Always the poor cousin to the beautiful Medjool dates that go so well on a cheese platter, the humble cooking date has never looked so marvellous as it does in this spread. Originally, I made it to go on scones as an alternative to jam. On the second run, a bit of added ‘naked’ ginger* was just the thing in a household that loves ginger. But the possibilities are endless when you try a few variations in the mix: cardamon is a favourite and actually goes nicely on scones and such, but is also outstanding as chutney on a steak sandwich or with cold roast beef – cloves and orange is also great for that. So now it is part of my ‘cupboard cooking’ thing, I keep a jar ready to use like chutney, jam, relish or … whatever! If you have screw top jars to recycle, it keeps very well in the cupboard when ‘heat-sealed’** but otherwise this is a small batch and keeps just fine in the fridge.
*’Naked’ ginger is what some call packaged ginger that has not been crystallised. It is much softer and dressed in cane sugar to keep it.
**Ask me about heat-sealing if you are not familiar with that.
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