Gloriously Pink Rhubarb Jam

its peak forced rhubarb season

Let me first start off by saying, this is not the recipe I intended to share with you this week. I had grand plans for some really exciting recipes and then…I put my back out. And more embarrassingly, I put my back out playing with my dog whilst sat on the kitchen floor. Doing nothing more strenuous than playing tug of war with my tiny little poochon pup. Because of that I couldn’t properly walk, or even move, without being in quite a bit of pain, so the idea of rolling out pastry or constructing some elaborate cake was far from anything I could accomplish. After I was able to move a bit more, and being bored out of my mind, I was in need of something comforting so went to the childhood favourite, rice pudding. For topping, as it’s the season, I had to go for rhubarb jam.

Now, in the fog of back pain and painkillers I didn’t write down the rice pudding recipe, that will be coming next week. Oh no, I have to make it again! In the meantime, since we are in peak forced rhubarb season, here is my trusty rhubarb jam recipe. When the rhubarb season hits, and gloriously pink forced rhubarb from Yorkshire is available, I like to make big batches of jam so I can enjoy the rhubarb well after the season has ended. This recipe makes a lot of jam so feel free to halve the recipe should you not want quite as much as me.

If you need someone else opinion, I think the real seal of approval for this recipe is that we gave a big jar to my in-laws and within a couple days it was already half gone.

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam
Makes 5x340g jars

This jam is, obviously, made with rhubarb, which has a very low pectin content. As I am not using jam sugar or adding pectin separately you’ll find this jam sets quite loosely, which I find to be perfect for rhubarb. It then works great in place of a compote on things like rice pudding whilst still working on your toast in the morning.

1kg forced rhubarb, cut into small chunks
Juice of 1 lemon
800g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod

Before you start the jam, first sterilise the jars. Preheat the oven to 160ºC (140ºC Fan) and wash the jars in hot soapy water before rinsing out, but not drying. Place the jars onto a baking tray and pop in the oven for 10 minutes, at which point the jars should be dry. For the lids pop those in a bowl of boiling water and leave to soak for a few minutes, set aside until ready to use.

Pop a couple side plates in the freezer.

Add the rhubarb to a large stock pot, along with the lemon juice, and cook over medium heat until the rhubarb starts to soften. Add the sugar and seeds scraped from the vanilla, along with the pod itself, to the rhubarb and cook for a couple minutes or until the sugar is no longer visible and you have a pot of very juicy looking rhubarb. Turn the heat up to high and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the jam reaches setting point.

To test the jam has been cooked to the right temperature there are a few different methods you can use. Firstly, you can use a jam or candy thermometer and check that the temperature reaches between 104ºC and 105ºC. Secondly you can use the wrinkle test. For this method I find it useful to start testing after about 6 minutes of cooking. Take one of the frozen side plates from the freezer and spoon a small amount of jam onto the plate and pop back in the freezer for 30-60 seconds. Use your finger to push through the jam. If the jam wrinkles when pushed it has reached setting point and you can stop cooking. If the jam still seems liquid and loose, cook a little further, testing as you go.

Once cooked to the correct temperature let the jam sit for a couple minutes before carefully decanting into the still warm sterilised jars, sealing immediately. Once sealed the jam will keep for 6 months, once opened they should be stored in the fridge.