Pickled Peaches

Next time you are eating a peach examine the stone nestled deep within its flannel like jacket, encased in pulpy fruit. This succulent summer fruit is a distant relation to the bitter almond and both members of the Rosaceae or Rose family. According to wide-eyed polymath Mark Twain their divergent paths to a fruit and nut was all down to a little nurturing. “Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond."

Fruit poached in a sweet vinegared syrup has always been a lip puckering way of preservation, from Spain to Italy and from Eastern Europe to the Middle East.

Try these pickled peaches with cheddar or blue cheese.

Ingredients

1kg fresh peaches

750 mls red wine vinegar

3 cloves

½ teaspoon mustard powder

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp powdered ginger

250g sugar

¼ tsp black pepper

1 tablespoon of fresh tarragon

2 tbsp barberries

Make the syrup first. In a large pan pour in the wine vinegar followed by the spices, sugar and tarragon. Bring to the boil until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. Drop the peaches into boiling water for about a minute or two. Cool under cold water and peel the skin. Be careful when cutting the peach into segments. Bring the syrup back to the boil and drop in the peach segments followed by the barberries. Poach for about 3 or 4 minutes, you want the peaches a little soft but to keep their shape. With a slotted spoon, fish out the peaches. Now boil the liquid till it reduces and becomes a little syrupy. Pack the peaches into sterilised jars and pour over the syrup. It might be difficult but leave for at least a week before trying.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist.

Cherry Compote

Fruit and alcohol have always been sweet bedfellows. Think plums and brandy, apples and calvados, raisins and sherry and the trinity of peaches, prunes and pears with white or red wine.
And of course, cherries and kirsch are another brilliant saccharine combination.
The small French region of Alsace is famed for its kirsch, a fermented drink made from morello cherries.
The distilled brandy is a vestige from the German Empire’s presence in the region in the late 19th and early 20th century.
This cherry compote is a decadent addition to yogurt or crème fraiche.

Ingredients:
200ml kirsch
250g cherries
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Wash and stone the cherries. Put them in a large saucepan on low to medium heat and add the sugar, cinnamon and a little water. Gently stir to dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil. When the cherries are soft, strain the liquid into another pan and add the kirsch. Boil until the liquid reduces a little. Put the cherries into sterilised jars and pour over the reduced liquid, seal and refrigerate.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist.

Apricot Jam

For the people of Beit-Jala in Palestine, the apricot is a fruit of longing. According to food writer Christiane Dabdoub Nasser, it is the fruit that most emigrants from this part of the West Bank miss most about their region.
This apricot jam recipe, adapted from Nasser’s Classic Palestinian Cuisine, proves once again foods’ importance in sustaining memory and identity.
The apricots lend themselves well to slow cooking with sugar. The result is a thick and sticky jam with a burnt orange glow that would make even the sun jealous. Serve with toast or yogurt.

Ingredients:
500g fresh apricots
200g sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon or orange

Halve and stone the apricots, put them into a medium-sized pan with the sugar and gently stir so that the sugar coats the fruit and melts.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for about an hour till it reaches a jammy consistency. Add the lemon or orange juice a few minutes before the end.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist

'We mistook the full moon as a loaf of bread and raised our hands to the sky'......Rumi

Gingered Gooseberry Chutney

A rather reluctant member of the berry family the gooseberry is a much unloved summer fruit. Its hairy and veiny exterior alone would scare off even the most forgiving berry fanatic. It prefers the relatively milder summers of northern Europe. It's sourness far too teeth-clenching for those looking for a sweeter hit. This Chutney is an excellent way of dealing with a glut of gooseberries that might come your way. Denis Cotter of the great Cafe Paradiso in Cork generously donated his gooseberry chutney recipe to this column. Ginger is the key ingredient and gives the chutney a more eastern inspired flourish. In Paradiso this chutney is served with grilled Haloumi. Also good with grilled fish.

Ingredients

1Kg gooseberries, topped and tailed
100g grated fresh root ginger
½ tsp mixed spice
300g sugar
juice of 2 lemons
Put everything in a pot and simmer for 30-50 minutes until the gooseberries have broken down and the chutney has become thick. Store in sterilized jars.

Ken doherty is a chef and journalist