Chestnut Jam

The chestnuts really are too good this year! After a couple of days respite, we collected another 3 kgs of enormous fruit this afternoon. Fresh off the tree, they are amazingly easy to shell and prepare when raw with none of the brown membrane which troubles older nuts. I have now frozen 1 kg for making stuffing later in the year, have 1 kg ready for cooking in dishes later in the week and have transformed 1 kg into some totally delicious chestnut jam which I have never made before. The addition of some Armagnac at the final stage just 'lifts' the unique flavour. According to the River Cottage preserves book it makes a lovely filling for chocolate cakes, can be dolloped onto vanilla ice cream before drizzling with chocolate sauce or spooned into meringue nests and topped with cream. I can feel my waistline expanding in anticipation!