Bergamot Preserve
Ingredients
12 bergamot
1 kg of sugar
1 lemon
500 g water
Method
Peel the rind of the bergamot with the grater. Slice the bergamot into 4 pieces, remove the flesh from the rind and discard the flesh.
Put the peeled pieces of bergamot in the pot, cover with water and put on high heat until it start to boil and boil for 10 minutes.
Then change the water, adding fresh water and bring to a boil again for 10 minutes.
Repeat the same procedure 4-5 times until the bitterness is gone and drain.
Then we roll them up, securing each rind with a toothpick.
When all the rolls are done, put them in the pot and add the sugar and water.
Put the pot on medium heat and simmer until the syrup sets, about 45-50 minutes.
When the syrup sets, remove from the heat and let it rest for a while.
Finally, take out the toothpicks and store in sterile jars.
Quince Preserve
Ingredients
500 g quinces, peeled
500 g sugar
200 g water
50 g almonds
Juice of half a lemon
1 sprig of nutmeg geranium
Directions
Peel the quinces, remove the pits and slice into small sticks.
Put the quinces with the water in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the sugar and continue simmering until the syrup thickens.
Then add the lemon juice, almonds, nutmeg geranium sprig and bring everything to a boil.
Remove from the heat, remove the nutmeg geranium sprig and store in sterilized jars.
Watermelon Preserve
Ingredients
1kg of watermelon (the red part only)
400 g of sugar
100 g of honey
1 stalk Pelargonium Graveolens
The juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
Cut the flesh of the watermelon into cubes and remove the pips. Put the watermelon and honey in the saucepan and let it boil over moderate heat for about 30 minutes. When it has boiled for 20 minutes, put a little syrup on a platter and let it cool to see if it sets. If necessary, keep boiling until the syrup does set. Shortly before turning the heat off, add the lemon juice and the Pelargonium Graveolens. Let it release its aroma for 10 minutes and then throw it away. Let the watermelon sit for 2-3 hours. If after this time it still has juices, boil it again for 10-15 minutes or as long as necessary.
Vinifera Grape Preserve
Ingredients
1 kg ripe grapes without seeds
800 g sugar
1 pinch of salt
50 g water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 sprig nutmeg geranium
50 g almonds
Method
Wash the grapes well with cold water and remove from the stems. Put the grapes in a pot, add the sugar, salt and water. Leave them overnight for the sugar to dissolve and the grapes to swell. In the morning put the pot on high heat until it starts to boil.
Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the syrup has set for about 25-30 minutes.
Five (5) minutes before turning off the heat, add the nutmeg geranium sprig and the lemon juice.
When the syrup is ready, remove the nutmeg geranium sprig, add the almonds and store in sterilized jars.
Eggplant Preserve
Ingredients
1 kg of small eggplants (about 45-50 pieces)
800 g of sugar
60 g honey
600 g water
Juice of 2 lemons
A handful of whitened almonds slightly roasted
Same number of cloves as eggplants
Method
Wash and strip the eggplants from their skin and slice them with a cut perpendicular to their flesh without cutting them into two. Put them in a basin of water where we add the lemon juice and leave for one hour. Remove them from the lemon water and boil them in a saucepan with enough water for 5 minutes. We change the water and put them back in the lemon water for another 5 minutes. Remove with a ladle from the pot and leave them in cold water in a bowl for 1 hour. We remove them and gently squeeze them to remove any water they have absorbed, but carefully so as not to break them. We spread them on a towel to dry. Put the sugar in the saucepan with the water and we count 5 minutes from the time it starts to boil. Add the eggplants after we have stuck 1 clove in each and boil for another 10 minutes to begin to bind the syrup. Remove from the heat and allow the preserve to rest for 24 hours. Then bring to the boil until the syrup thickens. When it starts to thicken, add the lemon, honey and put an almond in each eggplant inside the cut. Bring to the boil 2 more times and at last our lovely preserve is ready. Store it in well sterilized jars.
Mandarin Preserve
Ingredients
1 kg of mandarins
1 kg of sugar
800 g of water
Juice of 1 lemon
Method
Wash the mandarins well and lightly grate their skins using a grater. With a pointed knife, we make a small hole in the position of the stalk and remove the white fiber.
Once we finish them all we put them in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain them and repeat for 2-3 more times to remove their bitterness. Put them on kitchen towels and let them drain for 8-10 hours
In a large saucepan add the water to the sugar, boil for 10 minutes and then add the mandarins and let them boil for 5 minutes. Let the preserve sit for 12 hours covered with a towel.
Remove the mandarins in a strainer and boil the syrup until it is almost thick enough. Add the mandarins again to the saucepan and boil for 5 more minutes.
Finally, add the lemon juice, remove the pot from the fire, and for the next 15 minutes shake the pot to allow the mandarins to absorb the syrup inside them.
Put them in sterilized jars, taking care to top them up with the remaining syrup.
Loquat Preserve
Ingredients
40 big loquats
1 kg of sugar
50 g water
1 stalk of Pelargonium Graveolens
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
We peel the loquats and remove the pips.
Put them in a pot, add the sugar, water and leave them for 4-5 hours until all the liquids are drawn.
Then boil until the syrup is thick, about 35-40 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and stir and then add the Pelargonium Graveolens.
The lemon is put in to keep the loquats from crystallizing.
We leave the Pelargonium Graveolens in the preserve for half an hour to get its aroma and then throw it away.
To see if the syrup is thick enough, put 2 tablespoons of syrup in a platter and let it cool down. If it drops in slow, small drops off the teaspoon our syrup is ready.
