Summer is a time of richness and abundance: Strawberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums and more appear in voluptuous waves, and one of the saddest things about Fall is the way this richness fades.
Doesn't have to be this way, however: It's easy to transform fruit into jams and jellies, which will remind you of the joys of summer every time you delve into one, and make great gifts besides.
It's no accident that strawberry preserves are tremendously popular. As is often the case, a well-made home made jar of strawberry preserves will be richer and more flavorful than what you can buy in a store.
Amarene are, as their name implies, slightly sour cherries (amaro means sour), and they work especially well in jams. This will also work nicely with regular cherries, however.
This recipe is drawn from Pellegrino Artusi's
La Scienza in Cucina e l'Arte di Mangiar Bene,. As he notes, the instructions also work well for peach jam.
A number of years ago I went to Puglia, where the figs are spectacular, like eating nectar, and so good that I've never really enjoyed Tuscan figs since -- they're just not as rich. This said, good figs make for wonderful marmalades.
An inspired combination, and en excellent excuse to go berry picking in August, when the fruit is at its richest.
When peaches are at their best and the raspberries have ripened up in the mountains, they're a perfect pair to set aside for the winter!
Though one could call this brandied fruit, the term doesn't quite describe it. Indeed, it can be quite spectacular; I recall a restaurant in Rome that kept a big jar of it on the counter, adding more fruit or alcohol when the level dropped.
This is something to make in June, if you are in Italy, or, in any case, before the walnuts have ripened. If you have access to a walnut tree, good. Otherwise, ask your greengrocer to procure about 30 nuts with their rinds. You'll be very happy with the results, and so will your friends come the holidays, because Nocino is an excellent gift.
Cherries make for an extraordinarily delicate liqueur.
