Living smack bang in the middle of the city means that if I miss a market on the weekend through commitments or sheer laziness, I am stuck with the supermarket. So the other day I toddled off to the local to stock up.
And lucky I did! I found all this rhubarb in the discounted veggies bin! I raid this bin regularly (you can time your visit each morning when you know they are filling it up) and can walk away with serious amounts of veg that will otherwise be thrown away, for less than $10. I walked away with enough ingredients to make at least 5 jars of jam for less than $4.
So how do you make rhubarb jam? You can google it and come up with any number of variations that include vanilla, orange, ginger, lemon, and the list goes on. Here is my version that I use for most jams – strawberry, rhubarb, whatever.
Ingredients
Rhubarb – however much you have on hand
Sugar – the same weight as your rhubarb
Lemon – zest and juice to taste
Pectin – follow the recommendations on the jar
Method
Weigh up your rhubarb. Today I had around 900g adding what I had left in the fridge with what I purchased. Add this to a heavy based pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Weigh up the same amount of sugar as you have fruit – it is important to have equal parts here – and add in the pectin. Add this to the fruit and bring to a boil, stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves. Add in the lemon to taste. Once the mixture has reached a rolling boil, set the timer for around 10mins and have a plate in the freezer for the set point test. Once your jam has reached set point, transfer to warm sterilised jars and with the lid on securely (I know I am stating the obvious here but I have previously made the mistake of not checking the lid properly) and turn upside down.
As I said, you can use this method with a variety of fruits, and as we move into strawberry season I will be repeating it for them too!
Let me know what you think.
^Katie
Laura
Good score with the rhubarb. Might have to hunt some down because rhubarb jam sounds like a good plan! Why do you put the jars upside down?
^Katie
Hi Laura, I am so sorry I haven’t seen your comment before now. I turn the jars upside down to check that the jar is sealed (if it’s not properly the contents come spurting out) and also because the contents are still very hot, hopefully that will also help sterilise any bugs that might have crept in. So far I haven’t opened a jar and found spoilt contents, so it seems to be working.