Marrow and Ginger Jam

Heather Bowery's Marrow and Ginger Jam recipe.

Marrow & Ginger Jam Ingredients
approx 15 fl oz pectin as extracted from apple peel & cores.
1 marrow (about 2 kilo's in weight) peeled, deseeded & diced.
3 inches ginger root, peeled and shredded fine
2 kilos sugar
lemon juice - approx 2 tbs, enough to make the mix taste sour

Mix the sugar and diced marrow in a bowl and let it stand overnight OR microwave diced marrow in batches, cook it until it turns a lovely sunshine yellow and juices start running.
Put everything into pan and boil to setting point (wrinkle point)

Bottle and seal in the usual way.

I made several small to medium jars as I was giving them as gifts at Christmas.

I used the microwave version but I do have another marrow that needs using up, so for the next batch I'm going to use the overnight version and see if there is a difference, but this batch does taste lovely!

Heather's preference is for the overnight version, "I think the texture is a bit better, but its very marginal. Another variation is to add the grated zest of a couple of lemons, and have only a hint of ginger (or none at all) The last time I did this I boiled it until it only just set and the soft marrow was a lovely contrast to the lemony syrup/jelly."

Let me know if you try it and what you think of each method.

KitchenCraft - Making Liquid Pectin

One of my lovely Facebook friends Heather Bowery shared some recipes with me on my self sufficiency page for spicy apple chutney, marrow and ginger jam and liquid based pectin.  Already a chutney lover and having been given a marrow to use I decided to give her recipes a try.

I had read about fruits with high or low pectin levels and how this effects the setting of jams but hadn't needed to make or use pectin before...

Hopefully she won't mind if I share the wisdom with you!

Take the peel and cores from approx 4lb of apples, (the apples were used in the chutney) put in a pan with barely enough water to cover. Simmer gently with lid on for 1 hour.

Pour the contents of the pan through a colander or sieve - remembering it's the liquid you want to keep!! To get more liquid out you can push the contents of the sieve with a spatula but don't rub it, think in terms of squeezing the juice out.

Return the liquid to the pan and boil down to about 15 fl oz. If you are making it to store, bottle and seal hot. 

This quantity of pectin can be used to set marrow and ginger jam.