The end of summer is upon us, heralded by occasional weather mood swings, fresh early mornings and trays of summer-ripened plums, peaches and apricots on sale. At this time of year, I always try to make the most of such abundance and buy stone fruit in bulk.

But while I find it exceptionally satisfying to gorge on them on the spot, such bliss is somewhat dampened by the thought that their season is coming to an end. Luckily, there’s a creative way to avoid longing for stone fruits in the cooler months – by bottling them.

Peaches preserve remarkably well, and by packing them in jars you can store your very own taste of summer to savour on a rainy day (along with a luscious, syrupy nectar you can reuse to create spectacular granitas, sorbets or cocktails).

One other joy I get from jarring peaches is that moment, right after they have been poaching in the sugar syrup for a few minutes, when I delicately pinch off the skin, revealing a pattern of blushing orange and rose hues.

Such unassuming natural beauty hits a soft spot in my romantic heart every time. However, if you are less easily impressed and the process of peeling fruit sounds too laborious, opt for the more user-friendly apricots or plums; all that is required is for you to cut them in half, remove the stone and plunge them into an aromatic vanilla-infused nectar.

My recommendation is to fill plenty of jars and hide a few from sight. I failed to do so last summer and my (then) eight-year-old son Raffi scoffed the lot in a few sittings just weeks after they had been made, leaving me longing for my taste of summer all winter long…

Here’s my recipe for preserved peached in vanilla syrup.