Melon and Vanilla Jam
Not sure what to do with your melon? This classic preserved French melon recipe is perfect to use it up. The jam is great on toast, served with pancakes, added to baking recipes or stirred into yoghurt.
Substitute:
- No vanilla pod? Use 1 tsp of vanilla paste.
- No golden caster sugar? Just use regular caster sugar.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
1 Melon (any )
1 Vanilla pod
50 g Golden caster sugar
For the melon seeds:
a pinch of Ground cinnamon
1 tsp Vegetable oil
Recipe:
- Peel, seed and chop the melon. Compost the peel, but keep the seeds.
- Put the melon and the sugar in a saucepan. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and use a small knife to scrape the seeds out. Add the vanilla seeds and the pod to the pan.
- Mix to combine, and place the pan over a medium heat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring often, or until you have a jammy consistency. Don't worry if it looks watery at first, just keep cooking until it reduces.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 C/160 fan/gas mark 4. Boil the melon seeds in a saucepan of water for three minutes. Drain, pat dry and put into a baking dish. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and add a drizzle of oil.
- Toss to coat and bake for 4-5 minutes, until golden. Take out of the oven, and set aside to cool.
- Pour the melon jam into a clean up-cycled glass jar, top with a few melon seeds and set aside to cool. When cool, pop the jam in the fridge.
How to store
Store in the fridge for up to 15 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If you decide to freeze the jam, make sure to leave enough space on the top of the container to allow it expand a bit as the water in the fruit turns to ice.
Leftovers
The melon jam is delicious on toast, pancakes, crepes, in baking recipes or simply with yoghurt/vegan yoghurt.
