It's very important to my MIL that I try to find this particular recipe that her mother made. It's called a Rhubarb Orange Conserve. There is one copy of the recipe, in a 1950s town cookbook, to which my MIL's mother submitted this favorite. However, it's obviously missing something, or maybe I'm not understanding something. I'm not a conserve or jam maker, so can anyone help?
The recipe calls for 12 cups diced rhubarb, 12 cups sugar, and 4 good-sized oranges. That is the entire list of ingredients.
Then it says to cover the rhubarb with the sugar and let stand overnight. The next step is to grind the oranges, including the peel and pulp, but to remove the seeds. I'm assuming this means to put the oranges through a meat grinder sort of thing. The next step is the problem: It says when the rhubarb comes to a boil add the oranges and boil 15-20 minutes, stirring often. When thickened, remove from fire and seal.
Ok, is there water missing, or would the rhubarb soaking in the sugar overnight make a syrup that you would boil the rhubarb in? Has anyone seen something similar to this? Can you help me figure out how the rhubarb is supposed to boil? Thanks!
Thank you so much! Yes, it does sound like a huge recipe, and I imagine that in the small farming village where they lived, they made a lot of preserved foods for the long winter. I think I will try just making one-quarter of the recipe. I appreciate all the advice.
edited: guess i'm a slow typer
well, since no one else has answered yet, the non-cook will give it a try.
first have you googled it or allreciepe.com it??
second, perhaps mashing the rhubarb would make it pulp enough to boil?
goodluck I hope by they time I typed this someone else was more helpful.
I have made a similar recipe. You don't need water as there is plenty of it in the fruit. As it sits overnight in the sugar, it will release the water. As you heat it, the consistency will turn into gel.
If you want to try the recipe with less risk of waste, use 4 cups of rhubarb, 4 cups of sugar and 1 large orange. The sitting and cooking times are the same.
Bring it up to a slow boil, btw, don't turn the heat on High or you risk scorching. You want more of a good simmer than a boil.
I'm no preserve expert but there are several versions of this on the web.
Some call for pectin while others don't.
It seems pectin occurs naturally in oranges (and lemons) and will help to jell the jam.
I've made rhubarb pies before and when rhubarb is mixed with sugar and left to sit it will leach out a lot of water (it might get runny) but the boiling will help thicken it up.
Look them over and see which fits best (or Google it and look for others).
http://cooking-spree.com/2012/02/29/rhubarb-orange-jam/
http://zoebakes.com/2013/08/13/rhubarb-orange-jam-and-a-c...
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/rhubarb_orange_conserv...
In general if you add sugar to any fruit it will pull moisture out and leave a syrup so if you soak the rhubarb overnight in the sugar I wouldn't be surprised if you have enough syrup to boil.
It's purely a guess, but I would think that the rhubarb and sugar would have liquid in the bowl by the morning. Like a syrup of it's own.
Isn't rhubarb sort of like celery in it's makeup? I mean... it has a lot of water contained in it. The sugar will draw that out. Alternatively, if it doesn't, you can put just sugar by itself in a pot and heat it slowly (stirring constantly) and it will melt into a syrup, right?
So, from a strictly logistical standpoint (no experience with conserves or jellies--though my mom has made a ton of jelly over the years)... I wouldn't think you would need to add any water to it. But, I WOULD expect that you would need to stand over it stirring, so that it doesn't scorch.
I think you should leave out the sugar - it sounds like your MIL is sweet enough already!
;-)
Wouldn't the oranges give off enough juice/liquid that water wouldn't be necessary?
I know that when making fruit pies, the fruit sitting in the sugar does make a syrup. I would imagine that it does the same thing in your recipe.
Rhubarb is like celery and has a lot of water hidden inside it. It is entirely possible that there is no water to add. The sugar will dissolve as the chopped rhubarb gives off its water, and there should be enough syrup/goo to boil it in. You'll be surprised when you start stirring it up that it gets liquidy. Plus you add the liquid from the oranges.
That is a LOT of rhubarb and sugar though! I would be doing this with maybe 3 or 4 cups first to make sure it works. That is a lot of rhubarb too, know what I'm saying?
I've been making a fair amount of jam in recent years, but never conserves. So I'm not sure about your recipe. From my experience cooking rhubarb, you don't need much water to cook it, just a little in the bottom of the pan. Maybe the sugar does start the juice flowing overnight. I would say just start at a low heat and watch it and stir frequently.If it wasn't juicy already, it should be soon. If it looks like it's going to burn, you can always add a little water. I'm guessing the recipe is accurate for a cookbook of that time; they often did assume the reader would have certain previous knowledge. I have never done the overnight soak with sugar and raw rhubarb, will have to try it. It sounds like the process of salting raw cucumbers or green tomatoes to make pickles; there's a loooot of juice in the morning which is then discarded.The conserve recipe expects the same result, only the juice is cooked, instead of discarded.
I don't make jam (or anything like that) but I do make a cranberry thing during the holidays. Sugar will melt with heat and as the rhubarb cooks it will likely release moisture as well - making it possible to boil. My advice is to start with your heat pretty low - I usually start mine on low and just let it cook for a while - otherwise you risk all the moisture boiling off before anything really comes together! Good luck!
