The man preserving flavours from the past
Nathan Lewis likes to make preserves and jams the old-fashioned way.
When it comes to jam and chutney, Wairarapa chef Nathan Lewis has vintage tastes.
"Old-fashioned" fruit like gooseberries, rhubarb and quince are what excite him, especially when they're transformed into products using tried-and-true recipes from books that might have belonged to someone's grandmother.
Lewis is based in Masterton and his Dovecot House range is a continuation of a lifelong love for preserving, he told Nine to Noon.
“It's something that I've always been passionate about helping people with having something decent on their plate and just bringing back memories.”
Gooseberries are a mainstay for Wairarapa preserving expert Nathan Lewis.
Monika Grabkowska for Unsplash
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Some of those memories are triggered by fruit that’s all but disappeared commercially, he said.
“My preserves do tend to reawaken the palate.”
Mouth-puckeringly tart gooseberries are a favourite, along with Black Doris plums and blackcurrants.
“I have the old-fashioned just straight-out gooseberry jam.
“When people see that on the market stand, they just instantly have memories, and they're like, I haven't seen gooseberries in years."
Lewis prefers to use old recipe books for his creations.
"I always go for those older ones. I would rather work in pounds and ounces rather than kilos and grams and I'm looking for the pages that have the stains on them.”
However, he does nod to modern sensibilities and dial back the sugar to fruit ratio.
“About 75 percent sugar compared to being 100 percent sugar to fruit.”
And people are responding to this heightened tartness, he said.
“I get a lot of people being amazed at the flavour that's present, the tartness certainly brings back the full flavour for people, because that's what it's really meant to be about, that tangy tartness of the fruit.”
