GINGER - Marrow & Ginger Jam

Marrow and ginger jam

 

Ingredients

1 kg prepared marrow

2 inch piece fresh root ginger

3 lemons

1 kg sugar 

100g crystallised ginger (or preserved stem ginger)

1 Bramley Apple

Method

Peel marrow, remove seeds and discard.  Dice flesh of marrow and steam for 5-10 minutes until tender

. Place in large bowl and add the thinly pared peel of 3 lemons and their juice

Reserve any pips. Peel and core the apple, reserve the pips and core. Chop the apple, put in saucepan with 1 - 2 tablespoons of water and heat gently until softened. Allow to cool and then pass through a fine sieve and add sieved Apple purée to bowl with the marrow.

Take the bruised root ginger, Apple core and pips and lemon pips and tie in a muslin bag and add to the marrow in the bowl.

Stir in the sugar, cover and leave overnight.

The following day, place marrow mixture in a large pan and heat gently whilst stirring until the sugar has dissolved taking care not to break up the marrow pieces.. Add the chopped crystallised ginger and stir ensuring any sugar adhering to the ginger dissolves. Bring rapidly to the boil and continue boiling until the marrow is translucent - continue boiling until a set is obtained or the syrup is thick and golden. This will probably take 30-40 minutes. It is difficult to obtain a really firm set with marrow jam without adding commercial pectin but the apple and lemon should help obtain a "soft set". If you have used "jam sugar", this has added pectin and will give a better set. When you think you have a set, put a spoonful of the jam on a dry, cold plate. If it forms a skin or wrinkles when a finger is drawn across it has reached a set.  Allow the mixture to cool a little, a few minutes only and then pour or ladle into sterilised jars whilst still hot and seal..

John Austin

Hove, September 2015