A little something on the side

Summer is the perfect time to impress your guests and make your condiments from scratch.

- SOPHIA YOUNG

Test Kitchen tips

Serve as a dip with extra virgin olive oil and toasted turkish bread. Dip the bread into the oil then into the dukkah to coat. For a special treat, serve with soft-boiled quail eggs.

Peach & plum hoarder’s jam

PREP + COOK TIME 20 MINUTES (+ 2 WEEKS PRESERVING TIME) MAKES 8 CUPS

While this is called a jam, it is anything but – it’s a wonderful concoction of boozy fruit and fruit-infused alcohol. It’s known by a variety of names: hoarder’s jam, rumptoff (rum was originally used) and bachelor jam. However, the common theme of all of them is preserving summer’s bounty of fruit.

1 large just-ripe peach (220g), quartered

4 medium plums, halved

4 medium apricots, halved

2¼ cups (495g) caster sugar

3 long strips of orange rind

2 vanilla beans, split lengthways

21/3 cups (660ml) brandy, rum or gin, approximately

1 Combine fruit and sugar in a large bowl for 1 hour.

2 Transfer fruit mixture to a clean 2-litre (8-cup) wide-mouth jar. Add the orange rind and vanilla bean. Pour brandy over the fruit, making sure fruit is immersed in alcohol. (You may need to add a little extra, depending on the height and width of the jar.)