Help with my jam recipe please

clutterydrawer

Hello everyone

I'm trying to make marrow and ginger jam - the recipe says...

1) Peel the marrow, remove the seeds and cut into pieces about 1 cm (1/2 inch) square.
2) Place in a basin, sprinkle with about 450 g (1 lb) of the sugar and allow to stand overnight.
3) Press the ginger with a weight to release the flavour from the fibres, tie it up in a piece of muslin with the lemon rind and place in a preserving pan with the marrow and lemon juice.
4) Simmer for 30 minutes.............


at no point does it say to add any water in which to simmer the things, should I do so? I imagine they're not going to magically cook in fresh air? And if so, how much?

thankyou

iamana1ias

clutterydrawer wrote: »

Hello everyone

I'm trying to make marrow and ginger jam - the recipe says...

1) Peel the marrow, remove the seeds and cut into pieces about 1 cm (1/2 inch) square.
2) Place in a basin, sprinkle with about 450 g (1 lb) of the sugar and allow to stand overnight.
3) Press the ginger with a weight to release the flavour from the fibres, tie it up in a piece of muslin with the lemon rind and place in a preserving pan with the marrow and lemon juice.
4) Simmer for 30 minutes.............


at no point does it say to add any water in which to simmer the things, should I do so? I imagine they're not going to magically cook in fresh air? And if so, how much?

thankyou

Soaking the marrow overnight in sugar will draw out the moisture from the marrow, and it will cook in that

thriftlady_2

I think there is enough water in the marrow already;) as the previous poster says a lot of liquid will be drawn out overnight.

foxgloves

I've made lots of marrow & ginger jam in the past but I think the recipe I use must be a bit more straightforward than yours? I peel & de-seed the marrow and then cut it into small cubes, then put it into the preserving pan with chopped crystallised ginger, and a bit of powdered ginger to taste if you like a hotter flavour. You add just enough water to cover plus the juice of a lemon and simmer until the marrow is soft, then you add the sugar, stir to dissolve, bring to boil and boil rapidly as usual until it jams. This makes a nice tasty jam and I was interested to read your post because I like preserving and I've never come across a recipe which requires marrow to be left overnight covered in sugar. Hope it works out for you.

foxgloves

P.S Should add that I think marrow & ginger jam tastes lovely & festive on hot buttered crumpets!

clutterydrawer

You are all totally correct - when I finally shifted my bottom from in front of my computer and went to observe my marrow, it was all swimming about in sugar water

I have made the jam now. It's quite bizarre. But fairly tasty.

purpleivy

I love marrow and ginger jam. I think it's rather OS. I remember Mum making it when I was a child, I would imagine that it was very cheap to do, as people often give marrows away, just leaving the sugar and ginger to pay for. It never had a very firm set. SOmetimes she cut the marrow into tiny dice and sometimes it was more kind of mashed.

I made it once, but the family wasn't keen.

foxgloves

I really like it, but it's one of those recipes I make if someone gives me a marrow or if I find one of our courgettes has had a sudden growth spurt! Other years, if we have a good pear or apple crop, then I make pear or apple & ginger instead. Same recipe, really, but people are less suspicious of it because pear & apple sound like something you might find in a jam whereas if you are not a jam-maker, marrow sounds a bit dodgy.