Rhubarb and Ginger Jam for Cathy

My lovely friend Cathy put out a call on Twitter for Rhubarb recipes, this one along with my recipe for Rhubarb Crumble Muffins should make her smile!

Now is the time to pick the last of the rhubarb and this recipe allows it to shine! Rhubarb and ginger jam is an autumn essential and makes a fantastic addition to hampers given as gifts at Christmas.

Photo Credit

Ingredients

1kg/2¼lb of rhubarb

750g/1½lb granulated or preserving sugar

125ml/4fl oz water

juice of half a lemon

5cm/2inch piece of root ginger, peeled and bruised (either bashed a bit in a pestle and mortar or with the end of a rolling pin – very satisfying!)

75g/2½oz stem ginger, finely chopped

Method

• Wash and trim the rhubarb and chop into small pieces
• Put the rhubarb, water and lemon juice into your preserving pan (or any deep, heavy bottomed pan) and bring to the boil
• Add the root ginger to the pan and simmer, stirring frequently, until the rhubarb is soft (you can leave it overnight here to get a deeper flavour but it’s not compulsory and I don’t usually)
• Remove the root ginger
• Add your sugar and stir until dissolved
• Add the stem ginger to the mixture, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 -15 minutes until setting point is reached
• Skim off any scum from the surface of your jam
• Pour into warm, sterilised jars, seal and label.

We picked 2½lbs of blackberries yesterday so watch this space for blackberry jam – the preserving season is upon us!