Anyone who grows rhubarb knows there is always more than they need, so this is a brilliant way to use some of the surplus, and it is delicious.
Half way between a sweet marmalade and jam, this is also good for sandwiching a sponge or swiss roll and so much more!
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Orange and Rhubarb Jam
This recipe is long because it involves cooking the oranges and rhubarb seprately, then combining them before adding the sugar and doing the final boil - also there are two ways you could prepare the oranges so i give both
i usually spread the process over a couple of days or more - each stage can be stored in the fridge for a day or two - unless you want to be exhausted at the end i recommend spreading it out
- after preparing the fruit I weigh it then add an equal weight of sugar - see weight guide below.
- the process can be split and carried out over a few days, so there is no need for a long jam making session
- if you have not made jam before, read all the instructions before you start and make sure you have everything you need
- i have gone into a lot of detail in parts, mainly for beginners, so bear with me if you are an experienced jam maker, but it is worth preparing the oranges properly
- no quantities are given because this works by weight
Ingredients:
Oranges - I started with 2 large ones
Rhubarb
Sugar - This fruit has a good pectin content so it does not need any extra pectin for a good set
Stage 1 Prepare the oranges: use method A or B
Method A
- cook the oranges by simmering them whole, covered in water, until they are soft - at least 30 mins to 1hr. Lift out the oranges, it’s best if they are still whole - keep the liquid they cooked in, you need it
- cut the oranges open and scoop out the flesh, remove the pips. If you have a blender tip the fruit pulp in and blend, if not chop it up as fine as you can.
- cut the peel into manageable slices and scrape off as much of the white pith as you can, throw this away, keep the orange zest and slice and dice this very finely.
- mix the pulp and zest, weigh it - now add the same weight of the reserved cooking liquid - pulp + zest + water is your orange mixture
- throw away the leftover liquid - you can keep the orange mixture in the fridge for a few days (or the freezer for ages) while you recover from all that!
Method B
- peel the oranges with a knife, try to peel it in wide sections - put aside the fruity pulp
- simmer the peel in water until it is softened - meanwhile, chop the pulp, remove pips and stringy bits, then blitz or chop to a mush.
- when peel is really soft, strain it and keep the water - scrape as much white stuff (pith) off as you can and throw it away - chop the remaining zest very finely
- mix the pulp and zest, weigh it - now add the same weight of the reserved cooking liquid - pulp + zest + water is your orange mixture
- throw away the leftover liquid - you can keep the orange mixture in the fridge for a few days (or the freezer for ages) while you recover from all that!
either method makes the orange mix you will add to the rhubarb before the final boil with sugar - weigh it and make a note, you need this later
Stage 2 Adding the rhubarb and sugar
- wash and cut the same weight of rhubarb as you have orange pulp - i cut the rhubarb up into small chunks so that it breaks down more easily during cooking
- put the weighed orange mixture and rhubarb in a very large pan, simmer it gently, until the rhubarb is cooked and all fallen apart - you might need to stir it vigorously to break up the rhubarb. If you don’t do this you will get big lumps of rhubarb which don’t spread well as jam.
- weigh out the sugar - you need the same weight of sugar as you have of fruit (orange + rhubarb)
for example:orange mixture 200grhubarb 200g=400g fruitadd sugar 400g=800g jam
- add the sugar and stir to help it all dissolve - it is important for all the sugar to dissolve completely before you go on to boiling your mixture - you can leave the whole mixture in a cool place until you are ready to cook and pot it
Stage 3 Boiling and potting
- wash your jam jars and get your lids or covers ready - i sit them in a shallow pan of hot water which is next to the jam pan, to reduce mess when potting up.
- now cook the jam:follow any standard jam-making instructions from this point to potting up - this is helpful, https://moorlandseater.com/jam-making-a-beginners-guide/ start at the Jam making equipment section