Last spring's rhubarb schnapps was one of the great preserving successes of the year, so I have been keen to make some more from the moment the rhubarb in the garden started sprouting

As well as making a jar of the original version this year I have also tried a jar with added ginger. Ginger always works well with rhubarb, rhubarb and ginger jam also being a favorite, so this schnapps should be good with a extra bit of spice.

See here for the rhubarb and ginger schnapps recipe.

Recipe Costs

£6.22 1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£0.28 300g granulated sugar
£11.19 1l vodka
£0.50 50 g fresh ginger

£18.19 Total (£11.97 without buying the rhubarb)
£18.19 per litre of schnapps (£11.97 without buying the rhubarb - peach schnapps costs £14.27 at ocado)

I picked the rhubarb on one of the glorious sunny mornings we've been having recently, just the weather for getting inspired to make a drink that's best drunk when outdoors.

One kilogram of rhubarb stalks (a mixture of thick and thin) is chopped up and packed in to a steralised preserving jar.

Sliced fresh ginger is added amongst the layers (best to add it as you're packing the rhubarb in the jar).

300g of granulated sugar, this amount can be varied if you prefer a sweeter or sharper schnapps. You can taste the schnapps after six weeks or so and add more sugar if you wish.

I find a jam funnel helps to avoid spilling sugar everywhere, although obviously it's not a problem if you're working outside.

The jar is topped up with cheap vodka, sealed, and given a good shake, once a day for a few weeks until the sugar is dissolved and then every week until you feel like straining it. The jar should be kept in a cool dark place and the rhubarb should be strained out before drinking. Wait at least six weeks before sampling, but you can leave it for up to six months if you wish.

The liquid will turn a lovely pink colour and is great drunk neat, with sparkling wine or with fizzy water.

Recipe Timings

15 minutes Preparation
6 weeks Standing

Taste Test

This will have to wait a few weeks.

See here for the rhubarb schnapps recipe.

Recipe Costs

£6.22 1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£0.28 300g granulated sugar
£11.19 1l vodka

£17.69 Total (£11.47without buying the rhubarb)
£17.69 per litre of schnapps (£11.47 without buying the rhubarb - peach schnapps costs £14.27 at ocado)

The method couldn't really be easier, it took me longer to pick and trim the rhubarb into the compost heap than it did to follow the instructions.

I raided the cupboard and turfed some pasta out from a large preserving jar, then stuffed it full of the chopped rhubarb. Raw rhubarb has an indescribably lovely fresh smell which I am hoping will come through in the finished drink.

Sugar in next, I had to temporarily take out some of the rhubarb so I could fit it in, hence the above picture looking a bit like one of those coloured sand in a jar things you can get at the seaside.

I managed to top the jar up with about 850ml of the cheapest vodka I could find, I guess I'll mix the remainder in once the recommended six weeks is up and I'm bottling it.
By all accounts this will turn out to be a lovely pink colour and taste just perfect mixed with sparkling white wine. I'll watch it carefully as it has to be regularly removed from it's hiding place under the stairs and given a good shake.

Recipe Timings

15 minutes Preparation
6 weeks Standing

Taste Test

This has gone down very well.
Very drinkable on it's own, sweet with a good taste of rhubarb. Also worked well mixed with sparkling white wine, adding a subtle yet distinctive flavour.

The recipe I used was adapted from the one at the thefoody.com, as recommended on the grow your own forums.

See here for the rhubarb chutney recipe in more detail.

Recipe Costs

£9.34 1.5kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£2.06 1500g dark brown soft sugar
£1.15 900ml vinegar (malt)
£0.55 425g sultanas
£0.36 75g chopped dried apricots
£0.40 40g root ginger
£ 0.01 30g salt
£0.30 30g garlic
£0.10 1 chilli
£0.01 2 tsp peppercorns
£0.90 3 lemons, peel only
£15.18 Total (£5.84 without buying the rhubarb)
£5.06 per kg of jam (£1.94 without buying the rhubarb - 30% of the cost of equivalent at ocado)

I made half as much again as the original recipe, mainly because I enthusiastically picked too much rhubarb. I find adapting a recipe like this isn't a problem with chutney, I'd be a bit careful doing the same with jam as it can be tricky to get large quantities up to temperature quick enough. The rhubarb was chopped into quite fine slices, about 1cm, as I didn't want the end result to be too stringy. Not a problem when you have a nice sharp knife.
Substituting some of the sultanas for apricots was inspired by seeing several recipes containing apricots or dates, I imagine they complement the rhubarb well and add more variety than the standard sultanas. We've been mixing our own muesli lately so have a good stock of dried fruit in the cupboard.

A nice large amount of garlic went in to the pot, it was getting on for two heads, leaving us with only one head of homegrown left. The lemon peel was taken off some lemons from the freezer, I'd picked these up in the out-of-date section at the supermarket a few weeks ago. Not having any cayenne pepper I chucked in a finely chopped chilli, I'm sure given the volume being made it would be fine to add a few more if you liked it hot.

The ginger, lemon and peppercorns went in the muslin with the garlic, chilli and salt joining the fruit, sugar and vinegar in the Preserving Pan. I'd got the large pan off the top shelf in the kitchen where it had been collecting sticky dust, as I figure it's best to use stainless steel when making chutney, especially with something as acidic as rhubarb. The non stick ones would probably not have suffered too much but I don't really like the thought of Rhubarb and Teflon Chutney.

After several hours of simmering the chutney looked thick enough to pot, it's fine to have a small amount of liquid in the top of the jars as this is absorbed during the 3 months of maturing time. The chutney looked very rich and dark as it went into the jars, I shall look forward to tasting it in August, preferably outside with a nice lump of cheese.

Recipe Timings

0.5hrs preparation
2 hrs simmering
0.5 hr potting

Taste Test

This is a good fruity chutney, great in an everyday cheese sandwich. It doesn't taste overly of rhubarb, and is given extra depth by the addition of the apricots.

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 which was on the veg plotting blog, seemed to be the classic.

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.