Apfel-Marzipan-Konfitüre (apple marzipan jam)

Method

1. Combine the apples and water in a 2 litre pot. Cover and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the apples have softened and started to break down.
2. Stir in the preserving sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Bring to a full rolling boil, uncovered, and boil hard for about 6 minutes, stirring often as it thickens; it scorches fast in the last few minutes.
3. Test for setting: drop a small spoonful onto a chilled plate, wait 1 minute, then push it with a fingertip. If it wrinkles, it is ready; if not, boil for another 2 minutes and test again.
4. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the grated marzipan until fully melted and smooth. Cooking it any further after this point would make the almond flavour taste cooked rather than fresh.
5. Ladle into clean, warm jars while still hot and seal immediately. Let cool undisturbed; the jars will seal themselves as they cool if sterilised properly.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl.

1. Apples and water into the bowl. Cook 8 min / 100 °C / reverse / speed 1, measuring cup off.
2. Insert the butterfly. Add the preserving sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook 12 min / Varoma / reverse / speed 2, measuring cup off so steam escapes and the mixture reduces. Watch the last few minutes; jam can boil over if the bowl is too full.
3. Test for setting on a chilled plate as in the hand method. If not ready, cook a further 2 minutes and test again.
4. Remove the butterfly. Stir in the grated marzipan. Mix 10 sec / reverse / speed 2, no heat, until fully melted through.
5. Ladle into clean, warm jars while still hot and seal immediately.

Notes

• Sterilise the jars properly. Wash them in hot soapy water, then either run them through a hot dishwasher cycle or dry them in a low oven at 100°C for 10 minutes just before filling; this is what actually makes them keep.
• Do not add the marzipan before the jam has reached setting point. Cooked in with the fruit, it loses most of its aroma to the long boil; stirred in off the heat, the almond flavour stays bright.
• The wrinkle test beats the thermometer for judging doneness, since altitude and how hard the mixture is boiling both shift the exact setting temperature by a degree or two.
• Sealed properly, it keeps for a year in a cool, dark cupboard; once opened, keep it in the fridge and use within 4 weeks.

Ingredient substitutions

• Preserving sugar (2:1) already contains pectin for a softer set; with plain sugar 1:1 by weight, the jam will need closer to 10 minutes of hard boiling and will set firmer.
• A firm, tart apple variety like Boskoop or Braeburn holds its texture better through the long boil than a very soft eating apple, which can turn to mush.
• Marzipan can be persipan for anyone avoiding almonds specifically, though it changes the finished flavour.
• A splash of amaretto or dark rum, stirred in with the marzipan, is a good addition if the jam is for adults rather than a breakfast table with children.