Rhubarb Jam with Ginger

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable but for us, it marks the beginning of a new season. It's the best of what Spring has to offer and a nice transition towards the all time favourite jams; all those berry flavours everyone has been asking about are just around the corner. In fact, we spotted the first of the strawberries at the Vancouver Farmers' Market last week. People, it may not feel like Summer yet in Vancouver but strawberries are here to prove us wrong-- warm weather and sunny days are soon to come and we will all be at the beach eating fresh strawberries in no time.

We had been waiting for rhubarb for so long, it felt like Christmas morning when we were finally able to pack up the car (our new Sticky Spoon Mobile is the world's ugliest minivan, we love it) and head to the kitchen. We didn't even mind the 6am alarm, no snooze button allowed.  Armed with new equipment, 75 lbs of rhubarb and lots of caffeine, we were ready to make some jam.

Rhubarb Jam is definitely one of our top favourites, to make AND to eat.  This is the ultimate breakfast condiment. We love that it is a tart, zingy  little jam, the kind that you just can't stop eating. Seriously, this jar should come with a warning sticker that says "caution: addictive". 

Ginger fans will be pleased to hear that we added a generous piece of it in every batch, as well as crystallized ginger. This thickens the smooth jam just a touch and adds happy little bursts of sweet ginger .

Rhubarb tends to lose its beautiful colour when cooked, so we added a hibiscus flowers to give our jam that appealing burgundy red colour that makes it so irresistible. The flavour of hibiscus, while quite subtle, balances with the tartness of the rhubarb just perfectly so.

You can simply layer with yogourt and your favourite nut for a lovely breakfast parfait, or spread on top of pancakes with ricotta cheese. Puree this jam and put a tablespoon into a champagne flute, topping with prosecco for a zesty spin on a bellini. It makes a great vinaigrette, to be tossed into an duck confit and endive salad. We love this jam with citrus olive oil cake or pound cake for afternoon tea time or dessert.

We had ourselves a very fun little weekend in the kitchen and have many, many jars of Rhubarb and Ginger Jam to prove it.  We are currently waiting on labels from our friends at Metropolitan Fine Prints and expect those to be ready in a day or two. So lookout people, we should have Rhubarb and Ginger Jam for you by the weekend and we are particularly proud of this one. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do. As always, thank you for reading our blog and for your interest in our growing company.