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Apr 17
2009
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Rhubarb was one of the first things we planted in our new vegetable garden when we moved in. I don't think I have ever bought rhubarb in the shops, and had therefore probably not cooked with it since leaving home. Now every year (apart, for some, in the breastfeeding ones) we can get very excited about the first new shoots and then the sudden abundance. It does very well in our clay soil, and the surplus is often given away in an attempt to limit the amount of crumble consumed (for weight reasons, as I can easily eat a bowl cold for breakfast).
This was the first time I had tried preserving with it, the recipe with ginger was enticing, as I have made wonderful marrow and ginger jam before. The addition of crystallised ginger was a good excuse to have a go at making that as well. The recipe from the "Good Housekeeping" Cookery Book
See here for the rhubarb and ginger jam recipe.
Recipe Costs
£6.85 1.1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£1.03 1.1kg sugar
£0.60 2 Lemons
£0.24 25g root ginger
£1.36 100g crystallised ginger
£10.08 Total (£3.23 without buying the rhubarb)
£5.04 per kg of jam (£1.62 without buying the rhubarb - 33% of the cost of equivalent at Tesco)
This jam was a dream to make, chopping rhubarb is particularly pleasurable, something to do with the noise it makes.
The recipe said to leave the rhubarb, lemon juice and sugar mix to stand overnight, so I did, but couldn't resist stirring a few times. I used the mixing bowl pictured above, it's important not to use a saucepan as rhubarb is quite acidic and can react with some metal pans. When returned to in the morning the sugar had drawn out a lot of liquid resulting in chunks of rhubarb floating in sugar syrup - half way to jam already.
All of the crystallised ginger was finely chopped and added directly into the jam, along with the fresh crushed ginger in a muslin. This seemed like a lot of ginger for the amount of jam, but the end result wasn't overpowering.
The boiling process was more frantic than some jams, the rhubarb broke down quickly, leaving it's characteristic strands. It might be an idea to chop the rhubarb into smaller chunks to start with, if you're not keen on stringy jam. Setting point was soon reached, no need for hours of simmering with this jam.
Recipe Timings
0.5hrs Preparation
overnight standing
0.25hrs chopping ginger
0.5hrs first boil
0.5hrs to reach setting point
0.5 hr Potting
Taste Test
I had though this could be overpowered by the ginger in it, but although it's obviously there, it's actually quite subtle until you bite into a small lump of crystallised ginger. The lumps of ginger have remained firm and crunchy, and although it would still be a tasty jam if they were left out, I think it's worth the effort of making and adding them.
Comments (25)
Query on rhubarb and ginger jam recipe
Thanks
P
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lemon juice etc.
The lemon juice was added to the rhubarb and sugar mixture and left to stand overnight, I've amended the article to say that..
Your point about adding lemon juice to the already acidic rhubarb is a good one. Rhubarb is low in pectin (which is what causes the jam to set), lemon juice is often added to jams made from low-pectin fruits as it helps extract more pectin from the fruit's cells.
While rhubarb is acidic enough to corrode a metal pan overnight, it isn't acidic enough to extract enough of it's own relatively small amount of pectin. The extra lemon juice helps extract the pectin which is present.
The crystallised ginger was added directly to the jam, I've altered the article to make this clearer - bad sentence construction on my part I'm afraid!
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Jars
Could you please let me know me know the number of jars (standard jam jar size 8oz / 225ml) that will be needed for this recipe.
Thank you
Tanya
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jars
You should get about 2 kg of jam using the above quantities, so should need about 9 225ml/8oz jars.
This recipe is shown in more details here: http://www.pickleandpreserve.c...ginger-jam
Let me know how you get on.
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Just wanted to let you know I followed your recipe and my first attempt at jam making turned out really well. It was easy to follow your instructions, thanks!
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I'm really glad you're jam making turned out well, I hope you find some more recipes which take your fancy.
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Shelf life?
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Storing Rhubarb and Ginger Jam
The best place to store your jam is in a cool, dark, dry place (I keep mine under the stairs)
You should find it will keep for over a year, although the flavour may deteriorate after a while.
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Number of Jars
Great website
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number of jars
What size jars are you using?
Tanya above was talking about using 225 ml jars, which are pretty small (about half a honey jar).
I have to admit I rarely know exactly how much jam is produced as I use a mixture of jar sizes ranging from pesto jars (good for gifts) to big mayonnaise jar which we use for ourselves.
It is possible you are overcooking the jam and reducing it down by evaporating off a lot of water, but I'm sure you would soon notice if you were doing this as the jam would be far to thick in consistency.
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ginger
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...
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No need to add water
I'm sure your frozen rhubarb will be just fine for making jam. Freezing fruit and then using it later is something I do quite often with things like blackberries and raspberries, it's a good way of coping with a glut, or saving up enough to make it worth while getting out the preserving pan.
I guess you may have to wait until it's defrosted before chopping it up, unless you have a heavy knife.
There is no need to add water to the rhubarb and sugar mixture, just leave it overnight and the sugar will draw enough liquid out of the rhubarb.
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Sugar or Jam sugar
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Sugar or Jam sugar
No need to use jam sugar, I used normal granulated and it worked just fine.
Ben
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mrs
i have also used frozen rhubarb i have collected from the allotment and frozen it works very well.
thanks maureen
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what a lovely web site!
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Lemon is alcaic, not acid
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Lemon is alcaic, not acid
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I am about to make some Jam using this recipe,my query is that I usually use a Jam Thermometer ie 104C to indicate the ideal temperature I have never used a "saucer" method
Will the thermometer be ok ?
Thanks
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Using a jam thermometer
Using a thermometer should be fine. I've checked back at the original recipe I used and it recommends 105ºC as the ideal temperature.
Hope that helps.
Ben
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Reduced sugar
I have decided to attempt to make jam for the first time and cant wait to try your's out, one thing i would like to ask is can reduced sugar be used and if so what make is best?
Diane
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Using Reduced Sugar
I've never made jam with reduced sugar, but can suggest the following....
Reducing the quantity of sugar in a jam recipe will not work as a high percentage of sugar (usually 50%) is required to stop the jam going bad during storage.
You can substitute honey for up to 15% or the sugar in a recipe, adding it after the sugar has dissolved. This will of course add a taste to the jam. I imagine this might work well with rhubarb and ginger.
You could try making 'freezer jam' which needs to be kept frozen to keep for any length of time. A quick google search will bring up some recipes.
I'd be interested to know how you get on, perhaps you could even share a recipe with us if it's successful.
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