Pear & Walnut Preserve

Pears cooked down with walnuts — an Italian preserve built around one of the oldest pairings in European cooking. Pear brings a soft, honeyed sweetness with almost no acidity; walnut brings the bitterness and the tannin that stops it cloying, plus texture, which most preserves lack entirely.

The classic use is the one that has existed for centuries: pear, walnut and blue cheese. Sweetness against salt, tannin against fat. It is the reason this combination survives while fashions in food come and go.

• Italian pear and walnut preserve
• Honeyed and soft, with walnut pieces for texture
• The classic partner for blue cheese
• Also for pecorino, ricotta and roast pork
• Good on toast, better on a cheese board

How to use it. With gorgonzola, roquefort or any blue — this is the pairing it exists for. With aged pecorino or a fresh ricotta. Spooned over a slice of panettone or plain cake. Warmed and served with roast pork. Or simply on buttered bread, where the walnut pieces do all the work.