Émile Zola’s menu
Preserved entremets — a bit of summer sunshine potted for winter

Confiture du potager de Médan

PreservingEvocation🍯 🍋facile1 h (+ maceration)

A jam of red berries and plums from the orchard, slowly cooked with sugar until set, then potted to last through winter.

Preserved entremets — a bit of summer sunshine potted for winter

A jam of red berries and plums from the orchard, slowly cooked with sugar until set, then potted to last through winter.

On my estate at Médan, I had my kitchen garden and fruit trees, of which I was as proud as a peasant. At the end of summer, when the currants and plums were falling, we filled the copper basin and boiled it all with sugar until the house smelled of it. Those pots lined up on the shelf were my winter store, a little bit of sunshine saved up. Spread me a spoonful on good bread, and you'll taste my orchards.
Émile Zola
Ingredients
  • Currants and plums from the orchardfull baskets (tart fruits)
  • Sugarequal weight to fruit (preservation and sweetness)
  • Watera little (to start cooking)
How it was made : Before refrigeration, jam was an essential preservation method: sugar, cooked with fruit, prevented fermentation and allowed the summer harvest to be kept until spring. It was cooked in a copper basin, whose metal conducts heat quickly and evenly.