Cornelian Cherry Conserve is a traditional British recipe, based on a Victorian original, for a classic preserve made from cornelian cherries and sugar flavoured with fennel seeds that's cook until thick enough to set. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Cornelian Cherry Conserve.
Add 200ml water to a pan then stir in the pitted Cornelian cherries and the fennel seeds. Bring to a boil and continue cooking for about 25 minutes, or until the fruit have broken down and released their juices. Take off the heat and allow to cool a little then press through a fine-meshed sieve with the back of a spoon to extract as much of the fruit juice as possible.
Clean the pan then pour in the Cornelian cherry juice and bring to a boil. In a separate pan, add the sugar and bring to a boil. As soon as the sugar is clear and boiling pour into the boiling barberry juice, stirring all the while.
Return to a boil then take off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar bubbles up. Pour into moulds (ramekins are good) and allow to cool and set.
