Confiture de lait

( Milk jam )

Makes about 600 ml (21 fl oz)

1 litre (35 fl oz) full-cream milk

300 g (10½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

½ teaspoon salt flakes

3 vanilla beans, halved lengthways

L Sterilise three 200 ml (7 fl oz) capacity jars and their lids following the method described.

L Put all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan and combine well. Cook over high heat until the mixture comes to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Using a slotted spoon, remove the foam from the top of the milk, then continue to simmer for 1½ hours, stirring every 10 minutes with a heat-resistant flat spatula (using a whisk will create foam, which you want to avoid). During the last 30 minutes of cooking, the mixture should begin to thicken and caramelise slowly, so pay close attention and stir continuously to make sure the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan and burn. It is important to note that the cooking times indicated are purely to be used as a guide. This jam is ready from the minute it thickens and caramelises; the longer you leave it, the thicker it will get and the less sweet it will become.

L Using kitchen tongs, remove and discard the vanilla beans, then spoon the hot caramel into the sterilised jars, but do not seal them for at least 1 hour, or until the caramel reaches room temperature. Label the jars and write the expiry date (1 month from the day they were made) on them. Seal and store in the fridge.