Simple Small Batch Rhubarb Ginger Jam
Slightly sweet, a bit spicy and altogether wonderful. This small batch jam is made in stages - you do the chopping one day, with the cooking a day or two later.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch rhubarb, cut into 1-2" pieces About 3 cups/1.2 pounds/510 g
- 1 med-large golden delicious (or similar) apple, peeled and cut into tiny pieces Apple should be about 7 oz/200g
- 3 cups granulated sugar 21 oz/594 g
- 3 heaping tablespoons fresh ginger, about 3", washed but not peeled, roughly chopped into pieces about 1/2" About 1/4 cup/1 & 1/8 oz/35 g
Instructions
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Mix the rhubarb and apple pieces. Layer in the wide dish with the sugar, cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave in a cool, dark place for about 18-24 hours. The dish should have sides about 2" high.
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After the fruit has "marinated" and the sugar has turned to liquid, remove the plastic wrap. Using a colander, drain the liquid into a medium-sized pot. Press the fruit with the back of a spoon or a spatula to extract as much juice as possible and set the colander with the fruit aside. Be sure to put a plate or the wide dish under the colander as liquid will continue to seep out of the fruit as it sits.
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Wrap the chopped ginger in cheesecloth and tie it, making a "teabag" for the ginger, so that it can steep in the liquid, and later the liquid and fruit. Add the ginger teabag to the liquid and bring the liquid to a rolling boil. Continue boiling the liquid for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to fully immerse the ginger teabag and to move it around.
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After 5 minutes, add the pieces of fruit to the pot, bring the mixture back up to a simmer, and continue simmering the mixture for about 20 minutes, stirring at least several times to break up the rhubarb.
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Once the mixture has thickened, take it off the heat and let it cool. After it comes to room temperature (about 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while), remove the ginger teabag, scraping off as much of the jam as possible. Then spoon the jam into small jars. Close and refrigerate them. According to the original recipe, they should keep, refrigerated, for several weeks.
Recipe Notes
The rhubarb will, at least partially, disintegrate, as you stir the mixture while it simmers. However, the apple pieces will remain close to the same size as they are when you put them in the mixture. So cut the apple pieces tiny unless you want bigger pieces in your jam. I didn't cut my apple pieces tiny enough and ended up cutting up a few of the larger pieces after the jam cooked. I don't advise that as it is rather messy - better to cut them tiny to begin with.
These proportions yield jam that is only a touch sweet. If you prefer your jam sweeter, add more sugar.