This is a fruity rich jam with a firm set which helps use up glut fruit, but use good quality, not overripe fruit. It is an old Gloucestershire recipe, popular in Victorian times.
Ingredients
1kg/2lb 4oz pears
3 lemons
1kg/2lb 4oz apples large piece root ginger
1kg/2lb 4oz plums
3kg/6lb 12oz white sugar
½ pint water
14 hot, dry, sterile jam jars
Method
Peel, core, chop pears and apples. Wash plums, halve and stone. Bruise ginger, grate rind from lemons. Tie peels, cores, ginger and stones into a muslin bag.
Place fruit into a large pan with the bag of peelings, lemon juice, rind and water.
Simmer until tender. Warm sugar and add to pan of fruit. Heat gently, stirring until sugar dissolved. Bring to boil, and boil hard until set is obtained, approximately 10 minutes, removing any plum stones as they appear. Pot and seal.
The fruit can also include damsons, greengages, eating pears and apples but they should always be sound and not squishy.
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