If you’re harvesting nêspera fruit (otherwise known as Loquat or medlar fruit) about now you may want to try this simple nêspera jam recipe. And I mean it’s simple… as in “easie peasie” simple!
This April our little nêspera tree rewarded us with a bumper harvest of fruit, so rather than make yet another batch of chutney I decided to try jam. Now, you would think a jam recipe would be relatively easy to find on the net but no, Mr. Google in his wisdom insisted on returning results for jelly. I didn’t want pigging jelly Mr. G, I wanted jam!
Having had a few jam disasters in the past I was about to admit defeat when a friend came up trumps with an easy recipe. And I mean easy… as in easy peasy, easy!
Ingredients
Nêsperas (peeled with stones removed)
Brown sugar (same weight as flesh of fruit) In this case 1.4lb
Juice of one lemon
Method
Add the ingredients to a heavy base pan and simmer for about 1 1/2-2hrs until the liquid reduces and the texture is more gooey (piglet’s technical term) than watery.
In the meantime sterilize the jars in a hot oven (150C) for ten minutes. Hot Tip: don’t put lids with rubber seals in the oven. The rubber melts rendering the lids useless!
Once the jam is cooked spoon while still warm into the jars and then seal.
Nêsperas taste almost like a peach crossed with an apricot.
You may also want to try:
Courgette and Tomato Chutney
Mr Piglet’s Pickled Onions!
Piglet in Portugal 
We have 2 Loquot trees in our garden, I give loads of fruit away to some friends that love it. Sometimes I make jam with them too, and apart from adding some cinnamon sticks, the recipe is basically the same as yours. I thinks ours give fruit around September.
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Hi Sami,
I like the sound of cinnamon…will give it a try!
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recipe looks great you say brown sugar could you plse tell me the name of the brown sugar i find it difficult to find brown sugar in portimao,
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Hiya, Elie,
I buy soft brown sugar from Lidls or Aldi. It’s more beige than brown and caster sugar in texture. It comes in a polybags so it’s easy to identify. I don’t know the name, sorry, as I used the only bag I had in the cupboard for the jam…! I also use the same sugar for flapjacks. Most supermarkets sell it. 🙂
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I really wish I did have such a tree now. That jam looks delicious
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If I get any spare peaches I’m going to use the same recipe 🙂
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Hi Piglet,
Have always wondered what to do with them! Do you wait until they are overripe or do you use them just ripe. Going back down to Lagos on 14th May so hope there are some left on the trees so that I can try our recipe.
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Hi Elaine,
I used ripe and semi-ripe. Whatever was available. 🙂
PiP
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That certainly IS easy and looks delicious!
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Yum!
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Looks great, PiP! Glad you came up with a winner recipe.
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I like easy 🙂 Was it you who made the pineapple jam? If so I’ve lost the recipe 😦
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Pineapple Chutney:
http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/pineapple-chutney/
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That looks delicious! I sampled Red Pepper Jam a few days ago (it was gifted to me). Surprisingly, it was nice. Its to be paired with cream cheese on a cracker.
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Do you still have the recipe, please. Sounds interesting 🙂
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it is delicious. I tend to lose stuff easily so will see if I locate if for you.
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