Fruit in Syrup

This shelf brings together tropical fruit from across Asia with the tinned classics of a British pantry. Toddy palm, the fruit of the palmyra palm, is called nungu in Tamil and thaati munjalu in Telugu: soft, cool, jelly-like seeds with a delicate sweetness. Nata de coco is chewy cubes of coconut jelly, rambutan is a close cousin of the lychee, and palmyra fruit pulp is the thick orange pulp used in Jaffna for panangai paniyaram. There is also sweet ripe jackfruit, young coconut meat, pineapple, mandarin segments, pears, strawberries, prunes and fruit cocktail.

Serve lychees and rambutan straight from the fridge, or with vanilla ice cream. Toddy palm and nata de coco are lovely in falooda, iced drinks and Thai-style coconut desserts. Fruit cocktail is the traditional topping for fruit custard, trifle and fruit salad at family gatherings. Fruit in juice is lighter than fruit in syrup, so pick by how sweet you want the finished dish, and keep the syrup to sweeten a drink or soak a sponge.

Chill tins before opening for the cleanest flavour, and once opened keep the fruit covered in the fridge for up to three days. Sister shelf mango pulp sits beside this one under tinned fruit, and for a proper dessert table add falooda, jelly and custard powder.