Vocal Voices

2 large Bramley cooking apples (about 1lb) peeled, cored and grated.

1 tin crushed pineapple including juice.

2 x 375gm fruit mix (2 x 13 ozs)

227gm (4oz) melted butter

2oz cherries chopped

2oz almonds chopped

12oz brown sugar

1 teaspoon each cinnamon, mace (or 1/2 tsp allspice), nutmeg

Put all in a bowl, cover with a tea towel for 7 days, stirring daily. Put in jars. Do not overfill the jars, one year Edward did that and they all overflowed and made a bit of a mess!!

Osc, it's a bit like mum's version, butter was the fat content not suet. She was Irish, but there were no potatoes in it. The spices were whatever was in the pantry - cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, cloves, star anise - you name it, she had it.

It was made then left to 'mash' for a week or so or until it was needed. It lasted forever.