I learned to make this jam in the first kitchen I worked in in New Zealand, it’s pretty epic smeared along with some butter (never forget the butter) on the banana bread toasted. It makes a good gift too as people tend to be quite impressed with efforts in the field of marmalade. My advice is never tell anyone how easy this is.

Makes two large jars or four small

You will need:

--300g lemons

--250g dried figs

--4 cups water

--4 ½ cups caster sugar

--Serve on toast with butter or dollop a little over your porridge along with a spoon of creamy tahini and a sprinkle of carob nibs

Directions:

– Half and very thinly slice the lemons, discarding the pips. Place in a large bowl. Trim the stems from the figs and cut each one into four and add to the bowl of lemons. Cover with four cups of water and leave over night.

– Place the fruit and water into a large heavy-bottomed pot and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Return to the hob and boil for approximately 40 minutes.

– There’s two ways to know if this jam is done: Either boil it with a sugar thermometer and remove it from the heat when it reaches 105°C or else as it is thickening spoon little quantities of jam onto a cold plate and chill in the fridge for a couple of minutes. This will give you an idea of what consistency the jam will be when cooled and will tell you when to take it off the heat.

– After the jam is cooled store in clean jars. If when the jam has cooled, it is too firm all is not lost, loosen it up by stirring in a little boiled water.