I have been trying to use more seasonal ingredients in my cooking and recipe development - it has been a learning experience as seasonal produce is different here than what I grew up with. This means I cannot trust my natural instincts - so I research and head to the "virtual market".
Enter: rhubarb. quite honestly, I had never even set eyes on rhubarb before I came to the UK. I did not have the faintest idea of what it looked like or tasted like. Rhubarb isn't an ingredient we employ often in Italian cuisine - or at leats not in my area. It's not that we don't have any - we do and call it rabarbaro; but I don't recall ever seeing it on a market stall or at the greengrocer's in 19 years of living in Italy. The only plausible explanation is that we must use it all to produce booze: we do produce a liquor known as Rabarbaro Zucca, which is generally used as digestif. Skip ahead a few years from when I first moved to this country and my tastebuds have been educated sufficiently for me to attempt some cooking with rhubarb; I started small and made jam. With some booze.
Ingredients:
- 400g of rhubarb
- 400g of jam sugar
- 4 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoon of Edinburgh Gin Elderflower liquor
Method:
Place a saucer or small plate in the fridge - we will use this to test your jam consistency later.
Wash the rhubarb, slit the stems halfway and then chop into square chunks. Place the rhubarb in a saucepan and add the sugar and the lemon juice.
Place the pan on the hob on a medium heat and using a clean spatula let the contents coat and the sugar dissolve. As the sugar is dissolving add the vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of the liquor.
Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat to high and let the jam bubble and reduce for 10 mins, keeping the mixture stirred with a spatula (I like to use a heat-resistant silicone spatula). Take care to ensure no dry or drier ingredients stick to the bottom and corners of the pan as they will quickly catch.
To test whether your jam is ready or needs reduced further, grab your chilled saucer from the fridge and spoon a small quantity of jam on it. Let it cool for a few minutes - as the jam cools it will condense so you will be able to check if the jam is at your desired consistency.
If it's still too runny, place it back on the heat for a few more minutes, stirring. If it is ready, you can then add 2 more tablespoons of liquor and transfer it to your chosen sterilised glass jar.
Why not try this lovely, tangy creation on a thick slice of sourdough? Check out my wholemeal sourdough recipe here.
Some extra tips
Why not infuse your jam with some herbs and/or spices? You can infuse yet an additional depth of flavour - just remember to place your spices in a cheese cloth to steeple into the jam so they can be removed once the jam is ready. Whilst I am all for the "bits", you might not want to sink your teeth into a whole cinnamon stick or cardamom pod.
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