Roasted Rhubarb Jam

Our two weeks vacationing at cottages were split by a brief trip back to Toronto, where we spent a night hosting our out-of-town friends before they returned home. Using more of the rhubarb we brought back from Magnificent Hill, we made a quick syrup that evening, and enjoyed cold glasses of this rhubarb mint mojito. We also decided to delay going to the next cottage by a day, which gave me an opportunity to make a jam.

The recipe comes from a brand new cookbook from two local authors, called Batch. They run a blog called Well Preserved, which I hadn’t heard of, but my wife saw their booth at the Leslieville Farmer’s Market and thought I would like the book.

To prepare the fruit, the directions call for dicing the rhubarb, macerating it overnight with brown sugar, then roasting it in an oven until the pieces brown. I let it go a bit too long, so some of the pieces burned a little. The recipe, as printed in the book, does not say what to do with the leftover syrup. I added it to the jam mixture when simmering it. In my haste, I also forgot to add the vanilla at the end.

The finished jam was nicely chunky, but didn’t have a set texture. I know that rhubarb does not have much pectin, and this recipe doesn’t call for any, but it turns out just fine. We brought one jar of the finished jam with us to the second cottage. I like the flavourings contributed by the candied ginger, cloves, peppercorns and lemon zest. To me, this condiment works well with roasted meats, like a burger or pork chop, rather than as a spread on toast.