Peppered pineapple jam recipe

Ingredients

• ½ lemon, preferably organic
• 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) ripe pineapple flesh (about 1 small pineapple), cut into 2 cm (¾ in) cubes
• 1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• ¼ oz (10 g) powdered pectin
• 2 vanilla beans, halved lengthways
• 9 oz (250 g) caster (superfine) sugar

1. Sterilise four 200 ml (7 fl oz) capacity jars and their lids described.
2. Wash the lemon thoroughly under hot water to remove any wax. Remove the seeds, then finely chop the skin and flesh.
3. Put the lemon, pineapple, pepper, pectin and vanilla beans in a bowl and combine well. Cover and set aside for 1 hour. Unlike the other jams in this book, the pectin is not added to the sugar, as it would burn during the caramelisation process. Consequently, it requires at least 1 hour to hydrate and soften up in the juices of the fruit prior to cooking.
4. Put 80 ml (2½ fl oz) water in a heavy-based saucepan, then add the sugar and mix gently with your fingertips or a small spatula. Be careful not to splatter too much sugar around the side of the pan or you will increase the risk of crystallising the sugar. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, without stirring, until the sugar begins to caramelise. Stirring the syrup will increase the chances of the caramel crystallising, so gently tilt the pan until the caramel is an even, light brown colour throughout. As soon as you are happy with the colour of the caramel, increase the heat to high, then immediately add the pineapple mixture and stir continuously. Be very careful when adding a liquid (or fruit that contains a lot of liquid) to caramel as this creates a lot of very hot steam. Always keep your hands as far away from the mixture as possible when adding the fruit.
5. Reduce the heat to low, then cover and simmer, without stirring, for 10 minutes. The steam and heat will force the water out of the pineapple and dissolve any pieces of hard caramel. Remove the lid, add 200 ml (7 fl oz) water, then increase the heat to medium and simmer, stirring continuously, for another 30 minutes. It is hard to tell by sight if the jam is ready, as the jam has very little sugar and has to rely predominantly on the pectin (for its texture and thickness) to bloom overnight to set. As soon as the jam begins boiling, the pectin has been activated.
6. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, remove the vanilla beans and reserve. Pour the hot jam into the sterilised jars, making sure you don’t spill any on the rims. Add one halved vanilla bean to each jar and seal immediately. Label the jars and write the expiry date (3 months from the day they were made) on them. Set aside until cool, then store in the fridge.