine. And so commenced 30 minutes of hand cramps peeling said ginger with a teaspoon - fiddly, not therapeutic - but I did eventually get into a groove with it, taking breaks between knobbly root joints to slice the most recently skinned one into wafer thin slices (not to self: Buy a mandolin). The easiest bit by far came next, mixing my golden wafers with salt and leaving them to get on with things for a couple of hours under a sheet of baking paper and a plate, to draw out excess moisture. In a mixing bowl, toss together the ginger slices and the sea salt. Cover with a piece of baking parchment and a plate and set aside in a cool place for about two hours to draw out the excess moisture from the ginger. Tip into a sieve and rinse under cold water, then drain and dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. Her worries were mainly revolving around work, but she was also unhappy when on her own and preferred company,” he said.

Although lemons are available throughout the year, they are at their very best from January to April. To make your pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (or any Tuesday) really special, you could spread a tablespoon of lemon and honey curd over them, perhaps with a discretional drizzle of Limoncello." Blitz a quarter of the tomatoes to a smooth purée in a food processor with the chillies, garlic and ginger. Place in a large heavy-based pan or preserving pan. Pulse the rest of the tomatoes several times in the food processor to roughly chop them up and add to the pan with the vinegars and the lime or lemon zest and juice. Continue to cook the mixture over a medium heat for 30-35 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture is gelatinous and the base of the pan clearly visible when you draw a spoon across it. Remove from the heat. In my jam business days, it was lemon curd that we exported to more countries than any other product. We once received a letter from a very satisfied customer who had even been using it as a face cream - she said it was amazing," recalls queen of jams, Pam Corbin.

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Miss Corbin had left a suicide note indicating her intent to take her own life, which Mr Corbin told police was clearly in her handwriting.

Place the pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in the sugar, stirring until it has dissolved. Then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for about 30–40 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the mixture has reduced by roughly half to a richly coloured, glistening jam. Remove from the heat and season with the salt. Meanwhile, sterilise your jars and twist-on lids. Turn out the pulp into a large heavy-based pan and add the water, lemon zest and juice, stir to combine. This is Pam Corbin's (or "Pam the Jam" as we call her around these parts) recipe for plum chutney, and the perfect way to preserve some of the summer glut into the winter. It's delicious with cold meats. Makes 10-11 340g jars.Raspberries are in season from June to October. If you miss the raspberry season, then look out for frozen raspberries; they work just as well and you can use them straight from the freezer." Pam Corbin is the master, and the first person I turn to for everything to do with preserving. I've learnt so much from her' Store in a cool, dark, dry place for up to a year. Keep in the fridge and use within 3–4 months once opened. Folding the juice and zest into a bath of sugar and butter, drizzled with honey and melted over a bain-marie, everything was quite wholesome and going to plan... The salt draws out the excess moisture from the vegetables, which will help to keep them crisp, intensify their flavour and improve their preservation by preventing the excess water diluting the vinegar.