Rock-Sugar Wampee Preserve

Why people make this preserve

Wampee comes into season only briefly. The lighter-skinned, plump fruit is the sweetest; this batch turned out quite tart but wonderfully appetite-rousing. Nourilo likes to turn the extra fruit into a rock-sugar jam — a spoonful stirred into warm water makes a pleasant drink traditionally associated with aiding digestion, promoting saliva, and easing a phlegmy cough.

Method

1. Soak the wampee in lightly salted water for 15 minutes, then rinse and remove the stones.
2. Put the fruit into a clay or glass pot with half a cup of water.
3. Cook over low heat until the juice thickens to a syrup.
4. Store in a clean glass jar. To use, stir 1 tablespoon into warm water.

Nourilo’s Tips

Rock-sugar wampee is delicious and refreshing in summer. It is especially good for people who use their voice a lot, and for those with bloating and stomach discomfort from over-eating or a phlegmy, wheezy cough. The stems, leaves and stones also have value — simmered as a tea they are traditionally used for colds, stomach ache and period pain.