Air tight or in a fridge, jars of things keep well. This was what most appealed to me about preserving when I started doing it for a living. Throwing things away horrifies me; I didn’t want to make things that needed to be chucked if they’d not sold at market.
Preserving is also very economical. It’s about making the most of what you’ve got, both in terms of using what’s available to you (according to the season, or whatever might be lingering in your kitchen) and, secondly, in giving your leftovers a bit of lift ... Hence the appeal of cold meats and pickles, or a really good jam on a piece of stale, toasted sourdough. The day after something is originally served – when its first, probably hot, incarnation has passed, but when it still has the power to give pleasure.
I can’t think of a better example of this than that period between Christmas and the new year when, if your home is anything like mine, there’s still a lot of food around.
Now, I’m sure many households are contemplating turkey sandwiches about now. Cold turkey is, for lots of people, preferable to the main event; it’s as though, at peace with its now-cooked status, the bird has grown into itself overnight, ready to join forces with good bread and yesterday’s stilton. It’s at this point – before you reach for the shop-bought cranberry sauce or the mustard powder – that I introduce you to a beautiful thing: the fruit butter.
Old-fashioned preserves, fruit butters are so delicious and simple to make that I wonder why they aren’t better known. Their pulpy consistency is key, almost like a soft membrillo (quince paste), or halfway between a jam and a jelly. They’re also less sweet than both, all of which amounts to a condiment so versatile that it goes with everything – or I think so, anyway.
I chose to do a cranberry and pomegranate fruit butter this Christmas. Cranberries, because, of course, they are a turkey’s best friends – and abundant at this time of year – and pomegranates because, when I wrote this recipe, I needed to use up a couple that I’d bought to decorate the table.
The recipe works with other fruits, too. The ratio of fruit pulp to sugar should stay relatively the same, so use what’s in season now – like apples, quinces or late-season plums. Get creative with spices or herbs that you think might complement the fruit – apple and sage, quince and saffron, plum and cardamom. Or save this recipe and use in the summer, when you can try it with peaches or apricots.
Whatever you use, you’ll be left with a delectable, spreadable paste that complements dishes both savoury and sweet. You could spoon some on to porridge, eat it alongside cheese or – yes – with cold turkey. Now, back to that sandwich ...
Cranberry and pomegranate butter
With the added aromatic punch of rosemary, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t have this on Christmas Day itself.
Makes 2x250ml jars
250g cranberries
250g pomegranate seeds (about 2-3 pomegranates)
250g tart apples (such as granny smiths)
2 sprigs rosemary
350ml water
30ml lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
200g sugar
½ tsp sea salt
1 Sterilise your jars and lids by washing them in warm, soapy water and rinsing thoroughly before putting in a warm oven of around 120C/250F/gas mark ½ for around 20 minutes, or until thoroughly dry.
2 Prepare the fruit: rinse the cranberries; deseed the pomegranates; rinse, peel and core the apples, then chop into bite-sized chunks. Tie the rosemary in a bunch. Toss it into a large pan with the water and fruit.
3 Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until you start to hear the cranberries popping, which takes about 5 minutes.
4 Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook the fruit for about 25 minutes, until soft and mushy. Remove the rosemary sprigs.
5 Using a wooden spoon or the back of a ladle, push the softened fruit through a fine sieve in small batches, extracting as much pulp as you can from the solids. Discard any solids; you should have about 500ml of pulp.
6 Transfer the pulp to a clean, wide-rimmed pan and put on to boil at a moderate heat.
7 Add the lemon juice, salt and sugar, stirring until it has fully dissolved. Use a spatula to clean down the sides of the pan as you work.
8 After 2 minutes, or as it begins to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for a further 8-10 minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of a heavy porridge.
9 Ladle fruit butter into the warmed sterilised jars until it’s around 5mm from the rim, then seal. Label, date and store in the cupboard for up to 12 months. Once open, keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Pan-toasted leftovers sandwich
Clearly this is less a recipe than it is a technique, with a view to making your fruit butter the star of the show.
Serves 2
Sourdough bread
Olive oil
Cranberry and pomegranate butter
Your choice of leftovers from Christmas dinner: meat, stuffing, savoy cabbage, brussels sprouts, mashed roast pumpkin or parsnips, rocket, cheese
1 Slice 4 slices of your sourdough bread about 1-2cm wide and brush olive oil on one side of each piece.
2 Put two frying pans of similar size on a medium-high heat: wait for them both to get hot.
3 In each of the frying pans, put two bread slices oiled-side down and gently toast for about 2-3 minutes, depending on the heat of your pan – regularly lift the slices to check they aren’t burning.
4 In one of the pans, layer the bread slices with a generous spread of cranberry and pomegranate butter, then cheese, then the leftover meat and sliced vegetables of your choice.
5 Put the second slice of toasted bread, untoasted-side down, on to your filled sandwiches. Put the bottom of the still-hot empty frying pan on top and squeeze gently down to toast for a further 2-3 minutes, until it’s oozy with cheese and the bread is lightly charred, top and bottom.
6 Serve with a side of cranberry and pomegranate butter to spread on when needs be.
- Kylee Newton is owner of Newton and Pott preserves in London and author of The Modern Preserver (Square Peg); newtonandpott.co.uk
