Our sensory memory has the incredible, we just need a smell, a word, a taste to bring back to the sensations that we had totally buried behind a mountain of new experiences, I refer to the images of our childhood when our sensory memory was formed.

Now as I write the sweet sour smell that comes out of the pot takes me back in time ....

At home, the changing seasons were marked by two elements in particular: the fruit of our countryside and the preserves. In autumn, quince was made with quinces, a hard jam of various shapes that was eaten in slices. In summer, black cherries were made with amarena cherries, a syrup to be diluted in thirst-quenching water on hot summer afternoons. In winter, jars of orange and tangerine jam piled up on the shelf in order of size. Spring was the time for lemon jam. Its smell was intoxicating!

Now it's spring and it's time to prepare the lemon jam!

Choosing and picking fruit carefully is the first step towards a genuine jam. If the lemons are organic even better, the aromas, the sweet and sour taste and the color will be even more intense. We collect the lemons in quantity in our garden in Scopello and authenticity is guaranteed!

For an even tastier jam Yellow lemons mix them with that particular type of lemon that we Sicilians of Western Sicily call "pirrittune".

Professor Gaetano Basile derives its etymology from the Greek term "perittòn" which indicates something out of the ordinary, from the ordinary. A pirrittuni can weigh even more than a kg. In Italian it is called cedar, it is a large "lemon", with an oval shape and a very thick and sweet white flesh. In Sicily you eat salad with a drizzle of EVO oil and salt. It is excellent for jam and candied fruit.

Our recipe to prepare lemon jam

To prepare the jam, the lemons must be cut into slices and soaked for three days. Every day you have to change the water on the 3rd day. Put them in a pot and bring to a near boil. They are left in hot water for 1 night and the following day they are drained and cooked with sugar (800 g of sugar per kg of lemons) for ½ hour.

Lemon jam is delicious to savor naturally, with bread for breakfast or in tarts!

 It takes some time to prepare the jam but it's worth it!