Bachelors Jam

Directions

1. 1
   Choose just-ripe fruits as they appear through the summer and fall.
2. 2
   I normally kick off the pot with some of the first sweet strawberries of the season.
3. 3
   Place these in the bottom of your pot and, for every pound of fruit, sprinkle over 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar.
4. 4
   Leave this for an hour or so, then pour in about 4 cups of your chosen alcohol.
5. 5
   Place the saucer on top of the fruit to make sure the fruit remains immersed.
6. 6
   Then cover the pot with plastic wrap and, finally, a close-fitting lid.
7. 7
   Carry on like this throughout the summer and autumn, adding raspberries, cherries, peaches, plums, damson plums, pears, grapes, and blackberries as they come into season.
8. 8
   (I avoid currants and gooseberries because their skins tend to toughen in the alcohol syrup, and I find rhubarb is too acid for the pot.)
9. 9
   Add the sugar each time too, and keep topping up the alcohol so that it always covers the fruit by about 3/4 inch.
10. 10
    Do not stir the fruit at any point, just let it sit in its layers.
11. 11
    When the pot is full to the brim, seal it tightly and store for a couple of months before you start enjoying the contents.
12. 12
    Just prior to using, dig deep and give the contents a good stir to combine all the scrumptious flavors.
13. 13
    Use within 1 year.
14. 14
    If youre in a hurry, you can make bachelors jam in one go in August, when lots of different fruits should be available.
15. 15
    However, I do find it more fun to add the fruit over several months, whenever I have a surplus.